Old Laptop needs attention.

grant · TweakNOOB Joined: 15 Sep 2006 Posts: 4 Location: Cheshire

I have an old laptop which I haven't used for a few years - it won't work but it could be useful for small tasks.

This is the problem: gets as far as the screen containing details - system ram, cache ram, extended ram,...Atapi CD ROM: UJDA150, Press F2 to enter setup.

Won't go any further, can't enter Setup.

The operating system is Windows NT.

Any suggestions greatly appreciated. Thank you in anticipation.

Grant.

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ToggleHead · TWEAKGURU Joined: 03 Mar 2004 Posts: 4360 Location: Jersey

Model number and brand?
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grant · TweakNOOB Joined: 15 Sep 2006 Posts: 4 Location: Cheshire

ToggleHead,

Make/model: Ultra MP-979, running NT4.

Following log-on via cntl-alt-del, (dreaded) blue screen appears containing - amongst all the file names - at the top of the screen:

"kmode exception not handled
address fdded226 has base at fdde0000 - tcpip.sys".

That's all I had time to write down.

Grant.

ToggleHead · TWEAKGURU Joined: 03 Mar 2004 Posts: 4360 Location: Jersey

initial guess....network card failure....

...do you have a copy of a new OS to put on it?

...preferably NOT NT4
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grant · TweakNOOB Joined: 15 Sep 2006 Posts: 4 Location: Cheshire

Togglehead,

Can't remember processor but age of laptop is c 1999.

Apart from NT4, the only OS I have is XP 64. Memory is only 512k so we are limited.

I want to use this for simple Word documnets and Excel files, nothing memory/cpu intensive.

I've tried to re-install NT4 but in vain. Possible alternative - a cheap copy of Windows 98? But why not NT4 - I never had problems with it (apart from now).

Thank you for your help.

Grant.

ToggleHead · TWEAKGURU Joined: 03 Mar 2004 Posts: 4360 Location: Jersey

im just not a fan of NT4....i find its a bit limited. Better for servers. BUT....

....why wont itlet you reinstall? What are the errors....

its sounding like this is a hardware failure...but im still poking around google for some answers
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sickofsoyo · Posted: Sat Sep 16, 2006 2:03 pm Post subject:

lets not forget the all important MEMTEST... run it for about a day
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Xal · Posted: Sun Sep 17, 2006 2:52 am Post subject:

Open up the pannel at the bottom of the laptop where the ram is nestled and reseat your ram (it can sometimes be under the keyboard). Make sure all components are seated well and try again. Also, I have found that the battery can cause problems in old laptops, remove it and use the power adapter, see if it still gives you errors.

Good luck

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Mordacain · Posted: Sun Sep 17, 2006 6:47 am Post subject:

If you can get the laptop to a point where it reads media, you may want to consider one of the Linux alternatives, Morphix LightGui distro is great for simple internet tasks, word processing and office stuff and is also very fast performance- wise
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grant · TweakNOOB Joined: 15 Sep 2006 Posts: 4 Location: Cheshire

Sickofsoyo, Xal, Mordacain, and of course Togglehrad,

My apologies for not acknowledging your replies. No excuse. Will look at all the suggestions and report back.

I can get to DOS. Should I copy any files from the NT installation disk or remove NT completely from the laptop (possibly try Linux - compatible with Word, Excel?)? Am I showing my limited knowledge?

Grant.

ToggleHead · TWEAKGURU Joined: 03 Mar 2004 Posts: 4360 Location: Jersey

No worries!!!

Ok first...downloan memtest86.....Google it, its easy to find. It will give you instructions on how to burn a bootable disk with it.

Then after making the disk, go into the BIOS of the laptop and make sure you have the boot order arranged properly. In this case, CD-ROM first, then Harddrive Second.

Place the disk in the drive, and reboot. You will boot into memtest and should run it for a while. It will do a series of scans and if you can get through a few successful runs, your memory appears to check out ok.

Next, replace the memtest disk with the windows disk you have...and follow instructions from there, to reinstall windows...=]

This help? Keep us posted!
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