- The Wobbler
A good fall mixer for bourbon is apple cider (not juice). And don't laugh until you've tried it . . . .
Mine did the same thing right before it died a permanent death.
Pull the hard drive out and put it in a case..Get cables..Throw the computer away and get a new one.
I had the same problem.
I literally put the computer on a bag of dry ice while I transferred the info. But since it’s an internal architecture issue, you’ll never be able to really use this computer moving forward.
These laptops were infamous for the overheating issue. It got so bad that the solder that holds in the power socket inside the laptop will eventually melt and short ground to +12VDC. Not good. I had 4 of them dead in a pile.
If I remember correctly, there was a class-action lawsuit. I think the final remedy was Toshiba extended the warranty by one year. Big whoop!
My advice... get that data onto a new drive. The heat will eventually kill the drive that you are currently using.
Good luck, wish I had better news for you.
Bob,
1) Buy a Mac
2) Drink Iced Tea
Regards,
Scott
You could probably sell it to an Eskimo, or someone that works in a meat freezer, other than that, you’re probably hosed ...
Some who upgraded from XP SP2 to SP3 had glitch that caused their pc’s to keep rebooting.
http://blogs.computerworld.com/fixing_the_xp_sp3_reboot_blues
Hold down the F8 key before you see the Windows XP logo screen. It will give you a number of options, use safe mode if you can.
Will it boot up from a windows cd?
First give your computer a time to cool (about 30 minutes) before you try starting it again.
Second, when the computer starts and you see the Toshiba logo screen, prepare to start TAPPING the F8 key. When the logo is gone and before anything else shows on the screen, start taping the F8 key. DO NOT HOLD the key down, just keep tapping it until the Safe Mode selections screen is displayed.
Third, select “Disable automatic restart on system failure” option by moving the highlight down the list with the arrow keys.
Fourth, find out what the blue screen says and then get back to us.
There’s almost certainly an underlying reason it has begun overheating. The problem is that it will not be cost effective to locate the problem, let alone repair it.
As has been said, look on e-bay or have your local shop sell you a USB case for the hard drive, and get a different computer.
Even respectable laptops from a few years back are not really worth the cost of repairs, because of the pace of advances. That puppy is four years old and almost eight pounds.
Is the loading problem when Windows starts or when the laptop starts?
Blue screen would seem to indicate a software problem. It could be a corrupted file.
Can you boot in to Safe Mode?
[The more info you give, the better chance you might get a solution.]
They are so dirt cheap it doesn’t pay to fix one. Bite the bullet and get a new one. Some of the deals don’t even require a payment for a full year.
Consider going to the Dell Outlet site. You can virtually get them for free there. They are essentially brand new machines.
I read, not long ago, that when a computer the age of yours starts having problems and the replacement parts cost more than those for a newer computer think twice about going through the effort of doctoring up an only unit. I too have an old desktop and was tempted to get it “ spruced “ up but now am going to wait. In the meantime, I have a laptop which is a MAC and I love it.
If you can’t afford a MAC..search the other brands if a laptop is what you need and get the best one you can afford.
Many folks had the same problem, one solution posted on the Internet that works well is to reverse the hose on your vacuum, so it blows instead of vacuums and then blow into any vents and fan ports to blow out as much dust as possible.
Of course this wasn't supported by Dell, but it works better than anything Dell ever did or suggested under warranty or otherwise.
You said it ACTS like it’s overheating, but it may or may not be that. A bad power supply can do cause the restarts, or, as happened to me, some bad memory.
You can check the memory free, by downloading this Microsoft program: (It will help you make a bootable floppy or CD that checks memory before you start.)
http://oca.microsoft.com/en/windiag.asp
Will it boot to a OS on a CD?
There are Trojans and viruses that do exactly what you described.
Try a system restore. That might fix a corrupt system file or registry mess.
Before tossing this box try just flashing up the bios..I know Dell used to have an overheating problem because some genius sent out a new flash that upped the temp because there were complaints about fan noise...way to go, skippy.