Tech question

[Sir Exxon]

@Andrewas: I checked the box, then unchecked it, but nothing happened. What is this BSOD, anyway?

@Faceman: Where can I get a CPUidle, or familiar programs? My local PC-shop?

@Bung: I found something called eventlog.dll, but when I tried opening it in Notepad, I only got gibberish.

My problem still stands, but I appreciate the replies. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Sir Exxon]

Bumping to the top... Somehow, it stayed at the bottom even though I replied.

[andrewas]

Originally posted by Sir Exxon: [QB] @Andrewas: I checked the box, then unchecked it, but nothing happened. What is this BSOD, anyway?

BSOD = Blue Screen of Death. With that box checked, the computer will restart and you dont get the chance to see the errors. Ideal for a server that has to be up as much as possible, not so good for the machine your trying to diagnose. Leave the box unchecked, and when it crashes you should get the blue screen - copy down the error messages given.

@Faceman: Where can I get a CPUidle, or familiar programs? My local PC-shop?

Google. Wonderful invention. More specificaly:
http://www.cpuidle.de/

@Bung: I found something called eventlog.dll, but when I tried opening it in Notepad, I only got gibberish.

Control panel, administration tools, event viewer. Look for events in the system log at about the time of the crashes.

[slicer15]

I can't offer any help, but my advice is to go with windows XP pro...never had any problems with that, and it is a newer version. However, my friend had XP Hme running on his PC and it ran perfectly, so I would guess it is indeed a hardware issue.

[Bungleau]

Not eventlog.dll, although they're probably related: The Event Log.

Somewhere, Windows has a critter called the Event Log or Event Viewer. It exists in NT, IIRC, and 2000, and I believe in XP. Look around in Control Panel or Accessories for it. It shows what happens internally when the system boots and often when it crashes, so you get a better chance to see what blew up.

On Monday I'll be back on a Win2k machine and can give you more thoughts, if needed. I'm too lazy to boot it tonight...

*edit* Sarcasm smiley, where's the 1#$!#$ sarcasm smiley when you need it? */edit*

[ 10-04-2003, 10:33 PM: Message edited by: Bungleau ]

[Sir Exxon]

[sarcasm] My system freezes all the time, therefore I have to get a program which cools it. [/sarcasm]

So anyway, thanks for the link, Andrewas. I'll download it ASAP. [img]smile.gif[/img] I'll also check the Event Log, just to see if I can understand anything of what's going on. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[skywalker]

Type msconfig at the run command and disable the startup group. See if that helps.

Mark

[Sir Exxon]

Updating...
CpuIdle seems to have done it. Hasn't frozen once since I started using it. [img]smile.gif[/img]
Thanks for all the help guys. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[andrewas]

Originally posted by Sir Exxon: Updating... CpuIdle seems to have done it. Hasn't frozen once since I started using it. [img]smile.gif[/img] Thanks for all the help guys. [img]smile.gif[/img]

Right, now we know its a cooling problem.

The thing is, CPUidle works by turning off the processor while its not in use, thus generating less heat. Problem - if you start a program that uses the processor a lot, CPUidle has no idle cycles to work with and you get the crashes again.

I would return the laptop. If you really want to, crack it open and reseat the heatsink(s) using a proper thermal compound (this voids your warranty). Maybe lap the heatsinks as well. But theres not a whole lot you can do to cool a laptop, they have virtualy no space to work with.

It might also be beneficial to underclock it in BIOS - try to turn down the FSB. The laptop will be slower, but cooler. But returning the laptop for one that runs stably in its default configuration would be the best thing.