Solutions to dealing with hardware problems on my Dell Inspiron N5010

[creativeswaraj]

Hello. This is my first time on Tom's hardware forum, so please forgive any mistakes I make.

I have an old Dell Inspiron N5010 with

• 
  4 GB RAM
  Intel core i5
  ATI Raedon HD 5470 graphics card (1 GB)

It is about 4-5 years old, so warranty is definitely void.
I have been running into some pertinent issues lately. Specifically,

1. Sometimes the screen does not start up when I power the laptop on-not even the DELL booting screen shows (basically the display ain't on)

2. The computer is persistently getting hot even during light use-like right now while web browsing

3. The computer suddenly switches off at times (happened about 3 times in the last month so far)

4. Its display corrupts when I run a disk defrag. Previously, there was that one time when the screen corrupted right from the boot screen and the next day, this problem just disappeared. The sceen had blue lines and corrupted blue pixels. It happened a couple of times even later but then I ignore it. I thought I should mention it here.

There are no problems on the software side because I have reinstalled the operating system several times- to no avail.

Please suggest solutions. Thanks.

 

[Reyaz123]

Run memtest86 to make sure your RAM is ok.
http://www.memtest86.com

Crystaldiskinfo will also check the health of your hard drive (good, caution, bad)
http://crystalmark.info/download/index-e.html

Clean out the dust from your PC and fans using compressed air to improve the air flow.

Run furmark stress test for about 10 mins. If the PC locks up or shows streaks/distorted graphics on the screen, the gpu is on the way out
http://www.ozone3d.net/benchmarks/fur/

Stress test your Intel CPU and see that it passes all tests:https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/19792/Intel-Processor-Diagnostic-Tool-64-bit-

If you pass every test listed above, most likely the motherboard is going bad. Probably would be better off selling the laptop and getting a new one (once some of the tests come back with many fails)

 

[velo3100]

I would say that your laptop has had it as the screen is starting to fail. You can check for hardware defects like a broken fan or and damaged equipment.

 

[creativeswaraj]

I would say that your laptop has had it as the screen is starting to fail. You can check for hardware defects like a broken fan or and damaged equipment.

I actually did get the motherboard repaired and the Graphics card replaced at an authorized Dell Service Center. Thanks for your help. *interwebs-high-five*

 

[creativeswaraj]

Run memtest86 to make sure your RAM is ok.
http://www.memtest86.com

Crystaldiskinfo will also check the health of your hard drive (good, caution, bad)
http://crystalmark.info/download/index-e.html

Clean out the dust from your PC and fans using compressed air to improve the air flow.

Run furmark stress test for about 10 mins. If the PC locks up or shows streaks/distorted graphics on the screen, the gpu is on the way out
http://www.ozone3d.net/benchmarks/fur/

Stress test your Intel CPU and see that it passes all tests:https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/19792/Intel-Processor-Diagnostic-Tool-64-bit-

If you pass every test listed above, most likely the motherboard is going bad. Probably would be better off selling the laptop and getting a new one (once some of the tests come back with many fails)

Thanks a ton. I ran the tests and found that the Graphics chip is gone. Got it replaced promptly at the local Dell Service Center. Thanks a lot!