When the hotter weather came, my computer began to experience sudden restarts. The kind of restarts that are instant, and leave no errors. I use this laptop for gaming but also web browsing. The only times it has crashed was using firefox with lots of tabs open or watching online movies. I cant recall if it ever restarted while gaming, but i dont think so. I figured it was the heat, but didnt install any monitoring programs until the most recent catastrophic crash. This time, the crash happened after using a heavy load program and then unplugging it and using the battery. Apparently the battery didnt power the fans in time and the unit seems to have suffered some kind of damage. It shut down completely and would not even boot (or power the screen), until the following morning. Heres the issue (sorry for the prologue): On fresh cold start-ups, the computer runs normally, i cant tell its been damaged. If I use the computer for a while and put it in standby, the screen will not turn on at all. I tested this after monitoring the gpu temp, which was at 48C, which does not indicate overheating to me. So thats pretty puzzling...CPU temp was also normal. Now, if I shut the machine down and try to restart, it boots to a white screen with vertical lines, but the background activity is normal. Windows boots, but the display is not functional. Only two ways to fix this. One is to power off and let the computer cool completely, and usually it will be cool enough to start normally after a few hours. The other way is strange and im not sure why it works. I start the machine with the garbled display, let windows load, and shut down the computer with the power button. I immediately restart the machine, and it boots normally. I cant explain why this works but it does. This indicates to me its not merely a heat issue, but i could be wrong. I just want some input as to whether its a failing gpu or something. Also, is this likely to get worse? I have already lost another laptop in the same room (harddrive failure), and perhaps this could be damage due to electricity, but i have no idea. I dont know how to open the case to look for dust. I have unscrewed everything, but it doesnt budge. Any clues or input is appreciated.

"...my computer began to experience sudden restarts." Win XP is set by default to automatically reboot when it encounters an unrecoverable error. To have XP possibly display an error message you can investigate instead of the computer rebooting: 1. Click Start, and then right-click My Computer. 2. Click Properties. 3. Click the Advanced tab, and then click Settings under Startup and Recovery. 4. Under System failure, click on the small box beside Automatically restart to remove the checkmark. 5. Click OK, and then click OK. If you then get an error message, look at all of it's details. Tell us what it says. ...... Laptops either have the display adapter built into the mboard, or higher end models may have an internal card that plugs into the mboard. If you didn't pay a lot more than about $1000 for the laptop, it probably does not have the latter. If you did pay a lot, it's possible it has a card and the display adapter card needs to be re-seated, especially if it's possible the laptop has been dropped. You can find out whether it has an internal video card or not by looking up the parts for your exact model here: http://partsurfer.hp.com/cgi-bin/sp... You may need to use the specific model number, or the system part number, found on a label on the outside of the case. The cpu temperature should be checked once the laptop has fully warmed up, or preferably, when you first start to get symptoms. A 48 C cpu temp is not too hot, but it may get a lot hotter once the computer has fully warmed up, and/or when you are using something that puts more load on your system. If your cpu is getting too hot, it could be the cpu fan or whatever fan it has is no longer spinning, or it is spinning too slowly, because it's bearings have worn to the point they produce too much friction. Apparently, most laptops do not operate the fan much of the time until a certain temp inside it's case has been reached. If the fan isn't working properly that can certainly cause the cpu and/or the built in video or video chipset to overheat and cause your symptoms. Even if your cpu is not getting too hot, your built in video or video chipset may be, especially if there is accumlated mung (dust, lint, etc.) inside the the laptop case. You can download a Service and Maintenance manual for most HP and Compaq models - that will tell you how to properly disassemble it so that you can check out it's insides. ..... If your main battery is more than about two years old it should probably be replaced. I know two people who have laptops slightly older than yours - one a Compaq, he uses it as his main and only computer every day for many hours, the other an HP - it's her secondary computer but she uses hers frequently, for long periods of time, and their original battery (4300ma) was very poor by the time two years had elapsed, and both have since been replaced . They tend to lose capacity rapidly after the first year or so, and can even develop internal shorts which can cause all sorts of problems. Unfortunately, most if not all recent laptops will not run on the AC adapter alone, so you can't check for possible problems caused by the main battery without trying another main battery. Both of those laptops have an led that comes on when the AC adapter is charging the battery that you can see on the front edge of the base. If your AC adapter is working properly that led should come on at least briefly when you unplug the AC adapter from the laptop and then plug it back in, even if the battery is fully charged, although that may not work if the main battery is defective, and/or if the jack the AC adapter plugs into is loose or damaged (try wiggling the plug).

Hot cold issues are normally cold solder on pads or board flex. It could be that some component on the board changes state too much like a cap or crystal. What you describe is the video memory being left in. It is not doing a clear I think. Sometimes an esd damage issue. Try to remove battery and ac power, push the power button a few times and see if it boots correctly. "Best Practices", Event viewer, host file, perfmon, antivirus, anti-spyware, Live CD's, backups, are in my top 10

ok thanks guys for the input. I took the computer apart this morning to check for any possible loose connections, dust etc. Seemed exceptionally clean inside and i reseated everything just to make sure...When i put everything back together there were a couple of left over screws XD. Shouldnt make a difference really. Anyhow, the bootup whitescreen with stripes was right back. It was plugged in to the AC no battery. But heres something interesting... When I plugged the battery in with the AC power, it started up fine...This doesnt happen every time though, so im not sure what to make of it. To answer some questions, the Nvidia chip is built into the motherboard. Although it doesnt seem to have its own heatsink or fan. However, all my observations suggest the chip rarely gets above 58C even after intense gaming...This leads me to believe the problem is not directly with the chip but is some kind of power issue. Like I said, when the computer actually DOES boot, it runs perfectly, without a glitch. No gunk, no loose wires, no noticeable damage. However, I do know all of this started after the last time my computer overheated...

58 C is a bit high. "Anyhow, the bootup whitescreen with stripes was right back. It was plugged in to the AC no battery. " I'm surprised that it does anything with just the AC adapter connected to it. In most cases it can't supply enough current for the laptop to run on recent computers, at least, not enough for it to run properly. "But heres something interesting... When I plugged the battery in with the AC power, it started up fine...This doesnt happen every time though, so im not sure what to make of it." If your battery is poor because it's old or defective, and/or if there is a problem with the AC adapter charging it properly, it will work fine only when both the battery and the AC adapter have a good connection, and the battery is at least minimally charged. Did you check out the led indicating whether it is charging? It's common for the jack in the laptop the AC adapter plugs into to get loose or otherwise develop a poor connection, or for the wires at or near the plug that plugs into the laptop to get broken inside the cord, or for the plug to get broken, especially if you pull it out by pulling on the cord rather than by pulling on the plug itself. If you have that problem, wiggling the AC adapter plug in the jack, or wiggling the wire near the jack, will probably yield you an intermittant charging led lighting up, or no led lighting up at all, even when you unplug it and plug it back in. If it ain't that, your problems may be caused by a defective battery.

hmm. well, the battery is perfectly capable of operating on its own. Actually i only get internet in the hallway and run the computer on the battery for hours at a time no problem. I dont think its the battery, at least not as far as holding a charge. I just havent had any problems even when im moving around. the connection seems solid. As far as the power cord, never had any problems with it either. I rarely unplugged this computer, its been mostly stationary since i bought it, although the pin inside might have some wear and tear, but the connection seems solid there too... I really cant figure this one out. I did the charging light test and it seems fine. Lights up every time i plug it in, even if i wiggle the cord. The gpu idles around 48-54C, but really it hardly wavers. The only thing that gets really hot is the cpu, which ive seen go close to 90 on really hot days when using it for a long time. I really cant wrap my head around this one. Im almost afraid to turn the computer off in fear that it might never turn back on. Im certain that some kind of damage was done when the computer shutdown on me and wouldnt boot up for several hours about a week ago. I can only assume it was a severe heat problem. Its not under warranty, and i really dont feel like dropping money into this 2.5 year old machine. this is my only remaining computer so i'd be screwed if it goes. I just cant wrap my head around this problem...

If you frequently open and close the lid on your laptop, it could be you have a problem, but it is not commonly seen until a laptop has been used a long long time. The wiring that goes through the hinge to the display could be damaged, accounting for your video symptoms, and possibly other ones. If that needs to be replaced it's a relatively cheap fix. If that's your case, you MIGHT get indications of that when the lid is moved to different positions. See the parts link in response 1 for availability - if it's available from HP you can also find out it's cost. ...... Remove the main battery and the AC adapter. - See response 2 in this - try cleaning the contacts on the ram modules, and making sure the modules are properly seated: http://www.computing.net/hardware/w... - make certain the hard drive is seated properly When you re-install the main battery, make certain it is seated properly, and that there's nothing wrong with it's contacts or the contacts in the laptop. ..... If none of that helps I have nothing else to suggest. In that case, take it place that is authorized to work on HP/Compaq laptop computers (a laptop specialist is best) and have then troubleshoot it. ...... If I were you I would replace the main battery - it probably has very poor capacity by now, even if it isn't defective otherwise.