HP Compaq NC6400 laptop - Problems since trying to increase memory.

PaulR2020

Hi

Having problems with laptop since trying to increase memory.

HP Compaq NC6400 - 232Gb hard drive - 2Gb memory - Windows 7 Pro (SP1) - Office 2010. 

I purchased the laptop on eBay 5 or 6 years ago and have no installation disks.

The laptop started becoming quite sluggish browsing the web, so I decided to try increasing the RAM to 4Gb.

I purchased a new 2Gb memory module, thinking my laptop already had one installed but I discovered it had two single 1Gb modules (My oversight but not sure if this maybe relevant?) I removed both 1Gb modules and installed the new 2Gb module beneath the keyboard.

All seemed okay for a day or two but I left my laptop on a webpage using Edge and when I returned to it after twenty minutes or so, the screen was black. The laptop was still up but I could not get it to respond, so I powered it off.

On restarting, I could not run Edge, it would go into the black screen or crash with the small blue crash dump window. I get a similar problem trying to run Firefox. I logged on with a different account and tried to open Explorer but got a weird tablecloth type display on the screen and the laptop locked up. I tried running Malwarebytes and this also causes the laptop to crash.

The laptop restarts and I can login and access my desktop. I can run Outlook, Word, Excel with no apparent problems.

I tried clearing browser history, cache, cookies. 

I tested the new memory, by running “mdsched.exe” and no issues were found. 

I ran “sfc / scannow” and no issues were reported. 

I cleared most of TEMP folder content.

I ran “chkdsk” - No problems.

I removed the new memory and re-installed the old 1Gb modules but the same problem persists. 

I noticed a restore point “Critical Update” dated 10/12/2020 and tried a restore but still the same issue with Edge. So I undid the restore. I tried another restore point dated 6\12\20 and this time tried Firefox instead of Edge and Firefox worked. Thinking the problem maybe resolved, I tried Edge and got the blue screen error again.

Now I have a completely black screen, even on a restart. Absolutely nothing displayed, even during startup.

I will be very grateful for any help or advice here although I think I may have destroyed my laptop and wish I had left well alone.

Many thanks in advance.

Paul

Neil_Jones

https://www.memtest.org/ - you can download an ISO file to make a bootable CD (or USB).

Boot off the CD/USB with the 2Gb in it only and leave it to run for a while.  If the 2Gb is faulty you'll know about it from the screen output.

Unfortunately faulty memory over time will corrupt the Windows operating system which may be the case here, but you need to determine whether the stick is faulty or not.  "new" memory does not necessarily mean it will not be bad, that just means it's sat in a warehouse somewhere for a while from the production line and hasn't been in active use.  These things can be faulty from the off.

The other alternative may be a hard drive issue but since the issue only started after you swapped the memory, I'd start there first.

jamesd

You mighty try taking out the old memory and rubbing the contacts that go into the slots with a dry kitchen towel for ten seconds on each side then putting them back in. Just dry, nothing else. Sometimes metal oxide layers that interfere with connections can form and this can remove them.

Ensure that it's unplugged with the battery removed before you start.

PaulR2020

Thanks guys for the input.
Tried the memory kitchen towel trick but no change. Tried with the old and then the new memory but still no display at all. I get the fan sound as though the laptop maybe starting but nothing appears on the screen.
As this is my only Windows computer I have no way to create the Memtest boot disk suggestion. Any other way I can obtain one?
Cheers for your help.

Biggus_Dickus

OP,

With due deference to the excellent advice above you may need to prepare yourself for the worst.

Elderly electronics can sometimes react adversely to being poked, prodded and flexed during the course of a transplant.

It may be a case of “the operation was a success but the patient died”  

grumpycrab

PaulR2020 said:

Now I have a completely black screen, even on a restart. Absolutely nothing displayed, even during startup.

Not good (obviously).  I'd stick with the orignal memory.  The options I'd go through if it was in front of me  0.  try external monitor in VGA port. anything on screen there?  1. remove battery, connect to mains, switch mains off, long press laptop power button (20secs); switch on mains; try power on (keep external monitor there). Anything?
Does the HD access light flash at all?

PaulR2020

Not sounding good at all. I will need a cable and then try connecting laptop to the TV and report back. In worse case scenario, should my folders, files, documents on the hard drive be retrievable?
Thanks for your continuing support.

grumpycrab

In worse case scenario, should my folders, files, documents on the hard drive be retrievable?

Yes.  Does the HD light (assuming there's one somewhere?  above the keyboard?) flash?
Anyy beeps from laptop when trying to turn it on?  (may indicate a failure - depends on number of beeps though...)

PaulR2020

On powering up, I get the sound of the fan and the hard drive light flashes. I must get to the login screen, as I enter my password and the laptop responds/sounds like a normal startup but as I say with a completely blank screen. How do I perform a normal shutdown using the keyboard without resorting to powering off using the on/off switch?

grumpycrab

PaulR2020 said:

 How do I perform a normal shutdown using the keyboard without resorting to powering off using the on/off switch?

possibly... Shift-F4,  tab,  enter
Also see if you can get into SAFE mode by tapping F8 after switch on (** are you seeing ANYTHING on the screen after switch on?)

PaulR2020

No joy. Still up at the moment. Also tried Alt-Ctl-Del then <Enter> but still running. May have to resort to on/off switch again. I think the PC has been booting into Safe Mode from previous attempts and nothing at all on the screen. I have found a bootable CD that I created back in 2016 with some diagnostic software on it. Is it worth trying this? I may have created it on this laptop but I am not sure.