T42p won't boot

[Half-Saint]

I'm trying to install Ubuntu or XP on the laptop but as the title says, the computer won't boot. It powers up fine, shows the splash screen then sits there for what seems like a minute. It then proceeds to boot from CD, displays those ubuntu graphics "keyboard = human stick figure inside circle" and then continues to load. After some time the screen blinks and the computer resets. Any ideas? It's pretty much the same with Windows XP.

Thanks,
Saint

[brchan]

Does the Ubuntu disc work in another computer? Also, does the computer always shut down after a given amount of time, even when in the BIOS settings? Hopefully it is not the result of the ATI or southbridge defect.

[ajkula66]

Download memtest86, burn the CD in the ISO format and boot from it. Let it run for a couple of passes and report back.

Good luck.

[Half-Saint]

The way I see it, as far as Ubuntu goes, it always crashes at the same spot. The CD works fine on other computers.

Right now I'm running memtest v3.5 from Ultimate Boot CD ISO and we'll see what happens.

[Half-Saint]

Well, I let it run overnight for 8 hours straight without a single error.

[ajkula66]

That rules out the RAM, I'd say.

Remove the wireless and BT/modem cards and check whether that makes any difference with the system freeze/reboot.

Good luck.