Blue screens: Software or Hardware??

I've been using my T43 for one week and I've experienced many (more than 10!!) "blue screen" errors which rebooted the laptop. Very annoying!! The appearance of the screen is so fast that I couldn't read what it says yet (I'm planning to take a picture...).

Does anybody know if it's related just to software? Or it may be a important hardware problem? I've found a user review (<http://reviews.cnet.com/4864-3121_7-30567436.html?messageSiteID=7&messageID=977211&cval=977211&ctype=msgid>) talking about it and I became very worried about the hardware possibility.

 

It could very possibly be software...although more than likely, it's hardware - more specifically, either RAM or hard drive.

What you could try is right clicking on My Computer, go to "Properties"
click on the "Advanced" Tab.. and then click on "Settings" under the "Startup and Recovery" section.
Uncheck "Automatically restart"... and if the blue screens happen again, report back here with what it says. That will better help us analyze your problem.

Best of luck,
AuroraS

 

Thank you for the tip about the "Automatically restart", AuroraS. Now I got the exact message:

" A problem has been detected and windows has been shut down to prevent damage to your computer.

PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA

If this is the first time you've seen this stop error screen, restart your computer. If this screen appears again, follow these steps:

Check to make sure any new hardware or software is properly installed. If this is a new installation, ask your hardware or software manufacturer for any windows upates you might need.

If problems continue, disable or remove any newly installed hardware or software. Disable BIOS memory options such as caching or shadowing. If you need to use safe mode to remove or disable components, restart your computer, press F8 to select advanced startup options, and select safe mode.

Technical information:

***STOP: 0x00000050 (0xFFFFFFF7, 0x00000000, 0x805B520B, 0x00000000)

Beginning dump of physical memory
Physical memory dump complete.
Contact your system administrator or technical support group for further assistance."

So... What do you think? Have you seen this before?

I really think that ask me to simply uninstall the softwares I installed is not a solution AT ALL! Don't you agree? (I've only installed MSOffice 2003, VirusScan, and some digital camera stuff, btw...)

Thanks for the help again.

Daniel

 

Just to let you know: I called IBM support center (very good service, btw...) and was asked to unistall the "Zone Alarm" software (firewall). It seems this was really the problem!! So, until now (about 10 startups later) I didn't get the blue screen anymore.

The guy told me that it's a imcompatibility between Zone Alarm and some Windows protection software. Does anybody know what would be this software? Does the T43 come with any firewall installed? (I didn't get this info with the support, since the guy was pretty confused with the differences between a firewall and a anti-virus...)

 

I stopped using Zone Alarm about a year ago. You don't need it and it sounds like the software is buggy. Hide behind a router. Routers have built in Hardware firewalls that will keep you safe.

 

Zone Alarm has some advantages. First of all it's the ability to protect your computer when you move it to different networks, something that happens a lot with wireless connection. My major concern isn't that someone from the internet will hack me or that some spyware will install itself on my PC - it's the concern that other people on the LAN will be able to see the contents of my PC.

Now, Zone Alarm allows me to configure my home network for open access (trusted zone) and any other network for internet zone, which blocks everything except my basic internet activities - just what I need when I log on to my institute's wireless network.

Of course, if you are only using the computer in your LAN behind a router, a software firewall isn't a must have, but it still might prove useful - it can monitor programs trying to access the web and other suspicious activities.

As for the incompatibility thing - it's possible that two different firewalls active at once disturb each other, just like two different antiviruses. If you install and activate ZoneAlarm, disable the built-in WinXP firewall (I'm thinking that it's automatic, but might be wrong).

I'm currently using ZoneAlarm Pro on my T42, and haven't experienced any issues with it. I did get one BSOD yesterday, as I was working with Microsoft .NET, and I have no idea what triggered it, but it seems to have been a one-time event.

 

I use ZoneAlarm. Haven't had one problem with it. Funny.

 

Wel... I also like ZoneAlarm. So, I didn't want to just discard this option. I made three partitions on my computer (with Norton Partition Magic 8, which I found a not very good software at all, since it gave me a 7MB unformatted partition without been requested for, and other "strange" issues. I've noticed that there are several "Partition Magic" softwares around. Are there many different brands for it? What is the best?) and reinstalled a clean windows (with a great step by step that I got from another post - http://www.4saad.com/WhatsNew/Fresh_XP_Install/index.htm). Then I reinstalled Zone Alarm and just the IBM softwares that I wanted. It's just perfect now!! It really seems it was some software imcopatibility...

dr_st, what is this built-in WinXP firewall? Where can I check the info about it?

 

Do you have WinXP SP2 or pre-SP2?

 

I believe it's SP2, but where can I confirm this? (Sorry for the basic question...)

 

My Computer -> Right Click -> Properties -> General

Assuming it is SP2, go to My Network Places -> View Network Connections and on the panel on the left (Network Tasks) choose Windows Firewall Settings. Make sure it's off (for any network connections you might have).

 

I had gone to that place to check the "SP2" info, but there was nothing there...

I found the Windows Firewall settings. Thanks. ;-)

Do you know how it works? I mean, it's probably different then the ZoneAlarm, right? (Since it doesn't ask you to allow or deny accesses...) What would be its advantages (if there are any)?

 

The advantages is that, first, it's integrated within the system, second, it sits quietly and doesn't bug you, like ZoneAlarm does. The disadvantages is that it's not nearly as powerful or as flexible as something of the likes of ZA. You cannot configure it on a network-by-network and application-by-application basis. Also, it will not give you any detailed information regarding any suspicious activities - it will just block them or let them through. Finally, as most people believe, it's somewhat easier for a hacker to get around the built-in firewall than around a dedicated firewall application, like ZA, Outpost, Kerio, Norton etc.

 

Thanks. Your explanation was great!

 

Oh, and do you know if Windows Firewall lets you to completely stop the traffic (as ZA does)?
What about uninstall it completely? Is it possible?

 

The only safe way I know to stop all traffic is to disable/remove the network connections. I suppose even ZA has ways around it. But I'd certainly trust it more than the Windows firewall, which, BTW, you cannot uninstall,as it's part of the OS. But that isn't a problem - as long as it's off, it shouldn't bug you.