HP Laptop closes down when running Norton AV and windiag?

[Guest]

My HP Laptop ze4500 has recently started closing prematurely on Norton AV.
When I tried to check the RAM using the Microsoft memory diagnostic,
windiag, which I had successfully used before, I found it would run 5 or 6
tests in the first pass and then close without any error message or dump
file. On restarting, windiag would only get to the second or third test, and
after that only the first test. In other words, it would only run for
several minutes in windiag. About six months ago, when I had a serious
memory problem, I ran windiag overnight without any problem on its running.

Norton AV 2003 will run for most, but not all, of its scan, and then it
quits prematurely. Again without any error message.

I have done a system restore to correct a registry problem, and am
considering reloading XP but can't see why this would be the cause of the
problem for windiag since it is loaded at startup from a CD which should not
involve XP.

Does anyone know how I should troubleshoot this problem? I also don't see
anything obvious on Event Viewer.

Thanks,

grover

 

[JS]

Try running Memtest86+, this runs from a boot disk and should eliminate or
confirm if your ram is bad.
Let it run for as long as you can, 2,4,6,8 or more hours, if no errors by
then your ram is OK.
See: http://www.memtest.org/

JS

 

[DL]

http://www.memtest.org/
runs from a bootable floppy

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the suggestion. Looks like I need some new floppies.

grover

 

[JS]

I think they also provide an .ISO version for making a bootable CD.

JS

 

[Guest]

I will go with the .iso then. Looking forward to see what happens!

grover

 

[Guest]

I downloaded memtest86+ (iso), burned it on a CD, and ran it on my laptop.
The CD was the first boot item at startup. The pass looked normal running
through the first three or four tests, and then it quit without any warning
or error messages. Total run time about 5 mins.
I then restarted the computer, the pass ran normally through the first two
tests, and again quit without warning. Run time about 3 mins.
I tried the test again. Run time a lttle over a minute.
One more try, this time the run time was 35 seconds before quitting.
The behavior seems to be heat related, but the computer is only warm if that
is any indication. Also the behavior using windiag instead of memtest86+ was
about the same per my previous posts.
Considering that I ran windiag for several days without incident before
this problem occurred, it is most curious.
I have a performance warranty on the computer, but I am reluctant to take it
in until the problem is better identified.
Any ideas on what to do next?

grover

 

[JS]

You can try Passmark's Burn-in test software, the trial version has to be
restarted every 15 minutes, but you can test individual components of your
PC.
http://www.passmark.com/

JS