hello i have an ibm thinkpad laptop with windows xp home edition 15 gighd my problem is most of the time it wont start up just a couple of lights come on but when it does start it might run maybe fives minutes or more and it will freez the only way i found to unfreez it is to disconect the power does anyone have an idea what it could be?

Hey Jrl,

Welcome to PCHF. We have a wonderful staff of techs here and I am sure we can help you to determine what is causing your problems.

First of all, have you tried replacing the battery? Even when plugged in, a faulty battery can cause problems with a laptop.

Can you boot into Safe Mode? (tap F8 key until menu comes up, use arrow keys to navigate to Safe Mode, press Enter)

Is this a problem that has been going on for some time, or did it just suddenly come up?

Have you verified that the fan is running?

Look forward to your reply,

TTFN

LGW

i took the hard drive out and when you move it from side to side
it makes a noise like somthing is lose but when you shake it it will work for a
little while im thinking its the hard drive. what do you think?

:cheesy: I think that doesn't sound good! LOL, whatever possessed you to shake your harddrive?

So after you shake it, everything else works OK? at least for a little while. I think you should get anything that you want to save off of that Harddrive and replace it. Make sure that you know where your OS CDs are, you will need them after you install your new Harddrive.

Look forward to your reply,

TTFN

LGW

Yup , backup and replace would be the wise thing to do here.

thanks ill try that and let you know when i get the new drive installed.