Thanks guys. Used the Microsoft test program, which I can highly recommend. No fault found with the memory sticks, so must be just too high demand on the RAM at start-up.
Have upgraded my PC memory, but never even opened the back of my laptop. I hope it is straightforward, but any tips appreciated so I don't completely b*gger it up!

Harry

Most laptops have a seperate panel that houses thr RAM so upgrading should be even easier than on a Desktop.

My Dell XPS 1330 laptop is playing up. It boots up ok then atfer using it for 10-20 minutes it does one of two things

It locks and all programs will not respond, then 5 minutes later it will switch of.

The screen goes black then lightens with lines of colour (like a defrag screen) then it goes white then nothing happens and I have to manually switch off.

I tried a reinstall of win vista plus all the dell utilities/drivers but it is still the same. It is 13 months old.

Any ideas??

Jeffie: a first guess would be overheating. Are the fan(s) running? Are they clogged up with fluff (lucky you)? Careful use of a vacuum cleaner can work wonders here.

I seem to be having problems installing SP3 for XP; downloads ok but then I get a message saying that the installation has failed and XP is restored to its original state - anyone else having this problem?

This article by Microsoft may help you.

Should the fan be very audible? I cant hear anything that sounds like a fan running.

Is it easy to replace a fan on a laptop?


jeffmack 02 Jan 2009 15:06 - 7598 of 7601
My Dell XPS 1330 laptop is playing up. It boots up ok then atfer using it for 10-20 minutes it does one of two things

It locks and all programs will not respond, then 5 minutes later it will switch of.

The screen goes black then lightens with lines of colour (like a defrag screen) then it goes white then nothing happens and I have to manually switch off.

I tried a reinstall of win vista plus all the dell utilities/drivers but it is still the same. It is 13 months old.

Any ideas??


MightyMicro 02 Jan 2009 15:10 - 7599 of 7601
Jeffie: a first guess would be overheating. Are the fan(s) running? Are they clogged up with fluff (lucky you)? Careful use of a vacuum cleaner can work wonders here.

jeffmack

You should be able to detect whether the fan is running. Try holding a feather in front of the vents.

The other thing that you should be able to do is check the temperature of the CPU and motherboard. Possibly you can do this in the BIOS settings but you would do better to check the dell site for a monitoring utility.

A few weeks ago, I had reported seeing fake Google search results on my pc. Mananged to resolve the problem. Turns out it was a malware infection. Be careful as this infection results in attempts to access to a malicious site at 78.110.172.21. If you have any of these symptoms (fake Google search results and/or attempted access to illegal sites), then look for "wdmaud.sys" in C:\Windows\System32" The solution for me was to move the file to a quarantine area (I use Avast). If the file pops up again, rename it and shred it to hell.

Are you sure about that?

http://www.softwaretipsandtricks.com/sys/1497-Wdmaudsys.html
shows it as a Microsoft file wave/midi mapper file.

There is also reference, dated 17/01/2005 to it at:
http://forum.soft32.com/windows/BSOD-help-wdmaud-sys-ftopict315350.html

ChuffChuffChaser, there is a legitimate file in the Drivers directory. The one I mention parks itself in the System32 directory.

Look here for a description and discussion:
Fake Google Search Results

Vista Home basic - Does anyone know how to run CHKDSK please, as I have tried the XP way of doing it by typing in to the 'run' command box, but nothing happens?
Does Vista even recognise the basic DOS commands?

Harry

You need to open a command prompt window and run chkdsk from there.

Type cmd in the run box.

Thanks. All sorted now.
It's not my laptop, but a friend has asked me to look at it as it is running very slowly. Dell Easynote with 446 mb RAM. Looks like he has got every program to run automatically (updates, defrag, anti-virus sweep etc) so when they all kick in the whole thing grinds to a very slow pace. Plus he has Norton which has now expired for the free updates, so might persuade him to take that off & put on a better A/V.
446 RAM is pretty low also??? Probably needs to double that?

I found out via the web that there are a couple of problems both connected to Nvidia. I updated the Nvidia driver and that cured my original problem with the screen and the shutting down. Now I have the second problem where the fan now runs continuously, so I need to find a solution to that.
---------------------------------------------------------------

Should the fan be very audible? I cant hear anything that sounds like a fan running.

Is it easy to replace a fan on a laptop?


jeffmack 02 Jan 2009 15:06 - 7598 of 7601
My Dell XPS 1330 laptop is playing up. It boots up ok then atfer using it for 10-20 minutes it does one of two things

It locks and all programs will not respond, then 5 minutes later it will switch of.

The screen goes black then lightens with lines of colour (like a defrag screen) then it goes white then nothing happens and I have to manually switch off.

I tried a reinstall of win vista plus all the dell utilities/drivers but it is still the same. It is 13 months old.

Any ideas??


MightyMicro 02 Jan 2009 15:10 - 7599 of 7601
Jeffie: a first guess would be overheating. Are the fan(s) running? Are they clogged up with fluff (lucky you)? Careful use of a vacuum cleaner can work wonders here.

Seems like its a problem with the chipset over heating so Dell have fixed it so that the fan runs continuously. Seems to be a big problem but not officially recognised by Dell. Some have had the motherboard replaced, in some cases to the same model, to prolong the life of the laptop.

jeffie: I was about to respond saying that these fans are temperature-controlled so if it's running at an audibly high speed continuously, that would suggest that the computer is running hot. Sadly, I didn't respond before Dell so I can't claim a prize!

jeffmack
Some time ago,if you can find it on this thread,
there was a discussion on laptops overheating.
They came up with a range of mounts? which
supply extra cooling via an USB port.
mac

mac: I use one of those myself, as do a couple of my colleagues. It's made by Belkin, cost is under 20.

i use one too the akasa,here is some from amazon,they have reviews by the users too,well worth the read,
laptop coolers

.
this is the one i use,but the one for a 17" laptop,most fit 15" and below,if you want a 17" they are a bit harder to find,
AKASA cooler

some from
dabs

read the reviews,well worth getting one,my laptop gets used every day for 10 hrs,sometimes its left on overnight downloading,i have never had a problem with temp on my Dell,if iam not using it,my kids are and the mrs,

afew more HERE