Updating the BIOS
I had an interesting problem on the spare laptop the other day.
There were two symptoms – the screen would go blank and the laptop would lock up, or else the Windows bar would develop streaks, as if it had been wiped with steel wool.
My first reaction was that the video drivers had become corrupted, so I replaced them. No luck. It was during that process (when I had to reboot a couple of times) that I noticed that the problem extended beyond Windows. On boot up, the laptops loading screen was badly streaked with horizontal thin red lines. As Windows hadn’t even started loading at this stage, it had to be something more radical. Either the screen was on the way out, or the BIOS had developed a fault.
I wouldn’t have minded the screen failing too much, as it would have been a fine excuse to buy an upgraded laptop, but I decided to tackle the BIOS first.
I don’t like updating the BIOS for the simple reason that it is the core of the machine. Screw that up, and the whole machine is screwed. Also there is no rolling back. However, I took the plunge, and found an updated BIOS file.
In fact, the whole process was quite uneventful. The new BIOS loaded, and since then the laptop has been running smoothly. No more lock-ups. No more streaks.
It just goes to show – weird problems can easily be fixed with a bit of courage.
Now I have to think up a new excuse to upgrade my laptop!
interesting! It would never have occurred to me that this was a BIOS problem.
Whenever red streaks appear for me, it’s usually because the data cable connecting the screen to the motherboard has become brittle or has been pinched somehow (by a cracked hinge for example), or there is some damage on the screen’s circuitry itself (usually verifiable by pushing at the screen on its edge near the lines).
I just assumed it was a software problem, as it was intermittent, yet the laptop wasn’t moved at all. If moving anything causes a problem then delve into the mechanics, but this just felt like a software thing. It seems to have done the trick, anyway!
just an example of how a physical problem can happen even if nothing has been moved:
My wife had a HP DV2000 for a few years. grand laptop – kept her quiet.
Every day, she would turn it on in the morning and off at night. It would never be moved from its spot on the kitchen table.
A few weeks ago, she went to turn it on, and it just beeped then did nothing.
It tuns out it had been overheating gradually for those years, and had eventually got to the point that the solder between the motherboard and the GPU had given up the ghost.
(http://verens.com/2010/06/20/long-beep-short-beep-short-beep/)
I’ve yet to get the right tools for fixing this. I’m not even sure I’ll have the expertise, but it’s just a very expensive paperweight at the moment, and I’d rather at least try to fix it and fail than to let it gloat quietly at me.
I’d say your deduction that it was a BIOS issue is surprisingly intuitive! It would not have occurred to me at all.
*cough*
*ahem*
So much for intuition. The laptop has expired.
R.I.P.