laptop issues

[jamez2]

right was having problems with my laptop turning itself off sorted that but now it doesnt want to boot with the ram chip installed boots without
it sort of crashes at the first microsoft screen

[Drift]

Best give the guys details of the operating system and laptop specifications

[ddavidson]

If it's starting, getting to this screen, crashing and going through the cycle again, chances are good it's a registry error. First try booting in safe mode when starting up, if it does the same, throw your O/S disc in and select boot from disc. This should then allow you to repair the current installation, though you may lose a bit of data in the sector that's gone faulty.

[jamez2]

its a advent t2370

its gets to the screen that says launch start up repair
start windows normally

with ram installed it wont start on either

it gets stuck as this image is fading onto the screen

[BoxCleva]

I'm assuming the ram you mention is an upgrade ? Have you checked compatibility of the RAM ? Is it recognised in the BIOS ? Are you exceeding the max amount of ram you can fit in that machine ?

Assuming all of the above is OK , download memtest , put it on a bootable CD/DVD and check for errors.

[jamez2]

nope its the standard ram chiphow do i chekck bios?

[BoxCleva]

nope its the standard ram chiphow do i chekck bios?

When the laptop boots up you will see some text , usually at the bottom of the screen, that will say something like 'Press F2 to enter setup'. I would not recommend changing anything in here when you do get in , but just look and see how much RAM is listed. So if you have two 512Mb sticks of RAM totally 1024Mb and the total amount listed is only 512Mb, then it's fair to say that one of the sticks is foobarred.

[jamez2]

yeah its says 1 gb but i can only see 1 place to put a ram chip anyway

Also it keeps turning itself off when i have the battery connected

[BoxCleva]

The RAM chip you are removing is it a 1GB chip or a 512MB ? It is pretty common for one of the RAM sticks to be hidden away with a more obvious 'upgrade' slot.

Easy way to check is to remove the stick of ram you can access then go back into the BIOS and see what is listed under RAM now.

I would download and run memtest as per my previous post.

[jamez2]

its a 1gb chip i believe
1gb 2Rx16 PC2

[BoxCleva]

I would download and run memtest as per my previous post.

[furball]

I don't think it's going to be the RAM chips. They tend to be all or nothing - the laptop won't start up at all if it's faulty.

Have you tried starting it in safe mode? Generally if you can get it to start in safe mode you can fix it, although I have only ever known the repair option that comes up when you boot from a windows disc to work once. You might end up having to start from scratch with a format/reinstall.

[BoxCleva]

I don't think it's going to be the RAM chips. They tend to be all or nothing - the laptop won't start up at all if it's faulty.

I couldn't disagree more with that, sorry.

Have you tried starting it in safe mode?

That was mentioned in a previous, perhaps Jamez could confirm this.


I strongly suspect there is more too this. The fact it won't run properly with the battery installed is a concern, the fact it's an Advent is even more concerning

[jamez2]

it will work. its what im using now just not with that ram chip installed

i probly mucked it up messing around with it

[BoxCleva]

it will work. its what im using now just not with that ram chip installed

i probly mucked it up messing around with it

A laptop has to have RAM to run, so either there is another stick of RAM in the laptop or you are putting a different stick in ?

[jamez2]

could have one on the other side of the motherboard

[furball]

I don't think it's going to be the RAM chips. They tend to be all or nothing - the laptop won't start up at all if it's faulty.

I couldn't disagree more with that, sorry.

A laptop has to have RAM to run, so either there is another stick of RAM in the laptop or you are putting a different stick in ?

[BoxCleva]

could have one on the other side of the motherboard

Well as per my original reply buddy, if it won't boot with that stick of RAM in it then it is either:

Not compatible
Faulty
You have exceeded the Mobo's max ram limit
Faulty mobo

[furball]

Having trouble finding a spec sheet for the 'advent t2370'. It looks like the t2370 bit refers to the CPU (Intel Dual Core t2370). There are several models that use that particular CPU, all of which look like they have 2GB of on-board RAM.

I'm assuming that when you checked how much RAM is showing in the BIOS you had the suspect chip installed? If this is the case then your laptop isn't seeing it at all, which unfortunately doesn't help narrow it down. You really need to try it with a known good working chip installed in order to tell if it's the chip or the motherboard.

The battery issue could be related (if it's a motherboard fault), or it could just be a knackered battery. Again, you would need a known good working battery in order to check.

You might have to resort to taking it to PCWorld to get them to check as they sell Advent stuff and should hopefully have the spares available to do the necessary tests, but it's a bit of a lottery whether you get a 'Tech Guy' who knows what they're doing or one who's a complete idiot (I've met several of both in my dealings with DSG).