Laptop Drive Formatting

Me too ...... in fact, I have a few questions. When did this stop working and what were you doing at the time. Did it stop suddenly or was this more of a situation when one day it just wouldn't start? Did you hear any strange noises or smell anything like ozone? Are you aware of any power outages, surges or lightning strikes in the area? Is this the first time it stopped working?

Now, we could use a little more history. You've pulled the shell apart to replace a hinge. You have upgraded your memory and you pulled the hard drive. What other "surgery" have you performed on this machine. What kind of condition is the battery in? Would it run on the battery by itself (no A/C Plug) before you started experiencing the recent "stopped working" syndrome?

 

The BIOS is "flashed" into the CMOS chip which is ROM (Read Only Memory), not RAM (Random Access Memory).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BIOS

There appears to be a problem with the motherboard. I haven't heard of them being "repaired ".

If there does not appear to be anything you can do apart from replacing the motherboard, in your spare time, you may want to open it up and at least pull out and reseat any connectors you can locate. Something may been loosened during the previous repairs.

Matt

 

the laptop began working again. Just out of the blue.

It has been doing this for many months, though only one other time has it stopped detecting the RAM entirely and black screened. The laptop decided to boot up earlier today, and when I checked, it recognized all of my RAM. So then I did a fresh install of XP, and wouldn't you know it, it only picks up half of it.

Right now, a MemTest application has been running for an hour and a half, though I don't really know what to look for.

The only 'surgery', so to speak, that I have done are the following:

1) Replaced the RAM
2) Replaced the screen hinges
3) Ocassionally removed the harddrive in order to backup contents to a PC (only done this twice).

That's it.

How much does it cost to replace an entire laptop motherboard these days?

 

My Crystal Ball is temporarily out of order so please elaborate.

Also, you did not answer my questions re: the battery.

Finally, what is the make and model number of this laptop.

I ask these questions for very specific reasons and will appreciate the best information you can provide. Absent that, you an probably anticipate a few "laundry lists" of potential fixes to keep you occupied for the the time being.

And, for starters, clean your 2x256 SODIMM modules with a soft pencil eraser (wiping down, not across the contacts). Then wipe them with a Q-Tip that has been dipped in rubbing alcohol and let them dry. Now remove the 2x512, blow out the memory slots with canned air and replace the Corsair Value RAM with your original memory. Note: this isn't a final fix, its just to get you ready to find a fix.