Tracking down a laptop crash...

January 7, 2006 9:22 AM

My laptop is crashing frequently and I am trying to track down the problem. I suspect it's the hard drive, but I want to know more so I can work around the issue. Any logging/debugging utilities or tips?

The laptop is a 5yr old Gateway that I am using for P2P only with an up-to-date copy of Win2K Pro and minimal software installed (incl. firewalls and anti-spyware utilities). I've scanned it for rootkits and spyware and everything checks out. I've also changed P2P software, firewalls and everything else that runs on it, again to no avail.

Now before you cry "install Linux", let me first say that I honestly don't think Windows is the problem here: it never BSODs or reboots spontaneously: it will just freeze up once every 24-36 hrs or so with no alerts/events in the Event Viewer. Most of the times it freezes up, the fan seems to have been left on at full-speed (which is not common for this laptop) and I am suspecting that the motherboard is overheating and/or the HDD freezes up due to all the read/writes from P2P.

How can I figure out what's going on? is there some sort of low-level hardware logging/debugging utility I can install to find out what was happening just before each crash? any other tips?

posted by costas to computers & internet (8 comments total)

Test your memory to elminate one possibility: memtest86+.

Here's a temperature monitor:
Motherboard Monitor v5.3.7
posted by voidcontext at 9:34 AM on January 7, 2006

The manufacturer of the harddrive itself probably has a low-level diagnostic available. You'll need to track that down. It's usually a bootable floppy, and operates from DOS. I can't recall having used one that was data-destructive in many years, but do read the docs carefully before using - particularly the extended tests. In any case, the 'quick test' mode is generally non data-destructive. Good Luck.
posted by Triode at 10:14 AM on January 7, 2006

install this or some other SMART monitor.
posted by andrew cooke at 11:05 AM on January 7, 2006

the fan seems to have been left on at full-speed

If you mean the fan continues full-speed *after* the OS has frozen up, a low level driver could be getting into an infinite loop and eating all the CPU cycles, leading to the heat and fan. I would look around for newer drivers, particularly for the network card.

Ditto the other posts, too, particularly if it is not a true mobile CPU -- thereby relying solely on the OS to issue halt instructions at idle, to prevent the CPU from running 100%.
posted by SpookyFish at 12:28 PM on January 7, 2006

It is woth checking out the SMART tool, but this doesn't sound like a HD error. Usualy HD errors are reported to the operating system well before a crash occurs. Rather than a hard crash, you usually get progressively less access to your data. Once the hard drive is failing, you often lose access to some or all files.

Your situation sounds like a memory issue. As suggested, try memtest86+, it is great for debugging memory issues.

It could also be the case that your computer is overheating. Make sure you don't have any items on your desk blocking the air intake and vent fans. Also, consider opening up the laptop and cleaning dust out of the heatsinks. Finally, consider placing the laptop on a book that is much smaller than the footprint of the laptop. This will give it some extra breathing room.
posted by b1tr0t at 1:10 PM on January 7, 2006

If it is overheating, try a USB-powered cooling pad with 2 or 3 fans in it. My Gateway laptop kept melting things inside it until I got one - haven't had a problem since.
posted by IndigoRain at 5:34 PM on January 7, 2006

Top reasons for random, fatal crashes in Windows
posted by fuzz at 4:56 AM on January 8, 2006

Great suggestions everybody; particularly about the NIC driver which hadn't crossed my mind at all (plus it's a PC Card NIC, so it's more likely to be out-of-sync with the machine). I updated the NIC and sound card driver (latter as per fuzz's link), I run memtest86+ (no errors) and I installed the HDD and MB monitors. I guess I'll find out what's going on soon enough.
posted by costas at 5:43 AM on January 8, 2006