[Kevin374]

Hey everyone i hope someone here can help me. I have a IBM Laptop T21 20GB, 256MB ram, running Windows 2000 Pro. I have had this for a few years and it has worked very well for me. About 3 months ago my computer would just freeze up out of nowhere when i was using it, sometimes i could be on 10 min other times several hours before it would freeze up. None of the keys worked not even the power button, the only way to shut it off was to remove the battery. After doing this the computer would reboot, check the disks, fix any problems with the programs that couldnt be closed out then run normally until it would freeze up again. This continued for about 2 months or so and then one day i tried to start my laptop and it froze up on the main screen where it says windows is starting up. I figured i could remove the battery and just start it up again it would work, it hasn't. I haven't been able to use the computer since, it freezes up on the main screen every time i turn it on. I have tried to go in using safe mode and windows DOES start up using safe mode, but most of the programs i cannot use in safe mode and i have no idea what to look for or what to change. When this all started i ran several virus checkers and all came back as ok.
It has been suggested to me to possibly use the recovery disk to reformat my hard drive, but i don't want to do this if it is unecessary.
Hope someone can help here.

 

[Stu_computer]

Welcome to TSF.

Go to control panel/admin tools/event viewer/ and check the logs for error messages.

Also check in device manager for warnings.

Then report back with details.

Do you have a floppy drive in the laptop?
Do you have access to a cd burner?

 

[Kevin374]

Hello Stu thanks for the info, unfortunately the past few day have yielded unsucessful results.
I tried to access the computer in safe mode the last couple of days and all i get is a black screen that says the words safe mode in all 4 corners. There is no desktop icons anywhere.
So a friend of mine again insisted the only option i had left was to use the recovery disk.
Which i guess at the time made since, cause i couldn't use the computer anyway. So yesterday i went ahead and used the recovery disk to reformat my hard drive. All went well during the cd part, put now during the process where it says windows 2000 is setting up your devices such as keyboard, mouse, etc. it again freezes up about halfway through. I have shut it down by removing the battery and tried many times since last night and it freezes up at the exact point every time. Now i don't know what to do.
Do i need a new hard drive???
As for the floppy drive/cd burner. This computer has a interchangeable floppy drive, and CD-rom/DVD-rom drive. I currently have the CD-rom/DVD-rom drive installed. There is no cd burner that i have available.
Thanks again.

 

[Stu_computer]

Download Memtest86 (link below) and install it on a floppy then test the T21 for a few hours. If it shows an error then note the error and restart again, do several times if necessary to see if same error point or random.


Also, can use Astra to identify hard drive manufacturer. There will be utility program at their website to test the drive.

Astra for dos Version: 5.10
http://www.sysinfolab.com/download.htm


Disconnect any external device (usb, parallel) connectors during testing.