a31p freezes and then dies

[UpAndAway]

My a31p, 2653-r5u, which IBM replaced the MB 9 months ago under warranty, recently got 2 blue screens (windows problem and must shut down) and then auto shut down.

Now it just freezes without shutting down, usually somewhere in the startup phase. If I put the computer in the refrigerator, it would last longer (maybe 3 minutes) before freezing.

It made a grinding sound when I put in a DVD about a day before the troubles, so I assumed it was the DVD drive. Thinking it might be the HD instead, I replaced HD, but it still froze before I could load in the recovery disks. Now, it won't even start.

Any suggestions or thoughts are greatly appreciated?

[UpAndAway]

I'm still trying to troubleshoot this thing -- it won't even start to boot now.

Reading some other threads, I see mention of a CMOS battery.

Does anybody know that if this batterey is dead, will the machine boot?

[AbsoluteRaleigh]

The machine will boot even if the CMOS battery is dead.