My laptop often stops responding and shuts down suddenly with one of the
following error message:
- error on blue screen telling me to either run memory check and check for
faulty or mismatched memory (don't know how to) or try changing video
adaptors. And the last message is "Beginning dump of physical memory.
Physical memory dump complete"
- color squares unrecognized-able
- or stop at the posting screen
I have to hold down the button to turn it off and have to wait for more than
an hour to get it restarted and worked normally untill it stops again all of
a sudden.
Somebody please help me to figure out what problem my laptop has.

sis630/730 wrote:
> My laptop often stops responding and shuts down suddenly with one of the
> following error message:
> - error on blue screen telling me to either run memory check and check for
> faulty or mismatched memory (don't know how to) or try changing video
> adaptors. And the last message is "Beginning dump of physical memory.
> Physical memory dump complete"
> - color squares unrecognized-able
> - or stop at the posting screen
> I have to hold down the button to turn it off and have to wait for more than
> an hour to get it restarted and worked normally untill it stops again all of
> a sudden.
> Somebody please help me to figure out what problem my laptop has.

Go here, download the ISO version of memtest86+
("Download - Pre-Compiled Bootable ISO (.zip)")

http://www.memtest.org/

Burn a CD with the ISO file, using CD burner software and a
burner. The ISO is tiny, so the burn should only take a
couple minutes to complete. The CD will be bootable.

Install the CD and boot from the CD.

When booted, the screen will look similar to this. 640x480 mode,
with a blue background.

http://www.memtest.org/pics/i875-big.gif

In this state, the test would run forever, or until you stop it.
Quitting the program will cause the computer to reboot, and you
might want to remove the CD if you don't intend to boot from the
CD at that point.

The program has a pass counter, and a couple complete passes should be enough.
For a decent amount of memory, it could take a couple hours for the
test to run. For a laptop, you'd probably want to be plugged in while
running this. It uses a fair amount of power, so the fan will
probably be running.

If there are any errors, they will be printed in the lower section of
the screen. You want "no errors", to consider this test to have passed.
If you have a severe error problem, the screen might even begin to
scroll, so you cannot see an image like the one shown above.

This test is not perfect. If you pass it, it does not mean your
computer is trouble free. Memtest86+ is good at detecting "stuck"
memory bits, but perhaps a bit less good at transient problems.
But if your memory is really messed up, you'll find out pretty quick.
If there are enough errors, it could even mess up the appearance
of the screen, or memtest86+ could crash.

A second test, is to run Prime95 from mersenne.org . That is a program
which searches for prime numbers (a math thing). But, the program has
one nice testing feature. In the menu for the program, you can find
a "Torture Test" option. The program carries out a math calculation
where the answer is known, and if the answer is wrong, the program will
stop and tell you there was an error. For a machine that is not stable,
the "Torture Test" will stop in 30 seconds or less. If the machine is
healthy, you should easily be able to run it for four hours or more.
(If offered an option, the "blended" test is good.)

Prime95 has an option to "join" the search for prime numbers, but you
do not have to join to use the torture test option.

Prime95 also draws a lot of power when it runs, the fan will be running
probably constantly, and the laptop will get hot. Make sure it has
adequate ventilation during the test, as it could overheat, depending
on how clean the vents on the cooling system are.

If the video on the laptop is built-in to the chipset, the video uses
"shared memory". Thus, colored squares could be caused by the system
memory that the video is using, becoming corrupted. On the other hand,
more expensive laptops have a separate GPU and video memory chips.
That gives higher performance. If you get colored squares there,
then the separate video memory chips soldered next to the GPU could
be defective. In some cases, the separate GPU can be unplugged and
replaced, which might be cheaper than replacing the whole motherboard.
On intermediate priced laptops, there is sometimes a separate GPU, but
it is soldered right to the motherboard, in which case the colored
squares problem means a new motherboard.

So, try the memtest86+ program and if it passes, then try Prime95
(Windows version, if you are using Windows) and see if the computer
still passes that. Changing out the memory, and trying some other sticks,
is what you'd do as a potential debugging step. In some cases, the
problem could be on the motherboard of the laptop, such as if the
low voltage regulator powering the processor or memory is defective,
and making less voltage than normal. That tends to reduce the stability
of whatever it powers.

Heat is always a problem with laptops, and more so when the vents get
clogged.

HTH,
Paul

"Paul" wrote:

> sis630/730 wrote:
> > My laptop often stops responding and shuts down suddenly with one of the
> > following error message:
> > - error on blue screen telling me to either run memory check and check for
> > faulty or mismatched memory (don't know how to) or try changing video
> > adaptors. And the last message is "Beginning dump of physical memory.
> > Physical memory dump complete"
> > - color squares unrecognized-able
> > - or stop at the posting screen
> > I have to hold down the button to turn it off and have to wait for more than
> > an hour to get it restarted and worked normally untill it stops again all of
> > a sudden.
> > Somebody please help me to figure out what problem my laptop has.
>
> Go here, download the ISO version of memtest86+
> ("Download - Pre-Compiled Bootable ISO (.zip)")
>
> http://www.memtest.org/
>
> Burn a CD with the ISO file, using CD burner software and a
> burner. The ISO is tiny, so the burn should only take a
> couple minutes to complete. The CD will be bootable.
>
> Install the CD and boot from the CD.
>
> When booted, the screen will look similar to this. 640x480 mode,
> with a blue background.
>
> http://www.memtest.org/pics/i875-big.gif
>
> In this state, the test would run forever, or until you stop it.
> Quitting the program will cause the computer to reboot, and you
> might want to remove the CD if you don't intend to boot from the
> CD at that point.
>
> The program has a pass counter, and a couple complete passes should be enough.
> For a decent amount of memory, it could take a couple hours for the
> test to run. For a laptop, you'd probably want to be plugged in while
> running this. It uses a fair amount of power, so the fan will
> probably be running.
>
> If there are any errors, they will be printed in the lower section of
> the screen. You want "no errors", to consider this test to have passed.
> If you have a severe error problem, the screen might even begin to
> scroll, so you cannot see an image like the one shown above.
>
> This test is not perfect. If you pass it, it does not mean your
> computer is trouble free. Memtest86+ is good at detecting "stuck"
> memory bits, but perhaps a bit less good at transient problems.
> But if your memory is really messed up, you'll find out pretty quick.
> If there are enough errors, it could even mess up the appearance
> of the screen, or memtest86+ could crash.
>
> A second test, is to run Prime95 from mersenne.org . That is a program
> which searches for prime numbers (a math thing). But, the program has
> one nice testing feature. In the menu for the program, you can find
> a "Torture Test" option. The program carries out a math calculation
> where the answer is known, and if the answer is wrong, the program will
> stop and tell you there was an error. For a machine that is not stable,
> the "Torture Test" will stop in 30 seconds or less. If the machine is
> healthy, you should easily be able to run it for four hours or more.
> (If offered an option, the "blended" test is good.)
>
> Prime95 has an option to "join" the search for prime numbers, but you
> do not have to join to use the torture test option.
>
> Prime95 also draws a lot of power when it runs, the fan will be running
> probably constantly, and the laptop will get hot. Make sure it has
> adequate ventilation during the test, as it could overheat, depending
> on how clean the vents on the cooling system are.
>
> If the video on the laptop is built-in to the chipset, the video uses
> "shared memory". Thus, colored squares could be caused by the system
> memory that the video is using, becoming corrupted. On the other hand,
> more expensive laptops have a separate GPU and video memory chips.
> That gives higher performance. If you get colored squares there,
> then the separate video memory chips soldered next to the GPU could
> be defective. In some cases, the separate GPU can be unplugged and
> replaced, which might be cheaper than replacing the whole motherboard.
> On intermediate priced laptops, there is sometimes a separate GPU, but
> it is soldered right to the motherboard, in which case the colored
> squares problem means a new motherboard.
>
> So, try the memtest86+ program and if it passes, then try Prime95
> (Windows version, if you are using Windows) and see if the computer
> still passes that. Changing out the memory, and trying some other sticks,
> is what you'd do as a potential debugging step. In some cases, the
> problem could be on the motherboard of the laptop, such as if the
> low voltage regulator powering the processor or memory is defective,
> and making less voltage than normal. That tends to reduce the stability
> of whatever it powers.
>
> Heat is always a problem with laptops, and more so when the vents get
> clogged.
>
> HTH,
> Paul
>
I downloaded and burned the version 1.7 but it could not be booted from the
CD at all. Please tell me which version is right for my celeron 733mhz laptop
and step by step burning. Thanks!

sis630/730 wrote:
>
> "Paul" wrote:
>
>> sis630/730 wrote:
>>> My laptop often stops responding and shuts down suddenly with one of the
>>> following error message:
>>> - error on blue screen telling me to either run memory check and check for
>>> faulty or mismatched memory (don't know how to) or try changing video
>>> adaptors. And the last message is "Beginning dump of physical memory.
>>> Physical memory dump complete"
>>> - color squares unrecognized-able
>>> - or stop at the posting screen
>>> I have to hold down the button to turn it off and have to wait for more than
>>> an hour to get it restarted and worked normally untill it stops again all of
>>> a sudden.
>>> Somebody please help me to figure out what problem my laptop has.
>> Go here, download the ISO version of memtest86+
>> ("Download - Pre-Compiled Bootable ISO (.zip)")
>>
>> http://www.memtest.org/
>>
>> Burn a CD with the ISO file, using CD burner software and a
>> burner. The ISO is tiny, so the burn should only take a
>> couple minutes to complete. The CD will be bootable.
>>
>> Install the CD and boot from the CD.
>>
>> When booted, the screen will look similar to this. 640x480 mode,
>> with a blue background.
>>
>> http://www.memtest.org/pics/i875-big.gif
>>
>> In this state, the test would run forever, or until you stop it.
>> Quitting the program will cause the computer to reboot, and you
>> might want to remove the CD if you don't intend to boot from the
>> CD at that point.
>>
>> The program has a pass counter, and a couple complete passes should be enough.
>> For a decent amount of memory, it could take a couple hours for the
>> test to run. For a laptop, you'd probably want to be plugged in while
>> running this. It uses a fair amount of power, so the fan will
>> probably be running.
>>
>> If there are any errors, they will be printed in the lower section of
>> the screen. You want "no errors", to consider this test to have passed.
>> If you have a severe error problem, the screen might even begin to
>> scroll, so you cannot see an image like the one shown above.
>>
>> This test is not perfect. If you pass it, it does not mean your
>> computer is trouble free. Memtest86+ is good at detecting "stuck"
>> memory bits, but perhaps a bit less good at transient problems.
>> But if your memory is really messed up, you'll find out pretty quick.
>> If there are enough errors, it could even mess up the appearance
>> of the screen, or memtest86+ could crash.
>>
>> A second test, is to run Prime95 from mersenne.org . That is a program
>> which searches for prime numbers (a math thing). But, the program has
>> one nice testing feature. In the menu for the program, you can find
>> a "Torture Test" option. The program carries out a math calculation
>> where the answer is known, and if the answer is wrong, the program will
>> stop and tell you there was an error. For a machine that is not stable,
>> the "Torture Test" will stop in 30 seconds or less. If the machine is
>> healthy, you should easily be able to run it for four hours or more.
>> (If offered an option, the "blended" test is good.)
>>
>> Prime95 has an option to "join" the search for prime numbers, but you
>> do not have to join to use the torture test option.
>>
>> Prime95 also draws a lot of power when it runs, the fan will be running
>> probably constantly, and the laptop will get hot. Make sure it has
>> adequate ventilation during the test, as it could overheat, depending
>> on how clean the vents on the cooling system are.
>>
>> If the video on the laptop is built-in to the chipset, the video uses
>> "shared memory". Thus, colored squares could be caused by the system
>> memory that the video is using, becoming corrupted. On the other hand,
>> more expensive laptops have a separate GPU and video memory chips.
>> That gives higher performance. If you get colored squares there,
>> then the separate video memory chips soldered next to the GPU could
>> be defective. In some cases, the separate GPU can be unplugged and
>> replaced, which might be cheaper than replacing the whole motherboard.
>> On intermediate priced laptops, there is sometimes a separate GPU, but
>> it is soldered right to the motherboard, in which case the colored
>> squares problem means a new motherboard.
>>
>> So, try the memtest86+ program and if it passes, then try Prime95
>> (Windows version, if you are using Windows) and see if the computer
>> still passes that. Changing out the memory, and trying some other sticks,
>> is what you'd do as a potential debugging step. In some cases, the
>> problem could be on the motherboard of the laptop, such as if the
>> low voltage regulator powering the processor or memory is defective,
>> and making less voltage than normal. That tends to reduce the stability
>> of whatever it powers.
>>
>> Heat is always a problem with laptops, and more so when the vents get
>> clogged.
>>
>> HTH,
>> Paul
>>
> I downloaded and burned the version 1.7 but it could not be booted from the
> CD at all. Please tell me which version is right for my celeron 733mhz laptop
> and step by step burning. Thanks!

A common mistake would be to burn the *file* to the disk, as a separate
file. In other words, if you can put the CD in your CD drive right now,
go to the file explorer and see "memtest86+-1.70.iso" file on the CD, then
that is wrong.

If done properly, the CD will show "readme.txt" and the contents of "readme.txt"
says:

"There is no visible file here.
Memtest86+ is located on the bootsector of this CD.
Just boot from this CD and Memtest86+ will launch."

I had to test this on my other computer, because this computer doesn't have
a burner. I used Nero Express, told it I was making a data CD, and it
presented a file dialog. I selected the item that lists any ISO in the
folder. It sees the memtest ISO file and loads it. Burning took about
2 minutes and I thought it would be faster than that.

What Nero does, is transfer the *contents* of the ISO to the CD. Rather
than transferring the downloaded *file* itself. The burning software
that comes with Windows, would not be suitable, as far as I know. You
need a proper burning program, that can accept ISO9660 format archives.
The version of Nero I use, came with the burner itself, which is why
I was able to use it. (I was careful to shop for a burner that came
with Nero - a previous burner came with a useless package, and I didn't
want to make that mistake again.)

I would have suggested the floppy version of memtest86+, but figured
a laptop would not have a suitable floppy for that purpose.

After burning in Nero, I then rebooted to the CD and memtest86+ loaded
very quickly and started testing the memory. So the ISO9660 image
contained in:

http://www.memtest.org/download/1.70...+-1.70.iso.zip

works just fine.

Paul

I already made it by using the function "Burn image to disc" of Nero and ran
the test and it showed no error at all. I am still not able to run the
Prime95 since my laptop keeps not responding. Thanks a lot, Paul!

"Paul" wrote:

> sis630/730 wrote:
> >
> > "Paul" wrote:
> >
> >> sis630/730 wrote:
> >>> My laptop often stops responding and shuts down suddenly with one of the
> >>> following error message:
> >>> - error on blue screen telling me to either run memory check and check for
> >>> faulty or mismatched memory (don't know how to) or try changing video
> >>> adaptors. And the last message is "Beginning dump of physical memory.
> >>> Physical memory dump complete"
> >>> - color squares unrecognized-able
> >>> - or stop at the posting screen
> >>> I have to hold down the button to turn it off and have to wait for more than
> >>> an hour to get it restarted and worked normally untill it stops again all of
> >>> a sudden.
> >>> Somebody please help me to figure out what problem my laptop has.
> >> Go here, download the ISO version of memtest86+
> >> ("Download - Pre-Compiled Bootable ISO (.zip)")
> >>
> >> http://www.memtest.org/
> >>
> >> Burn a CD with the ISO file, using CD burner software and a
> >> burner. The ISO is tiny, so the burn should only take a
> >> couple minutes to complete. The CD will be bootable.
> >>
> >> Install the CD and boot from the CD.
> >>
> >> When booted, the screen will look similar to this. 640x480 mode,
> >> with a blue background.
> >>
> >> http://www.memtest.org/pics/i875-big.gif
> >>
> >> In this state, the test would run forever, or until you stop it.
> >> Quitting the program will cause the computer to reboot, and you
> >> might want to remove the CD if you don't intend to boot from the
> >> CD at that point.
> >>
> >> The program has a pass counter, and a couple complete passes should be enough.
> >> For a decent amount of memory, it could take a couple hours for the
> >> test to run. For a laptop, you'd probably want to be plugged in while
> >> running this. It uses a fair amount of power, so the fan will
> >> probably be running.
> >>
> >> If there are any errors, they will be printed in the lower section of
> >> the screen. You want "no errors", to consider this test to have passed.
> >> If you have a severe error problem, the screen might even begin to
> >> scroll, so you cannot see an image like the one shown above.
> >>
> >> This test is not perfect. If you pass it, it does not mean your
> >> computer is trouble free. Memtest86+ is good at detecting "stuck"
> >> memory bits, but perhaps a bit less good at transient problems.
> >> But if your memory is really messed up, you'll find out pretty quick.
> >> If there are enough errors, it could even mess up the appearance
> >> of the screen, or memtest86+ could crash.
> >>
> >> A second test, is to run Prime95 from mersenne.org . That is a program
> >> which searches for prime numbers (a math thing). But, the program has
> >> one nice testing feature. In the menu for the program, you can find
> >> a "Torture Test" option. The program carries out a math calculation
> >> where the answer is known, and if the answer is wrong, the program will
> >> stop and tell you there was an error. For a machine that is not stable,
> >> the "Torture Test" will stop in 30 seconds or less. If the machine is
> >> healthy, you should easily be able to run it for four hours or more.
> >> (If offered an option, the "blended" test is good.)
> >>
> >> Prime95 has an option to "join" the search for prime numbers, but you
> >> do not have to join to use the torture test option.
> >>
> >> Prime95 also draws a lot of power when it runs, the fan will be running
> >> probably constantly, and the laptop will get hot. Make sure it has
> >> adequate ventilation during the test, as it could overheat, depending
> >> on how clean the vents on the cooling system are.
> >>
> >> If the video on the laptop is built-in to the chipset, the video uses
> >> "shared memory". Thus, colored squares could be caused by the system
> >> memory that the video is using, becoming corrupted. On the other hand,
> >> more expensive laptops have a separate GPU and video memory chips.
> >> That gives higher performance. If you get colored squares there,
> >> then the separate video memory chips soldered next to the GPU could
> >> be defective. In some cases, the separate GPU can be unplugged and
> >> replaced, which might be cheaper than replacing the whole motherboard.
> >> On intermediate priced laptops, there is sometimes a separate GPU, but
> >> it is soldered right to the motherboard, in which case the colored
> >> squares problem means a new motherboard.
> >>
> >> So, try the memtest86+ program and if it passes, then try Prime95
> >> (Windows version, if you are using Windows) and see if the computer
> >> still passes that. Changing out the memory, and trying some other sticks,
> >> is what you'd do as a potential debugging step. In some cases, the
> >> problem could be on the motherboard of the laptop, such as if the
> >> low voltage regulator powering the processor or memory is defective,
> >> and making less voltage than normal. That tends to reduce the stability
> >> of whatever it powers.
> >>
> >> Heat is always a problem with laptops, and more so when the vents get
> >> clogged.
> >>
> >> HTH,
> >> Paul
> >>
> > I downloaded and burned the version 1.7 but it could not be booted from the
> > CD at all. Please tell me which version is right for my celeron 733mhz laptop
> > and step by step burning. Thanks!
>
> A common mistake would be to burn the *file* to the disk, as a separate
> file. In other words, if you can put the CD in your CD drive right now,
> go to the file explorer and see "memtest86+-1.70.iso" file on the CD, then
> that is wrong.
>
> If done properly, the CD will show "readme.txt" and the contents of "readme.txt"
> says:
>
> "There is no visible file here.
> Memtest86+ is located on the bootsector of this CD.
> Just boot from this CD and Memtest86+ will launch."
>
> I had to test this on my other computer, because this computer doesn't have
> a burner. I used Nero Express, told it I was making a data CD, and it
> presented a file dialog. I selected the item that lists any ISO in the
> folder. It sees the memtest ISO file and loads it. Burning took about
> 2 minutes and I thought it would be faster than that.
>
> What Nero does, is transfer the *contents* of the ISO to the CD. Rather
> than transferring the downloaded *file* itself. The burning software
> that comes with Windows, would not be suitable, as far as I know. You
> need a proper burning program, that can accept ISO9660 format archives.
> The version of Nero I use, came with the burner itself, which is why
> I was able to use it. (I was careful to shop for a burner that came
> with Nero - a previous burner came with a useless package, and I didn't
> want to make that mistake again.)
>
> I would have suggested the floppy version of memtest86+, but figured
> a laptop would not have a suitable floppy for that purpose.
>
> After burning in Nero, I then rebooted to the CD and memtest86+ loaded
> very quickly and started testing the memory. So the ISO9660 image
> contained in:
>
> http://www.memtest.org/download/1.70...+-1.70.iso.zip
>
> works just fine.
>
> Paul
>

sis630/730 wrote:
> I already made it by using the function "Burn image to disc" of Nero and ran
> the test and it showed no error at all. I am still not able to run the
> Prime95 since my laptop keeps not responding. Thanks a lot, Paul!
>
> "Paul" wrote:
>
>> sis630/730 wrote:
>>> "Paul" wrote:
>>>
>>>> sis630/730 wrote:
>>>>> My laptop often stops responding and shuts down suddenly with one of the
>>>>> following error message:
>>>>> - error on blue screen telling me to either run memory check and check for
>>>>> faulty or mismatched memory (don't know how to) or try changing video
>>>>> adaptors. And the last message is "Beginning dump of physical memory.
>>>>> Physical memory dump complete"
>>>>> - color squares unrecognized-able
>>>>> - or stop at the posting screen
>>>>> I have to hold down the button to turn it off and have to wait for more than
>>>>> an hour to get it restarted and worked normally untill it stops again all of
>>>>> a sudden.
>>>>> Somebody please help me to figure out what problem my laptop has.
>>>> Go here, download the ISO version of memtest86+
>>>> ("Download - Pre-Compiled Bootable ISO (.zip)")
>>>>
>>>> http://www.memtest.org/
>>>>
>>>> Burn a CD with the ISO file, using CD burner software and a
>>>> burner. The ISO is tiny, so the burn should only take a
>>>> couple minutes to complete. The CD will be bootable.
>>>>
>>>> Install the CD and boot from the CD.
>>>>
>>>> When booted, the screen will look similar to this. 640x480 mode,
>>>> with a blue background.
>>>>
>>>> http://www.memtest.org/pics/i875-big.gif
>>>>
>>>> In this state, the test would run forever, or until you stop it.
>>>> Quitting the program will cause the computer to reboot, and you
>>>> might want to remove the CD if you don't intend to boot from the
>>>> CD at that point.
>>>>
>>>> The program has a pass counter, and a couple complete passes should be enough.
>>>> For a decent amount of memory, it could take a couple hours for the
>>>> test to run. For a laptop, you'd probably want to be plugged in while
>>>> running this. It uses a fair amount of power, so the fan will
>>>> probably be running.
>>>>
>>>> If there are any errors, they will be printed in the lower section of
>>>> the screen. You want "no errors", to consider this test to have passed.
>>>> If you have a severe error problem, the screen might even begin to
>>>> scroll, so you cannot see an image like the one shown above.
>>>>
>>>> This test is not perfect. If you pass it, it does not mean your
>>>> computer is trouble free. Memtest86+ is good at detecting "stuck"
>>>> memory bits, but perhaps a bit less good at transient problems.
>>>> But if your memory is really messed up, you'll find out pretty quick.
>>>> If there are enough errors, it could even mess up the appearance
>>>> of the screen, or memtest86+ could crash.
>>>>
>>>> A second test, is to run Prime95 from mersenne.org . That is a program
>>>> which searches for prime numbers (a math thing). But, the program has
>>>> one nice testing feature. In the menu for the program, you can find
>>>> a "Torture Test" option. The program carries out a math calculation
>>>> where the answer is known, and if the answer is wrong, the program will
>>>> stop and tell you there was an error. For a machine that is not stable,
>>>> the "Torture Test" will stop in 30 seconds or less. If the machine is
>>>> healthy, you should easily be able to run it for four hours or more.
>>>> (If offered an option, the "blended" test is good.)
>>>>
>>>> Prime95 has an option to "join" the search for prime numbers, but you
>>>> do not have to join to use the torture test option.
>>>>
>>>> Prime95 also draws a lot of power when it runs, the fan will be running
>>>> probably constantly, and the laptop will get hot. Make sure it has
>>>> adequate ventilation during the test, as it could overheat, depending
>>>> on how clean the vents on the cooling system are.
>>>>
>>>> If the video on the laptop is built-in to the chipset, the video uses
>>>> "shared memory". Thus, colored squares could be caused by the system
>>>> memory that the video is using, becoming corrupted. On the other hand,
>>>> more expensive laptops have a separate GPU and video memory chips.
>>>> That gives higher performance. If you get colored squares there,
>>>> then the separate video memory chips soldered next to the GPU could
>>>> be defective. In some cases, the separate GPU can be unplugged and
>>>> replaced, which might be cheaper than replacing the whole motherboard.
>>>> On intermediate priced laptops, there is sometimes a separate GPU, but
>>>> it is soldered right to the motherboard, in which case the colored
>>>> squares problem means a new motherboard.
>>>>
>>>> So, try the memtest86+ program and if it passes, then try Prime95
>>>> (Windows version, if you are using Windows) and see if the computer
>>>> still passes that. Changing out the memory, and trying some other sticks,
>>>> is what you'd do as a potential debugging step. In some cases, the
>>>> problem could be on the motherboard of the laptop, such as if the
>>>> low voltage regulator powering the processor or memory is defective,
>>>> and making less voltage than normal. That tends to reduce the stability
>>>> of whatever it powers.
>>>>
>>>> Heat is always a problem with laptops, and more so when the vents get
>>>> clogged.
>>>>
>>>> HTH,
>>>> Paul
>>>>
>>> I downloaded and burned the version 1.7 but it could not be booted from the
>>> CD at all. Please tell me which version is right for my celeron 733mhz laptop
>>> and step by step burning. Thanks!
>> A common mistake would be to burn the *file* to the disk, as a separate
>> file. In other words, if you can put the CD in your CD drive right now,
>> go to the file explorer and see "memtest86+-1.70.iso" file on the CD, then
>> that is wrong.
>>
>> If done properly, the CD will show "readme.txt" and the contents of "readme.txt"
>> says:
>>
>> "There is no visible file here.
>> Memtest86+ is located on the bootsector of this CD.
>> Just boot from this CD and Memtest86+ will launch."
>>
>> I had to test this on my other computer, because this computer doesn't have
>> a burner. I used Nero Express, told it I was making a data CD, and it
>> presented a file dialog. I selected the item that lists any ISO in the
>> folder. It sees the memtest ISO file and loads it. Burning took about
>> 2 minutes and I thought it would be faster than that.
>>
>> What Nero does, is transfer the *contents* of the ISO to the CD. Rather
>> than transferring the downloaded *file* itself. The burning software
>> that comes with Windows, would not be suitable, as far as I know. You
>> need a proper burning program, that can accept ISO9660 format archives.
>> The version of Nero I use, came with the burner itself, which is why
>> I was able to use it. (I was careful to shop for a burner that came
>> with Nero - a previous burner came with a useless package, and I didn't
>> want to make that mistake again.)
>>
>> I would have suggested the floppy version of memtest86+, but figured
>> a laptop would not have a suitable floppy for that purpose.
>>
>> After burning in Nero, I then rebooted to the CD and memtest86+ loaded
>> very quickly and started testing the memory. So the ISO9660 image
>> contained in:
>>
>> http://www.memtest.org/download/1.70...+-1.70.iso.zip
>>
>> works just fine.
>>
>> Paul
>>

It could be a problem with the video, or it could be an overheating
problem. Since the problem happens so soon after the machine starts,
it might not be overheating.

Now, since memtest86+ runs and doesn't detect any errors, that
still places some load on the CPU and makes it warm. So it probably
isn't a problem with the CPU. Drawing the 640x480 bitmap screen used
by memtest86+ is pretty easy on the GPU, so it won't be stressed by this
test.

Do you hear the laptop fan running at full speed, while memtest86+
is running ? Does the laptop get hot ? I'm asking these questions,
to see if you've noticed any changes in the cooling behavior
of the machine. If the fan runs a lot more than it used to,
then perhaps a vent is plugged somewhere.

Have you tried to start Windows in Safe Mode ? Maybe you could try
Safe Mode with Networking, then download Prime95 from mersenne.org
and try that.

http://www.computerhope.com/issues/chsafe.htm

The purpose of Prime95, is to test CPU and memory. If Prime95 is
passing, what it would suggest to me, is the video subsystem is
somehow at fault (since you saw colored squares).

When booted into Windows normally, and when you get the blue
screen (BSOD), did you notice the name of the driver mentioned
in the error message ? That might give a hint as to where the
error was detected. If the BSOD errors are always in the same
driver, then it could be that particular piece of hardware
which is defective.

Keep a pen and piece of paper handy, and record the numbers
of the STOP message, the driver name with the error and so on.
In this example, record the STOP line entirely, and also
record the name of the suspect driver on the next line (SPCMDCON.sys)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...ws_XP_BSOD.png
(from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BSoD )

You can look up STOP codes here, if you want to see some reasons for
a particular error.

http://aumha.org/a/stop.htm

Paul