issues on two computers

[redfish]

Okay, I just recently (as in yesterday-today) have had a couple of BSODs on two different computers.

Firstly, my mother's laptop has been crashing with alarming frequency. It's always the same code (DRIVER_POWER_STATE_FAILURE or something like that) but every time I go into event viewer it's a different driver(s). More recently, the USB ports have been nonfunctional. If you plug something into it, it doesn't do anything; sometimes you can hear a noise and it blinks like it's trying to do something but it stops quickly. The laptop is quickly regressing into nonfunctionality. Help?

Secondly, my personal desktop has been acting up again. Yesterday I had a BSOD that I thought was a freak accident (I think the stop code was IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL; I have it written down upstairs). Today I was just surfing the internet and the screen briefly showed white and black bars, then flickered into BSOD stop code DRIVER_IRQL_[somethingorother]. Help? I can't brag about my awesome computer if it keeps crashing!

 

[Peter.Cort]

http://www.techist.com/forums/f127/decoding-stop-errors-193078/ should help out with things, but judging that it was black and white bars and an IRQL I would venture a guess at the GPU having an issue. make sure your drivers are all up to date, if they are then good and we'll go from there.

As far as your mothers laptop goes, how old is it/specs etc...

 

[threadmark]

How many power points are used in your house? I would say voltage drops and spikes could be the cause, if this error is on more than one turn off some appliances like the heater. If you live in an apartment talk to your neighbours and see if they have had problems with tv etc.

 

[redfish]

There is a heater that draws a lot of power. If the power is the issue, then it should be an easy fix.

My mom's laptop is an Acer Extensa 4420-5212. It was purchased in 2008 (I think).

I believe that my drivers are up to date... when I installed the graphics card I put the newest available update (ATI Catalyst 10.11) but I haven't checked for newer updates yet.

 

[threadmark]

Volt spikes or transients in the house have hit me a few times. When some transients fire you will notice lights dim a second without going out that's a big spike that the circuit breaker failed to break the line and reset. The results are dim lights and in some freak cases appliance short. Laptops get the pressure of the returning spike. Pretend this approximately symbol ~ Is a volt drop. The wave after it drops has to come up and it hits laptops hard because the volt drop won't affect the laptop its when it returns but a bit to much juice will scramble the CMOS which maintains the clock. This won't leave eny helpful debug info just descriptions of what unlucky driver that was on a scheduled process. At my work the computers and site use 3 phase with impressive power distribution units so no "BSOD".

 

[Peter.Cort]

as another option, it could be that the motherboard is going bad on the laptop. It would explain the usb ports not working and the random crashes with no specific error tied to them. I'd try reinstalling if possible and if the errors still come up then some more aggressive diagnostics are necessary.

As far as your computer goes, did you completely uninstall the old drivers when you put the new card in?

 

[redfish]

I've got everything on a surge protector too, although it is like 8 years old and needs to be replaced soon (UPS time?). I honestly have no idea how to wipe the old drivers. If you mean the drivers to the old card, it's the same drivers as I upgraded from HD 4250 to HD 5770.

The laptop died today, probably for good. The charger isn't working and the battery's dead. The motherboard would be a good explanation; Mom dumped coffee on the keyboard a long time ago. She's looking at a macbook.

 

[threadmark]

Probably should have started with the coffee spill. If ya like saving money and need a hobby, pull it apart find the damaged components and consult you local electronic store. What you will learn from trying to fix things you can't learn from forums or general IT. Just remember, if you pull the laptop apart and get into the circuitry wash your hands after because some of the most potent of chemicals are used in circuits.
TM