M50VM issues

[ayv26]

Hello all.

A quick backstory on the laptop-- I purchased it this summer for college as I run some graphics-intensive programs for class and for fun.

Recently it has been giving me some problems. If I put the computer to sleep at any point (which I tend to do some nights before sleep instead of shutting it off), a majority of the time the computer will give me a Generic Host Process error which auto-forces me into shutting down my computer (this also happens if I suddenly lose my connection to the internet and rarely when I unplug the power cable while the computer is on, and on a few other occassions.

Additionally, every so often the computer will just up and freeze (I cannot type, move the mouse, or anything) and I basically need to do a hard shutdown and reboot when this does happen. This usually happens if I'm running six or more programs at once that aren't background processes, which shouldn't be a problem for a computer running 4GB of ram and a 2.26 GhZ (Core 2 Duo P8400), I'd think.

A much minor issue is the computer's display. Randomly, the display will just flicker off and on for 10 or so seconds and will then stop. This doesn't happen too often but it's a nuisance.

Any ideas as to what to do about any of these problems?

Main info is as follows:
Asus M50VM running Win XP Home, manually check for updates every week.
Intel Core 2 Duo P 8400 @ 2.26GhZ
4GB RAM (3072 MB only being used by Windows XP, I'm currently avoiding Vista for compatibility issues though the 64bit OS can allocate all of my RAM)
Programs that I usually run: Office, OneCare, CleanAccess (college), Thunderbird (usually constantly running), the occasional game.

Thanks in advance :)

[Woody]

Have you dropped in recently or otherwise subjected the computer to some physical trauma? It sounds like you might have multiple internal hardware issues.

You could troubleshoot the system by booting to a CD of some sort (like a BartPE disk you create or just the Windows install disk) and see if the problem follows. Better yet if you have a spare 2.5" drive or can install the OS on a new partition to test if the problem follows a clean install without having to wipe your existing installation but I suspect it's hardware related.

Here's an idea....go to http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/ and download the ultimate boot cd or go to http://www.memtest.org/ and create a bootable CD with memtest86+ on it and run the memory tests. If it is crashes during the tests you could try removing the ram modules one at a time and testing again. If it still crashes you probably have a damaged mainboard or faulty BIOS. If you have the option to reset the BIOS to default try checking that or flashing the BIOS if possible. If it doesn't crash go ahead and try running a new install of Windows as I desribed above and see if that fixes it.

[ayv26]

Sorry for bumping this old topic but I figured that I would make an update on what's been going on.

The display problem was due to me leaving the computer's monitor on and having the monitor turn off on me after 10 or so minutes, so it wasn't a problem, just the monitor turning off.

As for the other two problems, they still seem to be prevalent. The system will still hang every once in a while, not allowing me to do anything. The computer will also now restart itself at random. I suspect this is mainly related to the Generic Host Process (RPC procedure termination/wireless connection acting up?) and a forced restart (it could also be caused by Automatic Updates automatic restart but I get a message stating so if the computer is restarted for that reason.

I really cannot reinstall Windows at the given moment as it will cause me more issues than it is worth what with backing up and documenting installed programs and a lot of other things that I'd need ample time for. I plan to do a reinstall at the end of my school year (late May).

I might run some of these tests on it, however and see if anything comes up. I have several copies of the UBCD and other diagnostic tools lying around so that might at least tell me something. However, as previously stated, the problem seems to be most likely hardware related.

If anyone has any other ideas or suggestions, please let me know. Thanks.

[potent]

sounds like very strange problems, I have also had some very strange problems and I think the major thing that caused it was the tweaking I did to Vista, I followed some guides to make vista smoother and less resource intensive.
Have you done such tweaking? I would suggest trying to reinstall to be honest, does sound like a software problem to me... :D

[ayv26]

sounds like very strange problems, I have also had some very strange problems and I think the major thing that caused it was the tweaking I did to Vista, I followed some guides to make vista smoother and less resource intensive.
Have you done such tweaking? I would suggest trying to reinstall to be honest, does sound like a software problem to me... :D

Well I'm running XP, not Vista, so that can't be related to it, though I might try reinstalling after my school year is over and I have a little extra time to work with this issue.

[potent]

Well I'm running XP, not Vista, so that can't be related to it, though I might try reinstalling after my school year is over and I have a little extra time to work with this issue.

Yeah, I think that is the best chance of fixing your machine, keep us informed