Computer screens blanks out and freezes

[BobV]

I'm not sure this is the correct newsgroup, but hopefully someone can offer
some help. I've been trying to help my sister out and can't seem to figure
this out. She recently purchased a new laptop from Dell (Inspiron 1501, AMD
Athlon 64 X2 with 1gb ram) with Vista on it. Among other problems she's had
was this problem of the machine randomly just going blank and freezing up in
the middle of doing something, or even if it's just sitting there not doing
anything. I suggested that we install XP on it since I think it's a better
OS without some of the issues Vista has right now. Ok, so I just got
finished installing it for her (well, earlier today), as well as the XP
drivers for her hardware that I downloaded from Dell's website for her
system. I turned her loose on it, and before long she was experiencing the
same problem. Now, there's not a whole lot on the machine right now--just
the basic OS + SP2 and all the updates from Windows Update; the video,
audio, and network card drivers (both wireless and 10/100 integrated NIC);
Norton 360; and the Roxio Creator and MyDVD 9.0 software for the DVD writer.
In view of this, what could possibly be causing this machine to frequently
and randomly just blacking out and freezing up. Any advice would most
certainly be appreciated.

Thanks,
Bob

 

[Robert]

I'm not sure this is the correct newsgroup, but hopefully someone can offer
some help.  I've been trying to help my sister out and can't seem to figure
this out.  She recently purchased a new laptop from Dell (Inspiron 1501,AMD
Athlon 64 X2 with 1gb ram) with Vista on it.  Among other problems she'shad
was this problem of the machine randomly just going blank and freezing up in
the middle of doing something, or even if it's just sitting there not doing
anything.  I suggested that we install XP on it since I think it's a better
OS without some of the issues Vista has right now.  Ok, so I just got
finished installing it for her (well, earlier today), as well as the XP
drivers for her hardware that I downloaded from Dell's website for her
system.  I turned her loose on it, and before long she was experiencing the
same problem.  Now, there's not a whole lot on the machine right now--just
the basic OS + SP2 and all the updates from Windows Update; the video,
audio, and network card drivers (both wireless and 10/100 integrated NIC);
Norton 360; and the Roxio Creator and MyDVD 9.0 software for the DVD writer.
In view of this, what could possibly be causing this machine to frequently
and randomly just blacking out and freezing up.  Any advice would most
certainly be appreciated.

Thanks,
Bob

I don't pretend to be a computer expert by any means and perhaps
others more knowledgable can give you a better answer but it sounds
like she has a virus. The mere mention of Norton raises a question
mark in my mind as its a resource hog and causes nothing but problems.
I use to have it and it would not let me do a system restore. Since
removing it from my computer its been fine.

Instead I would suggest the following;

AVG for her anti-virus:
http://free.grisoft.com/doc/1

Comodo for her firewall:
http://www.personalfirewall.comodo.com/

Spybot for malware removal:
http://www.safer-networking.org/en/download/index.html

and A-squared for malware removal:
http://www.emsisoft.com/en/software/free/

These are all free, and once installed run each to see if they find
anything. It certainly can't hurt and her system will be well
protected.


Robert

 

[Malke]

I'm not sure this is the correct newsgroup, but hopefully someone can offer
some help. I've been trying to help my sister out and can't seem to figure
this out. She recently purchased a new laptop from Dell (Inspiron 1501, AMD
Athlon 64 X2 with 1gb ram) with Vista on it. Among other problems she's had
was this problem of the machine randomly just going blank and freezing up in
the middle of doing something, or even if it's just sitting there not doing
anything. I suggested that we install XP on it since I think it's a better
OS without some of the issues Vista has right now. Ok, so I just got
finished installing it for her (well, earlier today), as well as the XP
drivers for her hardware that I downloaded from Dell's website for her
system. I turned her loose on it, and before long she was experiencing the
same problem. Now, there's not a whole lot on the machine right now--just
the basic OS + SP2 and all the updates from Windows Update; the video,
audio, and network card drivers (both wireless and 10/100 integrated NIC);
Norton 360; and the Roxio Creator and MyDVD 9.0 software for the DVD writer.
In view of this, what could possibly be causing this machine to frequently
and randomly just blacking out and freezing up. Any advice would most
certainly be appreciated.

This certainly does not sound like a virus and you've proved that it is
not software-related by installing a different operating system. This
sounds like a hardware fault. Restore the computer to factory condition
and return it to Dell for replacement.


Malke

 

[windmap]

Contact dell technical support.I think there is something with the hardware.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

I'm not sure this is the correct newsgroup, but hopefully someone can offer
some help. I've been trying to help my sister out and can't seem to figure
this out. She recently purchased a new laptop from Dell (Inspiron 1501, AMD
Athlon 64 X2 with 1gb ram) with Vista on it. Among other problems she's had
was this problem of the machine randomly just going blank and freezing up in
the middle of doing something, or even if it's just sitting there not doing
anything. I suggested that we install XP on it since I think it's a better
OS without some of the issues Vista has right now.

I don't agree at all, but your choice, of course.

Ok, so I just got
finished installing it for her (well, earlier today), as well as the XP
drivers for her hardware that I downloaded from Dell's website for her
system. I turned her loose on it, and before long she was experiencing the
same problem.

Random freezes such as you describe are almost always a hardware
problem, not a software one. I would have suggested that it was
hardware even if you hadn't tried a different operating system, but
the continuing problem after the change of operating system virtually
confirms it.

The most likely culprits are bad RAM, flaky power, and overheating,
but since the computer is new and presumably still under warranty, you
shouldn't have to worry about what's wrong. You should contact Dell
and have them repair or replace it. You'll need to reinstall Vista
(returning it to factory condition) before contacting Dell.