notebook crashes for no apparant reason. help

[Guest]

my friend's notebook keeps crashing. it happens at different times of the
day, she can be listening to music or surfing the web, even sleeping as she
leaves it on at night, and it will shut down, no warning or anything. we have
currently run all sorts of anti spyware, anti virus scanners but nothing has
come up. we have checked programs that could be affecting it and nothing is
wrong. i am currently inclined to believe that it is a hardware problem, but
this is a brand new computer as the other one she had last year had a
motherboard problem and had to be exchanged. this crashing has been going on
for about 6-7 weeks, is there anything that can be done other than change the
computer again or even get a new model (its a medion). thanks for your help!

 

[Malke]

my friend's notebook keeps crashing. it happens at different times of
the day, she can be listening to music or surfing the web, even
sleeping as she leaves it on at night, and it will shut down, no
warning or anything. we have currently run all sorts of anti spyware,
anti virus scanners but nothing has come up. we have checked programs
that could be affecting it and nothing is wrong. i am currently
inclined to believe that it is a hardware problem, but this is a brand
new computer as the other one she had last year had a motherboard
problem and had to be exchanged. this crashing has been going on for
about 6-7 weeks, is there anything that can be done other than change
the computer again or even get a new model (its a medion). thanks for
your help!

The fact that this is a brand-new computer means nothing. Since you've
determined that the machine is clean and that the crashing is random,
you are probably right that this is hardware. Since it is new, I'd take
it back immediately. Here are general hardware troubleshooting steps,
although obviously it is much harder to troubleshoot a laptop's
hardware.

1) Open the computer and run it open, cleaning out all dust bunnies and
observing all fans (overheating will cause system freezing). Obviously
you can't do this with a laptop, but you can hear if the fan is running
and feel if the laptop is getting too hot.

2) Test the RAM - I like Memtest86+ from www.memtest.org. Obviously, you
have to get the program from a working machine. You will either
download the precompiled Windows binary to make a bootable floppy or
the .iso to make a bootable cd. If you want to use the latter, you'll
need to have third-party burning software on the machine where you
download the file - XP's built-in burning capability won't do the job.
In either case, boot with the media you made. The test will run
immediately. Let the test run for an extended period of time - unless
errors are seen immediately. If you get any errors, replace the RAM.

3) Test the hard drive with a diagnostic utility from the mftr. Usually
you will download the file and make a bootable floppy with it. Boot
with the media and do a thorough test. If the drive has physical
errors, replace it.

4) The power supply may be going bad or be inadequate for the devices
you have in the system - the adequacy doesn't really apply to a laptop,
although of course the power supply can fail.

5) Test the motherboard with something like TuffTest from
www.tufftest.com. Sometimes this is useful, and sometimes it isn't.

Malke

 

[xfile]

Hi,

Assuming it is for "shut down" and not crash, it could be a set up issue but
not a problem.

Go to Control Panel, Power Options, and take a look at the settings under
Power Schemes.

(1) What is the setting for Power Schemes: In theory, it should be
"Portable/Laptop" since you're using notebook,

(2) What are settings for Settings for Portable/Laptop (this should
correspond to the one selected on (1) )power schemes? There are two
sections for this one - when using power adapter (Plugged In), and Running
on batteries. Check both to see if any of the following has been selected
and given certain time intervals: Turn off monitor, Turn off hard disks,
System Standby, and System Hibernates.

Both System Standby and System Hibernates will appear to be like a "crash"
as it will shut down the system when the given time intervals are reached.
It is designed to save power among other things.

There are some differences between the two, but this is skipped for not
within the topic and you can find out from Windows help and other sources.

In any case, go check that first. Depending on your needs, you don't have
to select any of those. For example, I unchecked all of the options under
Plugged In, when I am using Power Adapter.

One final note - some notebook vendors also provide utility software to
manage different power schemes and/or system settings so you may want to
check User's Manual as well.

Good luck.

 

[Steve N.]

my friend's notebook keeps crashing. it happens at different times of the
day, she can be listening to music or surfing the web, even sleeping as she
leaves it on at night, and it will shut down, no warning or anything. we have
currently run all sorts of anti spyware, anti virus scanners but nothing has
come up. we have checked programs that could be affecting it and nothing is
wrong. i am currently inclined to believe that it is a hardware problem, but
this is a brand new computer as the other one she had last year had a
motherboard problem and had to be exchanged. this crashing has been going on
for about 6-7 weeks, is there anything that can be done other than change the
computer again or even get a new model (its a medion). thanks for your help!

It may be overheating. Tell friend to not block the fan(s) or
ventilation areas of the laptop.

Steve