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BSOD Harware - How to isolate issue between Hard Disk, CPU or Motherboard?
Sadly, my battle-hardened 5-yr old Inspiron 8200 (1.7GHz, 384 MB RAM, 30GB) Win XP Home is showing signs of HW issues (I think).
- Started with random BSOD Stop errors while surfing (wireless - external USB) which gradually increased in frequency even after uninstalling/updating USB wireless adaptor and driver.
- I eventually backed up all mydata (with some struggle between BSODs) and then clean formatted (NTFS) and re-installed XP Home from the System CD but the problem reappeared even without any other software or hardware attached.
- Even Boot from XP CD started giving STOP 7F(D,0,0,0) errors if 'R' for repair is chosen or STOP 24(x,x,x,x) "ntfs.sys" if new installation is chosen.
- Also sometimes encountered "setupdd.sys could not be loaded. Error Code is 4" during Fresh Installation as well as 'Windows could not start because ..\SYSTEM is corrupted or missing errors'. Needless to say Safe Mode etc etc all fail for these reasons.
- Have now formatted twice with clean new installations and same issues. Can't go anywhere or do anything with the Blue Screens.
1- I can boot up from Dell Diagnostics CD and have ran Full/Extended tests on ALL devices. Once had an error with DIMM-B slot but two more subsequent tests passed.
2- I have taken either of two RAMs out, swapped them and also used RAM from another working laptop but same issues. Either Windows get corrupted or Blue screen during installation.
3- Besides Dell Diagostics, Chkdsk from command prompt also shows no issues with the Hard Disk.
So I really want to isolate the issue between the Hard Disk or Motherboard/CPU or any other issue to assess if laptop is salvageable. Unless I am on the wrong track, would appreciate any sure shot or accurate tests/softwares (bootable) for Hard Disk, CPU etc. (keep in mind that Dell Diagnostics doesn't find anything).
Thx!
Red Dragon
221 Posts
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November 26th, 2007 16:00
jcn77056
667 Posts
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November 26th, 2007 19:00
Axim_X51v
26 Posts
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November 26th, 2007 19:00
So, if your laptop passes memtest86 and you have problems while running Linux, then either your MB, CPU or one of the many integrated components is failing. This is not repairable. It would cost more than a new laptop to have the MB replaced if the parts were available. The only chance would be to find a used one on Ebay.
drumstreak
7 Posts
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February 3rd, 2008 21:00
Sorry, didn't update sooner. Red Dragon's recommendation was spot on. Turned out to be RAM in DIMM B after all. Couldn't really boot up with a memtest CD in a couple of tries but an OS re-install with RAM in DIMM A alone removed the errors and its been working fine ever since (a few months) although a bit slow.
Thanks to all who replied ... RAM diagnostic was the correct one.