The build your own laptop kit.

[zandrax]

Re: The build your own laptop kit.

EDIT: after I posted that I turned around and was greeted by a laptop that had locked solid. Back to the drawing board.

Pentium, this seems an hardware issue more than a software one; all my previous reccomendations are still valid: bare configuration, 10 memtest cycles and 12 hours of cpu stress testing. Open it in order to detect the hot area (an infrared thermometer is amazingly suited, but the finger trick should be enough).
Keep in mind that any serious defect in the mainboard may require its replacement: there is a reason why your friend disassembled the laptop before giving it to you...

Zandrax

[pentium]

Re: The build your own laptop kit.

I already did that and I got nothing.

[dan8139]

Re: The build your own laptop kit.

Hi Pentium,

Try it without the battery installed. These had a PS/2 locky problem in Windows that was somehow caused by a bad battery, also ACPI-related.

Hopefully might be some use.

[zandrax]

Re: The build your own laptop kit.

I have no idea: post the complete name (Travelmate xxxx yyy) so I cal get its specs and (maybe) discover some troubles.

Zandrax

[pentium]

Re: The build your own laptop kit.

It's the TravelMate 2310 and it has been upgraded with 512Mb of extra ram and has a 40Gb hard drive.

[weirdlookinguy]

Re: The build your own laptop kit.

Any pics of the final product? And did your friend give it to you to keep?

[pentium]

Re: The build your own laptop kit.

Any pics of the final product? And did your friend give it to you to keep?

The final product is nothing special and no I don't get to keep it (yet).

[zandrax]

Re: The build your own laptop kit.

Ok, the 2310 is one of first Folio based notebooks, launched in spring 2005: it employs a Celeron M (a depowered Pentium M) and the Sis M661MX chipset (nothing exceptional). Being the chipset a Sis one, the wifi module is unlikely to be an Intel one: it may be a Realtek, Broadcom or Atheros chip (Acer used these in past); the battery lasts 1,5 hours at max, so it should be a cheap-o-matic 3 cell one; hard drive ranges from 40 to 60 GB, ram from 256 to 512 MB, no geeky optionals (bluetooth, webcam, firewire and so on). Frankly speaking, the only selling point was price, and there is no doubt Acer did everything in order to keep a low price

Anyway, this notebook should be quite empty inside: the chipset was a low comsumption, low performance one; it lacks most bells & whistles but fits in a standard Travelmate case. There may be only three serious heat source inside: cpu, ram and hdd.
If you haven't still done, clean the heatsink by blowing air inside with an air can or a compressor, clean the fan and replace standard thermal pad with something better (Ag oxide paste is fine); then clean all contacts with dry deoxidizer spray and check if cables are firmly in position (mainly keyboard and video ones). Use only one sodimm, at least in first stages.
According to Intel tech documents, the Celeron M does support the frequency scaling (after all, is a Dothan core with half cache) but not Speedstep (lower consumption states) and, even worse, scaling isn't enabled in bios by deafult : in practice, it runs at full frequency and full voltage all time heating a lot.
Linux can bypass bios settings and directly programm the cpu, enabling scaling: see the guide at Ubuntuforum.org. For Windows you can use Notebook Hardware Control (developement stopped a year ago) or Rightmark RMClock (my favourite: not much intuitive but very powerful).
Then flash the last firmware available: it's in Acer ftp directory and, according to revision release, bioses from version 3A18 upwards fix an "EC thermal issue" whatever this means.
If still hangs, well I have no idea about the reason.

Zandrax