acer Extensa 5510 locking/freezing/crashing

[richydraper]

common then boys as the title says really... its got to the point wher its pretty much unuseable as in Boot>log in>open browser> load fiat forum> read one post>CRASH>hold power button till power off> turn back on> pick start normally>Boot>login>... rinse and repeat!

this is actually the longest ive had it up for about 4 days now! i thought initially it was chrome making it crash... then tested memory and it was fubar so its got 2 new sticks in it was better for about a week before it started again. rebuilt 7 on it as i thought it was OS related. i dont know anymore im now thinking it could be MB but hope its not!

is there any free hardware testing software for MBs?

 

[dombooth]

Defrag/CCleaner/ turn crap off at startup first.

Dom

 

[Eklipze3k]

Any clues in the system logs?

 

[richydraper]

Defrag/CCleaner/ turn crap off at startup first.

Dom

done done done... no different, and as mentioned a clean build of windows... tried the win8 pre release beta thing and it hung in that too with nothing installed

Any clues in the system logs?

not a bean... its BSOD'd a couple of times with a Kernal error relating to a dicky power supply... ive tried it with the battery out and just the charger in... no different... i thought the battery may be dragging the PSU down but it would seem not. due to the time stamps on the logs ive come to the conclusion that its because ive had to either pull the battery and charger out or because ive had to restart off the power button. because they are 'unexpected' power loss it throws an even in the log

 

[Didge3]

Power issues could be a fault motherboard, various power connections embedded into the board might be faulty and spikes in power usage might well be causing it to BSOD. If it's not software or memory then there isn't a huge amount else on a laptop.

 

[richydraper]

shes had a hard life... 5 years later and shes still plodding on! maybe its just time to dip my hand in my pocket and buy a new one... but id like to know this one is definately irrepairable before i go spending

 

[dombooth]

Tested the HDD?

Dom

 

[richydraper]

did a dos chkdsk came up clean

 

[dombooth]

http://www.seagate.com/support/downloads/seatools/

Test it with that mate.

Dom

 

[richydraper]

im beginning to seriously suspect my screen... This is for why!
I can leave her running all night doing anything i want but as soon as i pick her up she freezes If i reboot and have her on my lap shell freeze If i sneeze or move to get ashtray or coffee likewise If i move the lid for any reason... Then i can reboot and put her on the table... Reach for coffees, ashtrays, lean over to smack the kid lol and Its stable as a rock... Ive tried gpu 'stress testing' software but Cant find one that will run with Intel intergrated 945 chipset which is on opengl 1.1, they all test 2.0. I want to eliminate a GPU instability and confirm beyond reasonable doubt that Its the screen If it is that before dippin my hand in my pocket

 

[Eklipze3k]

I presume it's out of warranty? Whip it open and check the connection between screen and mainboard is well seated. Also clean out all the dust and fluff that's no doubt accumulated in there. Can't hurt if it's already out of warranty, certainly won't make it any worse!

 

[dombooth]

I wouldn't say screen due to those, I'd guess it would be a loose connection somewhere (or mb).

Dom

 

[Didge3]

Do you mean the screen goes black/freezes when you move/interact with it or the entire laptop does. Does the hard drive activity light (if any) continue flashing etc when it's 'frozen' ?

 

[TallTom]

If the Graphics card is having issues, normally manifests as lines on screen if connectors are bad, thats for screen to MB connections and GPU solder to MB connection.

I would double check the power out of your supply as that might be getting past its best at 5 years old, check with multimeter.

Other than that its a bit strange!

EDIT: You mention it freezes when you move the screen, I would check what is connected to that underneath the shell, might be flexing the MB or moving some wires - Power issues/Freezing? - Power issue could have FUBARED your memory as well. If it cannot sense the screen I have no idea why it would freeze, they normally just output regardless.

 

[paul8977]

If you take out the battery and run the laptop on power does it have the same issue?

Also as its 5 years old try a clean install with xp and get all the drivers etc. Windows 7 may be incompatible.

Try just one stick of Ram, try it in a different slot each time.