Blue screen error

[PUNITHML]

i have a Compaq CQ60-2gb ram 2009 model. recently Blue screen error is coming & laptop is restarting itself.
~is formatting the only option? is it possible to repair OS through image file present in the laptop?
~if any hardware issue is there , how to check this ?
~also is this configuration well enough to support Windows 7 32 bit ?
~should i upgrade (if available) to 4 gb ram?

 

[Darthutos]

what did you do before bsod came in? (hardware upgrading? new hdd? new ssd? new ram? new cdrom driver? plugging in USB? in bluetooth? in PCMCIA card?
what were you doing when bsod came in? gaming? browsing? working with word or excel or other programs?

 

[PUNITHML]

what did you do before bsod came in? (hardware upgrading? new hdd? new ssd? new ram? new cdrom driver? plugging in USB? in bluetooth? in PCMCIA card?
what were you doing when bsod came in? gaming? browsing? working with word or excel or other programs?

plugged a usb drive, no virus in it . was working with pdf & excel sheet. i have not touched any hardware.

 

[Darthutos]

it could be a short via usb drive on laptop when you plugged in the usb key.
the laptop is very old I don't know if there are any experts for that model on tomshardware. so I'm going to treat this as if it is a desktop.

can you catch any code on the bsod before it goes away?

try memtest if you can boot from usb or cd rom. to test memory.

I do not recommend any hardware upgrade (e.g. memory) at this point.