Chris Chan
New Member
Apologies for the format; it was originally posted to my blog.
I have here before me a laptop manufactured in late 2001, a Dell Latitude C600. It belongs to my friend’s mom. The Latitude’s specifications are as follows:
* 850MHz Intel Pentium III processor
* 128MB RAM
* ATI Mobility M3 graphics
* 20GB IBM Travelstar hard drive
* Bad battery
* AOL internet access
* Windows 2000 Professional (Service Pack 4)
The laptop is, to put it lightly, not functioning correctly. The symptoms range from general slowness, to downloads failing checksums, to random blue-screen Stop errors. It’s problems like this that are cause for my appreciation of Macs and Linux machines.
Symptoms
The laptop is wildly inconsistent in startup times. Sometimes it starts up in less than a minute; other times it flogs the hard drive nonstop and only displays the login screen after five minutes. It also often takes several minutes to enter an account, just as often as it responds readily and quickly. By comparison, my Mac laptop (500MHz iBook with 10GB HDD and 256MB RAM, running OS 10.4.9) consistently takes around 50 seconds to show the login screen, and another minute or so to enter my account (with a few startup programs). My Ubuntu Linux 7.04 server (Intel Celeron 1.7GHz, 512MB RAM, 80GB HDD) is at the GDM login screen in 40 seconds and can enter an account in about 15. My own Windows 2000 box (2.8GHz Pentium 4, 768MB, 40GB) starts in about 40 seconds and enters an account in about 20-30.
The Dell also is inconsistent in running speed. At times, normal browsing usage (AOL connected, 2-3 IE windows open) feels fast (well, for dialup anyway) and results in minimal hard drive seeking, Other times, with the same workload, it’s flogging the hard drive and slows to a snail’s pace. All my computers remain constant in speed and hard drive activity with a constant load.
Another maddening symptom of the laptop is its consistent failure to download archives and maintain their integrity. I have tried downloading files with both the AOL browser and IE (yes, I know AOL is just an IE shell, but with different proxy servers) and all times, it gives a checksum error when I try to execute any installer. No matter what it is. Spybot updates, ClamWin definitions files, etc. This leads me to suspect a problem with either the modem or the hard drive. All of my computers have downloaded at least one file with a bad MD5 or CRC, but never with this consistency.
The symptom of this computer that contributes most to its unusability is its habit of freezing with a blue-screened Stop error randomly. I’ve never actually encountered a Stop error on my Windows 2000 box. On the laptop, however, I’ve gotten Stop errors caused by win32k.sys, atapi.sys, and Ntfs.sys. And that’s just within 24 hours. This Ntfs.sys error leads me to suspect a failing hard drive, as does the atapi.sys error.
Another symptom that leads me to suspect a failing hard drive is the sound it sometimes makes when being accessed. It just sounds sick, and not like the sound of a normal 2001-vintage IBM Travelstar. It’s a constant ragged hiss (as best as I can describe it), rather than the series of sharp clicks that a healthy hard drive of this era makes. I regrettably can’t record, since the only microphone at my disposal now is the one integrated into my laptop. The idle whine of the hard drive is actually fainter than that of my 10GB Toshiba from the same year (in my iBook). Eerily faint, for a ball-bearing drive. It may not even be spinning at its rated speed of 4200 RPM. For what it’s worth, the only Travelstar I own, a Hitachi-branded 40GB 5400 RPM one from early 2006, has a nearly imperceptible idle whine and very quiet, muffled-thrum-like seeks.
Diagnosis
The laptop’s symptoms are from two causes: spyware/virus infection, and failing hard drive. I’ve managed the spyware/virus threat as much as I can by running Ad-aware (which found several threats), but I can’t install Avast antivirus or download ClamWin definition updates. I also can’t download Spybot updates. The failing hard drive I can’t be 100% sure on, as it’s manifesting itself in ways I’ve never seen before. But the strange noise is definitely a large cue.
I’d like to know how well my diagnoses are. I’m still somewhat of a novice at computer repair, so I welcome expert opinions. If any would like to input, comments are appreciated.
I have here before me a laptop manufactured in late 2001, a Dell Latitude C600. It belongs to my friend’s mom. The Latitude’s specifications are as follows:
* 850MHz Intel Pentium III processor
* 128MB RAM
* ATI Mobility M3 graphics
* 20GB IBM Travelstar hard drive
* Bad battery
* AOL internet access
* Windows 2000 Professional (Service Pack 4)
The laptop is, to put it lightly, not functioning correctly. The symptoms range from general slowness, to downloads failing checksums, to random blue-screen Stop errors. It’s problems like this that are cause for my appreciation of Macs and Linux machines.
Symptoms
The laptop is wildly inconsistent in startup times. Sometimes it starts up in less than a minute; other times it flogs the hard drive nonstop and only displays the login screen after five minutes. It also often takes several minutes to enter an account, just as often as it responds readily and quickly. By comparison, my Mac laptop (500MHz iBook with 10GB HDD and 256MB RAM, running OS 10.4.9) consistently takes around 50 seconds to show the login screen, and another minute or so to enter my account (with a few startup programs). My Ubuntu Linux 7.04 server (Intel Celeron 1.7GHz, 512MB RAM, 80GB HDD) is at the GDM login screen in 40 seconds and can enter an account in about 15. My own Windows 2000 box (2.8GHz Pentium 4, 768MB, 40GB) starts in about 40 seconds and enters an account in about 20-30.
The Dell also is inconsistent in running speed. At times, normal browsing usage (AOL connected, 2-3 IE windows open) feels fast (well, for dialup anyway) and results in minimal hard drive seeking, Other times, with the same workload, it’s flogging the hard drive and slows to a snail’s pace. All my computers remain constant in speed and hard drive activity with a constant load.
Another maddening symptom of the laptop is its consistent failure to download archives and maintain their integrity. I have tried downloading files with both the AOL browser and IE (yes, I know AOL is just an IE shell, but with different proxy servers) and all times, it gives a checksum error when I try to execute any installer. No matter what it is. Spybot updates, ClamWin definitions files, etc. This leads me to suspect a problem with either the modem or the hard drive. All of my computers have downloaded at least one file with a bad MD5 or CRC, but never with this consistency.
The symptom of this computer that contributes most to its unusability is its habit of freezing with a blue-screened Stop error randomly. I’ve never actually encountered a Stop error on my Windows 2000 box. On the laptop, however, I’ve gotten Stop errors caused by win32k.sys, atapi.sys, and Ntfs.sys. And that’s just within 24 hours. This Ntfs.sys error leads me to suspect a failing hard drive, as does the atapi.sys error.
Another symptom that leads me to suspect a failing hard drive is the sound it sometimes makes when being accessed. It just sounds sick, and not like the sound of a normal 2001-vintage IBM Travelstar. It’s a constant ragged hiss (as best as I can describe it), rather than the series of sharp clicks that a healthy hard drive of this era makes. I regrettably can’t record, since the only microphone at my disposal now is the one integrated into my laptop. The idle whine of the hard drive is actually fainter than that of my 10GB Toshiba from the same year (in my iBook). Eerily faint, for a ball-bearing drive. It may not even be spinning at its rated speed of 4200 RPM. For what it’s worth, the only Travelstar I own, a Hitachi-branded 40GB 5400 RPM one from early 2006, has a nearly imperceptible idle whine and very quiet, muffled-thrum-like seeks.
Diagnosis
The laptop’s symptoms are from two causes: spyware/virus infection, and failing hard drive. I’ve managed the spyware/virus threat as much as I can by running Ad-aware (which found several threats), but I can’t install Avast antivirus or download ClamWin definition updates. I also can’t download Spybot updates. The failing hard drive I can’t be 100% sure on, as it’s manifesting itself in ways I’ve never seen before. But the strange noise is definitely a large cue.
I’d like to know how well my diagnoses are. I’m still somewhat of a novice at computer repair, so I welcome expert opinions. If any would like to input, comments are appreciated.
