My dog knocked my laptop off the table when it was on now the laptop starts but no image appears on the screen. The light comes on when I press on the power button and the fan starts working, but the screen remains dark. I tested laptop with an external monitor and couldn’t get it to work. The external monitor worked before just fine.

Take a look in the memory compartment. It’s likely that one or both memory modules got dislocated from their slots.
Try reconnecting memory modules. Simply remove modules from their slots and install back. Power up the laptop and see if it fixed the problem.

My laptop will not boot normally. Comes on for a few seconds showing the Windows XP screen then freezes. It will boot in safe mode (most of the time).

I ran virus scans, no problems there. I tried restoring to a time before the problem (which did not help). I did get a “conflict error” once before it froze up, but no error code. It did boot normally for a while after problem first occurred.

Any ideas?

It’s hard to tell if your problem is software or hardware related without running some diagnostic tests.

In many cases Windows freezes like that because of memory failure. You can download Memtest86+ and run it on your laptop. If memory fails test, replace it with a new module. If memory passes test, move to the next step.

You said the system restore didn’t fix the problem, so you’ll have to try reinstalling Windows from scratch. Back up all personal files and run system recovery disc. This will erase the hard drive and reimage it back to factory defaults. There is a good chance that reimaging the hard drive will fix your problem.

My laptop will not start up completely. I can push the power on button, and right before the logo is supposed to appear it will restart itself, and will continue on this loop. I have held down the power button in the middle to shut it off completely and let it sit for awhile and tried again, with the same results. I have also left the computer run this loop all night with no success. I have noticed the fan will come on really high at the start of the process and then slow down before it restarts itself. The fan is working and the computer is not hot. The computer is always hooked up to the A/C adapter and very rarely do i rely on the battery. any suggestions?

This problem could be related to the memory. It’s possible that one of the memory modules is bad.

If you have two memory modules installed in your laptop, remove them one by one and test the laptop with each module separately. It should start properly when the bad module is removed. If the laptop still restart itself with each module installed separately, most likely this is not memory related problem. It’s very unlikely that both memory modules failed at the same time.

Try starting the laptop without the hard drive. A failed hard drive also can cause this failure. Can you boot to the logo screen when the hard drive is removed? If not, most likely the problem is not related to the hard drive.

If nothing helps, most likely there is a problem with the motherboard and it has to be replaced.

My Dell Inspiron 6400 laptop will not start for few days and then after few days later when I tried give another shot to restart. It does boot up then after few click it freezes and can turn off and boot up again.

So far I managed to boot up but in middle of boot up it freezes.

However, when I try to turn it back on, nothing happens. The screen doesn’t turn on, the fan doesn’t turn on. The only thing that happens is the LED lights turn on briefly.
I tried turning it on with and with out the battery and I get the same result.

This sounds like a possible problem with the laptop memory. It’s likely that one of the memory modules is not making good connection with the motherboard or failing. Try reconnecting both memory modules. Try removing memory modules one by one and test the laptop with each one separately. If you have only one module installed, try replacing it with a know good memory.

I am trying to upgrade the memory to 2GB. The computer will not boot with both new modules inserted (2 Crucial 1GB modules PC2-4200). It will boot with 1GB installed in either slot as long as the original 256MB module is inserted in the opposite slot, but will not work when both 1GB modules are inserted. There are 2 slots and the maximum is 2GB for this computer. I was told to update the BIOS which did not work. I am currently using 1 of the 1GB modules and the 256MB module that came with the computer.
I have a Toshiba Satellite A105.

Apparently there is some kind of conflict between your Crucial memory modules and chipset on the motherboard. I guess you’ll have to use different memory brand, try Kingston instead.
I just checked witch 1GB memory modules Toshiba lists for Satellite A105 laptops. The mention the following brands: Samsung, Hynix, Elpida.

I have the following symptoms with my laptop. When I press the power button it lights up and I hear the fan and a single click sound, but nothing appears on the screen and it does nothing else. To power it off, I have to hold down the power button for about 10 seconds. Things I’ve tried so far: Removed & replaced existing battery; removed & replaced existing hard drive… still nothing. Please help!

That could be memory failure. Try reconnecting the memory module, moving it into the empty slot. If both memory slots are occupied, remove modules one by one and test the laptop with each one separately.
Let’s say your laptop starts fine with the module 1 but will not start when the module 2 is installed. If that’s the case, the memory module 2 is bad and has to be replaced.

I have a HP pavilion ze4900 & it has broke again (and I think it’s my ram).

This has happened to me before, where I would just have my computer on & running with programs and a blue screen with white text appears.

and it looks like:

http://www.nilpo.com/pub/images/Windows_XP_BSOD.png

Last time, someone repaired my computer by replacing a ram stick (256mb)

Right now i have 2 (256mb); one that was replaced & one that came with the computer

- the blue screen of death has come back again. At this point, what should I do?

- if i were to replace the ram, would you recommend upgrading up to a 512mb? (for one slot)

First of all, you have to find out what is causing this blue screen. It’s possible that the memory module is bad again or you might have a faulty memory slot on the motherboard.
According to Crucial.com your laptop has two memory slots and this will help you to narrow down the problem. You’ll have to test both memory modules installing them one by one into each memory slot. You can test memory with Memtest 86+, make sure to test each module 3-4 times, so it fails or passes a few times in a row.
Install module 1 into slot 1 and run the test, then install the same module into the slot 2 and run test again. Repeat the same with the second memory module. If both memory modules pass the test in the slot 1 but fail in the slot 2, you have a problem with the slot 2. If module 1 passes the test in both slots, but module 2 fails in both slots, the second module is bad. You got the idea, right?
If you have bad memory, replace the module. You can buy a bigger one. It looks like each slot will take up to 1GB DDR PC2700 module.
If you have bad memory slot, you have two options. First, replace the motherboard. Second, use the same motherboard with only one memory slot occupied. I would go with the second option.

I have a problem with my Laptop. I have got a Compaq Evo N1020v and recently bought a new PC2100 512MB Memory Module. I replaced my current 256MB one with the new one and it works perfectly. When I insert the 256MB in the second slot the memory increases to 768MB but while working after about 30 minutes the computer freezes, the mouse pointer even freezes and Ctrl + Alt + Del, does not do anything, it stays frozen. I thought that it might be that the memory is not compatible with each other so ordered another 512MB from MemoryX. After inserting the new one, the computer works for about 30 minutes then freezes. After changing BIOS Settings nothing helps. What I have noticed is after the first time I restart after it has frozen, the computer already freezes at the login and does not get further, after another restart the computer freezes before even getting to the login. After taking out the one 512MB the Laptop works perfectly again. Could you please help me as I don’t know what is wrong.

I think there is a problem with the memory slot on the motherboard. Here’s what you can try to narrow down the problem. Run the laptop with each memory module in each memory slot. If the laptop works fine with both memory modules installed into the slot A but freezes with both memory modules installed into the slot B, most likely the slot B is bad. Also, you can narrow down the problem by running memory test utility, I usually use Memtest86+. I linked to this utility in Useful Links.
If both memory modules passes test in the slot A but fail in the slot B, the slot B is defective.
Unfortunately, in this case you’ll have to replace the motherboard or use it only with one memory slot occupied.

I have a toshiba m35-s456 which i bought 9/04. Was working fine till one day “windows cannot start because file missing or corrupt.” figured hard drive failing, took it out, set it up as usb drive to transfer what data i could before it died (which is readable but slowly)… bought replacement hard drive and installed it, restoring with the original toshiba dvd. This is xp (not yet sp2, would have to get that after restore to bring it back up to speed.) seemed okay for just a few minutes and then began frequent shutdowns with blue screen of death… i assume it’s motherboard issue as this is now with new hard drive, which says it doesn’t need a separate driver itself. Am I way out of this extended warranty by now? Help. Thanks

You can get this error message because of faulty memory module. Test memory with Memtest86+. If you have two memory modules installed, remove them one by one and test the laptop with only one module in place. Try different memory configurations, for example, module 1 in slot A, module 1 in slot B, module 2 in slot A and module 2 in slot B. Find out which memory module or memory slot is causing the problem. Replace the module if needed.
If you have only one memory module, try moving it into a different slot, just in case if you have a faulty memory slot on the motherboard.
Anyways, I think it might be just a faulty memory module.

I have a Sony PCG-FX101 Laptop – standard memory was 64mb. I upgraded this sometime back by installing an additional 256mb module. This worked fine for a long time, but recently combined with some OS issues on my laptop, only the 64mb module is recognized.
I have swapped the modules around and both work in the same slot fine – I therefore suspect that 1 slot on the board is faulty / disabled.
Is it possible for 1 slot to become disabled? If it is faulty, I’m assuming there is little that can be done?

You cannot disable/enable the memory slot, at least I’ve never seen a laptop with such “feature”. Try cleaning the faulty memory slot with an alcohol wipe, maybe the contacts inside got dirty or oxidized. A while ago I got an email from a guy with exactly the same problem, one of his memory sticks disappeared. He cleaned up the memory slot and the problem was fixed. If cleaning the memory slot will not help, probably it’s bad and you are right, there is not much that you can do. The motherboard has to be replaced.