X32 is failling

[Jagoop]

My ThinkPad X32, that has served me well for quite a while, has developed an very troublesome problem.

The machine is installed with Windows XP, and constantly fails with various STOP errors (almost a new one each time). After such an error the machine sometimes need to be shutdown and have its battery removed, before it can start again.

I suspect a failing RAM/MB/CPU ... Does anyone have any suggestions as to how I can diagnose this problem more fully or must I sell "my precious" as spare parts?

[dr_st]

RAM is easiest to check, if you can get a different stick of PC2700 DDR-333 RAM. In the case you have two sticks, you can try taking out one of them and see if you still experience the problem.

Have you tried reinstalling XP from scratch or from the recovery partition?

It can also be failing hard drive, although less likely.

[Jagoop]

I've tried running with either of my two 1 GB stick in either of the two RAM sockets - this makes no difference.
I've mounted the HDD in a small USB enclosure and copied the entire content to another machine with no problems what so ever.
Finally I've just tried to install Window XP from a normal (and functional) CD - with a STOP error 5-10 minutes into the install.

I guess this means that the RAM and HDD is OK, but something else is broken

[dr_st]

Unfortunately, this probably means the motherboard. A very expensive and often not worthwhile fix.

[BobA]

I've had this problem before on some X31s. Sometimes, the memory contacts (on the motherboard) get corroded and need to be 'reflowed'. I've had this done for the X31 systems by jamiphar (James Arndt) on this forum. Though Denmark is a long way from the US, you might contact him and see if he has any advice to give. Good luck, Jakob.

[rkawakami]

I guess this means that the RAM and HDD is OK, but something else is broken

You cannot exclude the memory from being the problem unless you run a thorough diagnostic on it/them. Download a copy of memtest86+ from here:

http://www.memtest.org/#downiso

and run the system for at least a few hours (minimum of three complete passes through all of the tests). If no errors show up, then you can state that the memory (and memory sockets and motherboard) are okay.

You can also run a hard drive diagnostic to see if there's a problem with accessing/reading all sectors on the drive. Most HD manufacturers have their own program or you can use what is provide by IBM; PC Doctor:

http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... MIGR-56222 (bootable CD image)
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... MIGR-44202 (diskette set)

PC Doctor can also be used to check most every other hardware component in your system.