Frequent Windows STOP Errors

[Looby]

hey my mom is having some trouble with her laptop and i cant figure it out... laptop is a toshiba idk the model its a
2.4ghz P4(desktop processor)
512 MB ram
40 GB HDD
32MB graphics card
xp home

problem im having is that every month or two idk precisely how long the computer up and dies... by dies i mean i get STOP ERROR of various types its never the same twice i don't think... i have wiped it and that fixes it for a month or two but then STOP... i have run low level dban as well as other formating programs so i know there is no previous installation mucking things up but... idk the only thing i can think of is my mom bashes this laptop around a lot and maybe there is a pit or scratch on the hard drive platter that whenever windows goes to write there it goes eeaaahhhkkkkhhhhhakkh!!! STOP ERROR...??? you think maybe thats right? i don't have another hdd around and would like to know that the hdd is the problem b4 i spend money to get another one. any help would be great my mom is frustrated at losing here computer so often so if you guys could help i would appreciate it

 

[Looby]

anybody? please my mom is frustrated and we have tried everything we can think of... she does not want to format and lose everything just to have this happen again so ideas? please?

 

[Kharn]

Google the error, I would see if its the harddrive first if that is what you think it is.

 

[Looby]

i get a different error each time

im guessing about the hard drive i have no idea its just that it happens so frequently i cant think of anything else

 

[coolshmo]

Give the RAM a check, too.

A great bootable disk with lots of utilities is at Ultimate Boot CD - Overview
It's always a good tool to have around. It has almost any worthwhile tool you can find, all in one place. Directions are on their site.

Just put that on a CD and run the memory test. If it comes up with errors, the RAM is bad. It's best to let it sit and run through it's thing a few times, though.

Also, if you think it might be the hard drive, run a chkdsk on it right from windows(or use the tools on the CD). Easiest way it to right-click on the drive itself and go to properties>>tools tab>>check for errors. Make sure you check all the options, and automatically fix errors and do a surface check. It'll try to run, and then ask you to do it when it reboots. Reboot, and let it go. To see the results of the check (If you're not around when it finishes) you can go into the administrative tools in the control panel and go into the event viewer. It'll show up in the applications log under event 1001. It'll say what bad sectors it found, or what indexes it fixed, etc...

I'm not one to rule out any possibilities, because hey, freaky things happen. But it doesn't really seem like a HD problem to me. Especially if you're getting different errors each time. But certainly give the RAM a check. It can go bad, and it's pretty easy to rule out.

 

[Looby]

well i have that program and am trying to run this stuff but my mom is hesitant afraid to lose data but im trying to convince her that stuff has to be done

i have tryed the windows chkdsk and i do the right click thing and all but it says chkdsk cannot continue schedule next time computer reboots? i go yup and it says cool i them hit reboot and eerrrkkkkk!!!! STOP!!!! ERROR!!!! arrggghhh!! (sorry just woke up and am amused for no good reason)

i have an xp cd that (on boot) i can get to a dos type thing (that really crappy version where you cant chdir or anything) and it will not let me fix the errors.



edit - k tried memtest and it got a little way through it when the computer died did it 6 times still died now the thing will not even post... i have removed ram and still no post unplugged cd and hdd and still no post im guessing mobo is shot