BSoD

Let'sgoflying!

Let'sgoflying!

Touchdown! Greaser!
Joined
Feb 23, 2005
Messages
20,341
Location
west Texas
Display Name
Display name:
Dave Taylor
Older Dell Inspiron 8200 laptop
someone turned on and off repeatedly
now it starts up, shows the desktop and an error message window:
Windows Explorer has encountered a problem and needs to close. Asks to send error report. Dont send results in
Blue Screen of Death repeatedly.
Send results in complaints of not being able to access internet
None of the desktop items are accessible.
The start button is not accessible.
Is there some way to fix WE maybe on startup?
 
have you tried the old unplug and pull out the battery cold reboot technique?

(btw i'm on an 8200 right now...the only original part is the lcd screen)
 
Safe Mode: same thing happens (WE has encountered a problem) except its a black screen of death with Safe Mode in 4 corners, a one-liner at top "...service pack 3"
 
Well, Dave, if I were driving to your place to fix this machine knowing only what you wrote above, I would plan to start with routine cleanup stuff.

I'd boot into the setup disk and run CHKDSK /p from the Recovery Console, just because of the repeated bad start/stops. Could be filesystem corruption. I'd then boot into Safe Mode, if possible, and see if the machine had basic Internet (I'd ping something). Then I'd try opening a Web browser.

I'd also install CCleaner, clean up some junk, and look for registry problems and bad startup entries. I'd probably also run HijackThis and look for, well, anything out of the ordinary, especially BHOs and extra LSPs. I'd take a look at the MFT and the pagefile, as well.

If I couldn't boot into Safe Mode I'd boot into ERD and poke around, and possibly try a System Restore.

Of course, you probably don't have ERD; but if all else fails, you can attempt to start System Restore from the Recovery Console if necessary. I forget how, but I have it written down somewhere.

Quite frankly, I fix many computers without knowing what caused the problems. I've learned that routine cleanup work using common tools often resolves these issues. So I'd start with the simple stuff and see what happens.

-Rich
 
Restore no worky.
Funny how the cursor is normal over the desktop but over the taskbar at the screen it switches to an hourglass (so the Start button is inaccessible). Also no taskbar items at all!
For advice to be usable, keep it dumbed down if it is to be usable! Ie "Press this key, wait for this action"!
 
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If the reinstall fails, try this...

1. Take PC to Marfa Airport
2. Climb to at least a mile AGL
3. Find Remote place in the desert
4. Drop out of airplane in compliance with FAR 91.15

Problem Solved

:D
 
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<insert scene from Office Space>
 
Reinstall worked
Reads motorola wireless card and good signal but
IE will not connect to internet
 
Does the wireless card indicate that it has connected to the WiFi?
 
yes, it ID's the wireless router ie 2wire287 and has 5 bars, says Connected.
"Ping." Hmmm.
 
Is IE in offline mode?

Click "File" make sure "Work Offline" is not checked.
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
yes, it ID's the wireless router ie 2wire287 and has 5 bars, says Connected.
"Ping." Hmmm.
Click to expand...

to Ping, click "Start" click on "Programs" , click on "Accessories", click on "Command Prompt" type "ping www.google.com" and look for a response. When done, type "exit"
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
yes, it ID's the wireless router ie 2wire287 and has 5 bars, says Connected.
"Ping." Hmmm.
Click to expand...

Start Button
Run...
type in cmd and hit enter
on the black screen that pops up you should see a
C:\mightbesomeotherdirectoriesliestedhere>
after that type in ping www.google.com and hit enter.

what are the results?
 
Was it a repair install or a fresh install?

If it's a repair install, the same issues affecting browser connectivity could have been carried over (broken LSPs, BHOs, etc.). These can be identified and fixed using HijackThis; but it's not an automated tool, and most of the things it finds are legitimate and sometimes essential. So you have to know what needs fixing and what doesn't once you run it.

In Internet Options (on IE7 or IE8, anyway), under the "Advanced" tab, there's a "reset" button on the lower right. That works sometimes and is worth a try.

You can also try Winsock Fix, which is an automated tool that works sometimes.

-Rich
 
RJM62 said:
Was it a repair install or a fresh install?
Click to expand...

Fresh

Work Offline is UNchecked.

Ping results:
"Ping Request could not find host www.google.com. Please check the name and try again."
the latter, while the wireless network is Connected, 4 bars and I am using it with this computer.
 
You are not connecting to the internet. you will need to verify that you are connected correctly via wireless.
 
If possible, disable the wireless radio (Fn-F2 on my Dell Inspiron) and plug into the router with a cable and retry the above ping test. That should help determine if the problem is limited to wireless or covers all the networking components. Keep in mind that you've got a bare Windows box hanging on the Internet protected only by the firewall built into the router, which is generally a dangerous thing to do (if the Internet connection were actually working:rolleyes:)
 
How about if I bypass the plug in motorola card and use a catv cable directly to the modem? Will that help diagnostically?
PS don't assume I know anything about setting up an internet connection. Go ahead. Ask the simple questions!
 
Ping successful, I believe.
Lines of data "0% loss"

must be the wireless setup.
1pm now
off to a ranch for a couple hours, will check back in later
Thanks
 
I agree, it's wireless-related. Three possibilities come to mind:

1) there's security on the router and you cannot actually get an IP address when attached wirelessly. Fixing that should just be a matter of selecting the correct parameters.

2) There was some sort of updated driver that had been previously loaded on that was wiped with the fresh install. Do you remember doing anything like that in the past?

3) There's a hardware problem with the wireless modem. In my mind, the BSoDs you were seeing seem to suggest this, but then why would they go avay when the OS was reloaded?
 
I used a disk to install the wireless card....I noted a manual on that disk so I'll check it out.
 
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