CPU going?....

I'm trying to help a friend w/his laptop and hope you guys can help....

This is a Pentium lll 700mhz.....

Sometimes when it tries to boot, it says 550 mhz or 632 mhz or 500 mhz...

Sometimes it says 700 mhz...

I was able to get to the bios setup once, but it froze there....

If I can get it to boot, it usually stalls before detecting ide drives....

Very occasionally it'll get all the way to the windows screen and freezes....

Sometimes it won't boot at all....Just a black screen.....

I was wondering if the CPU is dying?....

Someone suggested a new battery was in order, tho I don't think that's the problem....

Please give me some advice......I could use all the help I can get.....

 

You will need to look at all the basics and the first I might try is swapping the power supply. The other basics are the RAM, graphics card and although quite unlikely the keyboard and mouse (and it will start up without those).

Try running another power supply first. If there is more than 1 stick of RAM, just run one, or if just one, see if you can borrow another to try. Try the RAM in different slots. You can disconnect all the drives and all added hardware. Pull out and reseat the graphics card.

You will need to start with the basics and see if you can get a consistent startup, then isolate the cause by adding back hardware one piece at a time.

CPU or motherboard? One will not run without the other, you cannot say if it was either. If it is traced to the CPU (motherboard) and you are going to find a replacement (PIII style probably running PC133 RAM) maybe get a combination "CPU plus motherboard" rather than trying one and finding it is the other.

If you have another CPU to test on that motherboard, do that, I have known an instance where a faulty CPU killed 3 motherboards. Use a known good CPU to test the motherboard.
Important note if you are changing the CPU, replace the thermal compound between the heatsink and CPU. Post back if you want help with that.

Matt

 

Ahh, PeteC sent me a message pointing out that it is a laptop (thanks Pete). I'll have to concentrate on the first sentence a little more in future.

See what you can extract from what I said. Basically the same, only easier to swap parts in a tower. You can check readouts in the BIOS for voltage and temperature. See if the manufacturer offers diagnostics although you will need a somewhat stable system to use these things.

Do the fans seem to be running? Could the air flow be blocked?

Power, battery or mains, one, the other or both? Does it do the same thing when using battery or mains?

There should be at least two slots for the RAM, try them both.

Make certain that any connections that you can get to are firm.

CMOS battery, even if it was flat it would start the same way each time.

Sorry about the retrack

Matt

 

Thanks Mattman.....

Quick question (sort of)....

Does the fan over the CPU run 24/7 or just when the CPU heats up?....

I've noticed a pattern when I start the laptop....

The first time I do, when it is cold, I get all the way to windows, before it freezes....

After that it hangs durning bootup.....

Then after it cools again, it'll boot to windows again.....

I haven't notice the fan running, but that may be becuase I don't keep the laptop running very long?....

Thanks, thanks, thanks!......

 

Also, have you heard of or seen a computer that changes it's mhz number on bootup?.....Curious minds want to know......

 

I'm only working on theory (I've never opened one yet )

Looks like a temperature problem. If you can't hear the fan running, run your hands around the sides to try to feel where the heated air is exhausted. There will also be air intake ports (probably directly opposite), check these are completely clear. The CPU fan should run from startup, but maybe only at low revolutions, then kick into high revs when there is more heat generated. In a previous post someone mentioned a graphics chip fan, again that may only kick in when necessary. You should be able to find some sort of air flow, even at startup, if not then that may point to the cause (see sentence 1 ).

I suggest you find the make and model and what information the manufacturer has to offer. Some even include a sevice manual, some offer a very comprehensive User Guide that may help you to open it up and do some basic checks.

Say it was a faulty fan that was the cause, you would need to consider if it was worth repairing. The fan may be a low cost part if you could repair it yourself. Do you just need the data off the HDD? You could connect the drive into a desktop and copy it over. Consider what alternatives you may have for the different senarios.

I have not seen different speeds being reported on a computer, although I have seen symtoms from the same cause that seem totally unrelated. I think the changing speed you see is a result of the "main" problem, which may seem to be overheating. Does it read 700Mhz when you get the "good" (cold) boots?

Matt