Ok, I bet this is the weirdest computer problem you've seen recently

Khavall · November 2007

Ok. So I've been having problems with my laptop for a few months now. It's never been that reliable and I've had a few scares where I think it's broken and it turns out not to be.

I think it's broken.

This spiral towards despair all started when the orange box came out. First I just couldn't play TF2, I would BSOD on it. Then it wouldn't load either HL2 episode, Ep2 BSODed, Ep1 gave me an engine error blaming the GPU driver and then quit. Then about 2 weeks later it stopped loading HL2 original, combining the engine error code and if I wasn't fast enough at ending the process, BSODing. At one point it would recognize my BF2142 disc in the drive, start the game, and then tell me I needed to insert the disc. Then BF2142 started working again.

I reseated the memory and switched the slots who knows how many times to try to fix it, I defragged and error checked the HDD, which went fine(Though on one error check I did get an undefinable error. That's right. From the error check), I have AVG always on and spybot running every week, so I know it's clean there. The computer is now 2.5 years old, and it does get used a lot and carried around everywhere, so that might be part of it. Every crash would get me a memory error, which I then checked with the windows memory checker thing and it came back clean, the dump files would tell me I had mislabled Kernels or something(once I explain my current problem you'll see why I can't get the full reports or diagnostics) and then blamed my video driver. I completely wiped the video driver from the system, reinstalled the one the system first had, then went through each video driver I could get through the history of the 200M being in existence including omega and catalyst up to and including the most recent ones, wiping the driver off the system in between each one to make sure I wasn't getting fragmented or old files or something like that.

So that's the past of the computer. Everything kept messing up, and everything kept reporting back fine and I did pretty much everything possible to fix it. Oh, also I make sure to clean it weekly, or daily on days I take it with me, and I have it elevated so the fans are clear, so I know heat isn't the problem.

Now when I try to turn it on, the power light comes on, any USB devices attached turn on, the mousepad light turns on, the fans start, the HDD starts up, and then it all cuts out randomly, save the power and the USB power, and just sits at a black screen. I've taken the disc out of the optical drive, since it boots from there first I believe, I've reseated the memory, I've disconnected all USB devices in case they were interfering, I've checked the HDD and it's all connected well and doesn't look damaged from the outside, and I cleaned it again just to be sure.

The good news is that I have everything backed up because the computer looked like it was about to break since around september. I didn't drop the computer or anything, and I only carried it from home to class to rehearsal and back home, no bumps or anything like that.

So how fucked am I?

Khavall · November 2007

So thought I'd update with some more information that scares me more than anything else. It's also what makes this so strange.

I took the HDD out, and it still didn't boot. Then I removed the expansion slots RAM, and hey it booted! Then I put the HDD back in, and it booted! Then I put the ram back in, and it booted! Then I screwed on all the covers again and it didn't boot.

Then I loosened the screw on the RAM expansion slot cover, and it worked.

So.... to recap:

Computer is completely clean in every way but it won't play certain games that it used to.
Computer won't tell me why, except that the problem is either in the HDD, the GFX card, the Memory, or the processor.
Computer then went totally brick and didn't boot up.

Now computer boots up and works fine but still doesn't play those games as long as I don't screw in the cover to the second RAM slot all the way.

What the fuck is up and did I just band-aid it?

urahonky · November 2007

I had something very similar to this a while back, and it turned out to be the case. Apparently one of the wires were grounding on the case, forcing it to shut off and act strangely. I took the motherboard and everything and slapped it into a temporary case, and it worked fine... Still using the new case today.

Khavall · November 2007

Hm. Well the only problem there is that it's a laptop.

So that's less of an option

Rohaq · November 2007

Something's grounding it, possibly the screw.

Got any non-conductive screws you can try?

Primesghost · November 2007

It actually sounds as if you might have a couple of problems. The current one sounds as though something has gotten into your notebook and is causing a short when the memory cover is closed all the way. If you're comfortable doing it (you sound fairly competent in the area of computer diagnostics) you might want to dismantle it and clean it. I know it's a frightening prospect but if you sit down and be careful to keep track of where each screw goes, it's not that difficult to take apart a laptop. Most everything inside plugs in, snaps together or screws down in some form or fashion. Get yourself a couple of cans of air duster and blow out every single part inside the thing. Take some rubbing alcohol and a clean cotton cloth and wipe down all the parts. Make sure to let it dry thoroughly before reassembling.

Another explanation could be your battery. I know it sounds retarded but when a battery goes bad it can cause all kinds of startup issues. Go ahead and pull out the battery and use it on AC power and see if it will start with the covers screwed down.

The other problems you mentioned probably aren't related to your current one (though they could be). You said you've got everything backed up, right? Go ahead and wipe the hard drive and do a clean install. That includes breaking down the partition tables and doing a full format. Install the latest drivers from the manufacturer. This is important, a lot of times with notebooks hardware is tailored for certain manufacturers, so the ATI official driver may not work right but the Dell/Compaq/HP/Etc driver will. After getting the available updates go ahead and load the games you're trying to run and see if they work now.

Khavall · November 2007

Oh danm, I didn't even think of a short. I talked to my dad about it since now I'm home on break(He's one of those people that at some point in his life has held every job ever, so has worked with electronics) and he also suggested a possible crack in something internal causing an open circuit.

I've tightened the screw back in while the computer is running, and now it works again, so there's a chance it just decided to work randomly and I may have had one of those false correlative thingamajigs, or whatever they're called.

Penny Arcade

Quick Links

Ok, I bet this is the weirdest computer problem you've seen recently

Posts