15" DIY Intel Laptop Crashes

[Bearcatext]

I have had this laptop for two weeks now and just recently it started to freeze and become unresponsive and crash. My first guess was that it was due to the processor overheating but after applying a thermal glue 3 different times the problem still presisted and now after loading XP I get a blue screen that unreadable and it restarts itself in any mode I try. The fan works and you can hear it spin but I feel something isn't getting its heat transfered correctly. I am using a T9500 processor the Duo 2.5 Intel. Any advice would be wonderful

[RyderOCZ]

If you have 2 ram modules in it.. remove one.. test 1 at a time to see if one of them may be defective.

[Bearcatext]

I am still getting the same response out of it, even trying the different memory in different slots and individually.

[RyderOCZ]

Does it do the same thing on battery and AC power?

What other components did you install?

[NicoOCZ]

Hi,

did you try booting of a Linux Live CD? With "any mode" I guess you also tried starting Windows in safe mode?

[Bearcatext]

Yeah regardless to if the battery is in or not and safe mode, just plain start up reseting defaults in bios and running last known good configuration, it just is stuck in that loop the moment it loads xp, flashes a blue screen and restarts itself. I dont know what could be causing it, and I am running out of ideas.

[RyderOCZ]

Ok.. how about booting off a CD like Nico said. Boot to memtest (www.memtest.org) or your XP install disk.. does it do that?

Memtest would be best.. we could see if it is the ram causing the issue.

[Bearcatext]

So burn memtest to a cd and then run it through that I would presume your saying correct?

[RyderOCZ]

Yes, or use the flash drive version and make a USB key bootable.

You just burn the ISO to a CD using the "Burn Image to Disk" option on your burning software.

[Bearcatext]

How do I go about making my flashdrive bootable to memtest? Im trying some program called HP Format Disk but I only get the options of FAT and NTFS, FAT is the only one able to be a DOS boot-up disk and NTFS just allows compression and since the usb version of memtest is pure dos is makes it an executable. So what am I doing wrong here?

[RyderOCZ]

http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=29726

Everything you need in the first post. Use the Win98 instructions.

Then you just download the exe file from the memtest site, once it boots to the C prompt, you just run the memtest exe.

[Bearcatext]

Maybe I am just being retarded right now, but when I download the Pre-Compiled USB key exe file it doesn't work or in the drive key, it says there is no Valid DOS system files? What am i doing wrong

[RyderOCZ]

Did you unzip the zip file.. then put the EXE file on the USB key?

Then boot with the USB key and type mt201 press enter. Do this at the dos prompt.

[Bearcatext]

ya i have the executable but im not able to format my flashdrive into a DOS start up disk, its looking for a folder it seems like but the usb key version doesnt give u a folder.

[RyderOCZ]

Did you do what I linked earlier first?

You need to do all that.. then move the exe file to the USB key.. then boot to it in the laptop.

[Bearcatext]

Yeah, under DriveKey there wasnt a bootfile so i created one and put in the mt201.exe inside the bootfile and im still getting the no valid DOS error

[RyderOCZ]

The boot files are included in the zip file.

You need to browse to where the zip file you downloaded is (the zip from my guide)

When you unzip it, there is a folder called bootfiles

[Bearcatext]

Ya i have my usb selected it in FAT32 with DOS start-up, then click using DOS system starting at, i got Driverkey in the C: drive since there wasnt a folder called bootfiles in the Driverkey i created it and then used the Pure DOS form of memtest and dragged the file into the bootfiles, but it still says there isnt a valid dos system it can see.

ok i got it to work, and then i just have the laptop boot to this right?

When i type in mt201 in the prompt is says bad file name

[Bearcatext]

Ok that was a spaceout on my i dropped in the .exe and its running, what am i looking for I currently have it running right now and its around 5% complete

[RyderOCZ]

It will run as long as you let it run. I would run it a minimum of 2 hours.. do you see any red?

Memtest guide is here: http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/forum/showpost.php?p=45698&postcount=6

[Bearcatext]

currently as of now no, but ill let it run most of the day doesn't do me any good not to, I'll keep you posted if I do see anything

[Bearcatext]

Ok after 2 hours I re-did it and received Test number 2 for error and from 98-107 as the error count in ascending order

[RyderOCZ]

Ok.. where did you buy your ram.. you should get it replaced.

You can also test 1 module at a time.

[Bearcatext]

It's from G Skill but its a newegg item, I would presume they would trade it in correct? Im not sure how it works considering I have no Idea where the originial packaging they came in is. Wouldn't when I took out each Ram stick individually and got the same error show that both are faulty? Or what you thinking?

[RyderOCZ]

If you get the same error with both.. then yes they are both faulty.

If you only get it with one... and with the one that runs with no errors.. the PC doesn't crash, then you have found the cause of the crash.

******* has a lifetime warranty on the ram.. go to their site or email them for an RMA. Newegg may need the packaging.

[Bearcatext]

Well the odd thing is everytime we run it, the memory acts different first time it froze at 2 mins, second time it gave all those errors and the third time its at no errors and 8% I would still assume there's problems with the ram and has to be both since neither is capable of running the system as a stand alone

[RyderOCZ]

You seem to have covered the bases, you checked the heatsink mounting, you checked the wireless card, hard drive, etc. They all seem to be mounted correctly, so we are down to a faulty component.

OCZ can test the system, but you will have to send it to us. The options here are to RMA your ram, or buy 1 stick of something to see if that solves the issue.

[Bearcatext]

Yeah I got a couple spare laptops I could try for the Memory, The cables for the wireless card are supposed to be Black and white correct, because it came unconnected and the illustartion showed the spots for the plug ins and I only have 2, I just followed the color of the arrows

[RyderOCZ]

Yep.