random issue

[Guest]

on the screen before sp2 that said windows xp
professional and had the blue dots that race across the
screen,occasionally and unpredictably and not
reproducible predictably my system will hang requiring a
hard reboot and sometimes (although again not
predictably )it will require multiple hard restarts.

This will sometimes not occur for a week at a time and
sometimes occur twice in a row.

so clean boot troubleshooting is not a viable
troubleshooting format as the issue is totally random and
not reproducible .

1 what are the potential causes
2 how can this be effectively troubleshoot and fixed?

 

[Bob I]

Probably a "marginal" hardware failure issue.

 

[Malke]

Probably a "marginal" hardware failure issue.

I agree with Bob I. These symptoms are often caused by a failing power
supply. Here are general hardware troubleshooting steps. I'd start by
swapping out the psu.

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 issue doesn't really apply to a
laptop, although of course the power
supply can be faulty.

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

Testing hardware failures often involves swapping out suspected parts
with known-good parts. If you can't do the testing yourself and/or are
uncomfortable opening your computer, take the machine to a good local
computer repair shop (not a CompUSA or Best Buy type of store).

Malke