Packerd bell laptop random lock ups

[Andyuk2007]

Hi there, I have a laptop that i'm currently trying to fix but i'm having a hard time with it, it seems that it would just randomly lock up and not do anything, it loads into windows xp fine with no issues but then after a few mins it would lock up with no warning.

I tried to do a chkdsk in dos to make sure there is nothing wrong with the file system but it even locks up on that.

the make is a packerd bell notebook Argo C2, I had read that they have been recalled for reasons unknown in the past. I can rule out a software error as the owners wiped vista off it and put xp on so if it was a software issue then vista would have been suffering the same problems.

Laptops are tricky to diagnose so i would appreciate some pointers as to what to check.

Thanks

 

[podnutz]

Sounds like an overheat problem. Try taking compressed air and blasting it into the fan vent on the bottom of the laptop and also into the heatsink which usually vents out the side. You may get a cloud of dust coming out. Just make sure no dust chunks are left in there clogging the fan.

If it is not an overheat problem, it may be a flaky hard drive. Try running a Linux live CD(I prefer KNOPPIX) or some other bootable CD tyoe thing to see if the computer runs ok without using the hard drive.

 

[Blues]

I think it sounds more like a failing drive given chkdsk locked up as well. Dust out the machine clean it out as best you can. I would find some drive diagnostic tools and try to run them see if it comes back with errors.