R31 issues

[spoko]

I've got a Thinkpad R31 that is wonky. It boots into Windows, and runs OK, but after a while the screen goes blank (possibly just from the screensaver, I don't know) and then I can't get it to wake back up. Nor does rebooting help after that. When I reboot, it won't get all the way back into Windows before it self-reboots again. Also, on reboot, I notice that the display isn't so great. Hard to explain precisely, but it looks pixellated. There are vertical lines, at least, that are pixellated. But there are lots of such lines, and they're about 10 pixels or so apart. If that makes any sense. And when I press & hold the power button to run it off, those lines kind of shimmer with white

So anyway, this sounds like a heat problem to me. But the fan on the bottom is moving air fine, afaict. Pulling up the keyboard, I don't immediately see any other fans or anything. I'm not super familiar with laptops, but I'm more than willing to tear into it further if it will help.

Things I've done already, fwiw: Update the BIOS, repair Windows, and replace the CMOS battery. No joy, no joy, and no joy. So, what do you all suggest?

[timbuk2]

If you have PC Doctor installed on your machine run diagnostics on your video and ram sub-systems and see if that turns up any errors.

I am not sure what video drivers you are using, but try uninstalling your existing drivers and installing the Omega drivers recommended by this forum.

Your talk of pin striped lines on your display sounds like bad video ram.

I hope for the best...