Dell Laptop Starts at Store But Not At Home!?!

I have a really strange problem that I hope someone on here can help me with, since the computer store where I took it cannot figure it out. Here's the deal:

I have a Dell Latitude D400 that they just put a new hard-drive into, since the original one was shot. Well when they have it at the store, and even at their homes, it starts up fine and works well. However, when I bring it to my house, it either goes directly to BSOD or works for a short time before going to blue. Once I get a blue screen, the only way I can restart windows is in Safe Mode without networking.

I've been going back and forth to the computer repair store for 2 weeks now. The problem is, they can't reproduce the problem. It either starts right up when I get there, or they reload Windows and it starts up and runs until I get it back home.

I suspected something with the wireless card, but they updated all the drivers (the 2007 update is the last that Dell provides for the card) and can't replace it because it's soldered to the motherboard. They also tell me that the BIOS is not "normal" and they can't do anything to it. Most recently, I suspected emi from a short in my home theater receiver. When I unplugged my receiver, the computer started up and worked for about 30 minutes before flashing blue and then beginning to restart, over and over.

My girlfriend's Toshiba Satellite laptop and Dell Dimension desktop have absolutely no problems in the house. So I am stumped.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. I really don't want to toss my little laptop, especially after spending $125 for repairs and the new hard drive.

 

Welcome to the forum,weird problem I sympathise I haven't heard of something like this before so just a few shots in the dark.

I wonder if you have a really hot house and the laptop is over heating? Try running the laptop just outside the house or turn your heating down.

Try and Run this program and keep an eye on your temps

http://majorgeeks.com/SpeedFan_d337.html

If it is over heating this stress test will will make it BSOD very quickly,monitor your temps with speedfan while running,all should stay below 70C.

http://majorgeeks.com/Toast_d867.html

If you suspect its the wireless card you could try uninstalling the drivers.

Post the contents of the BSOD.

You can also try debugging the minidump caused by the BSOD,follow this guide to set your computer up to write mini dumps then either debug it yourself,I suggest debugging it on your girlfriends laptop,just copy the mini dump/dumps to a thumb drive from your broken laptop then connect it to your girfriends laptop for debugging.

http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=35246

Or you can attach the mini dumps here for one of our members to debug if you find it too complicated.

 

If you get a BSOD almost immediately, but at the shop it doesn't, then it is unlikely a temp issue unless your home is is 20-30 degrees warmer than the shop. Have you tried the PC at a friend's house? I work at a PC shop and (while rare) I have seen systems that work fine in the shop, but as soon as they get home, they don't work. The owners bring it right back (in under an hour) and we boot it up right away and everything is fine. They take it home, and again it doesn't work. It does happen, I've seen it. I have no idea how or why, but the Bermuda Triangle is a mystery too. LOL The last time I dealt with a situation like this, we were forced to replace the motherboard, and that seemed to fix it. But this is not an option with your laptop, as a new MB will run about $300.

 

In the dark ages of pc's, I had a similar experience.
First a question --- did they take any covers off at the shop, and did they boot it with the covers off?

The experience I had was the shop took the cover off; looked at it and tried to boot it --- all worked fine; they re-installed the cover and sent it home with me, where it failed to boot.

Took it back to the shop and insisted that they try to start it BEFORE removing the cover --- it then failed for them also.

What it turned out to be was the placement of some of the ribbon cable in relation to the cover.

 

Hey guys, thanks for the replies. I think I may have tracked it to emi due to some as-yet undiagnosed problem with the wiring in my house. After getting it back from the store, for the 5th time, last Tuesday, I took it with me on a trip and it worked fine the whole time. Got back and plugged it in at home, and zapped! So I guess it's not the computer but the house. A rewiring job will have to wait 'til after Christmas, though.

Thanks again for the help you offered. I appreciate it.

 

Well you can test this by turning off your electricity at the fuse box.

I'm willing to wager its not EMI.

Good luck anyway.

 

The problem with that is that the laptop's battery is shot. I can only use it with the plug, and it turns off immediately when unplugged.

Before starting it up, after my trip, I did try turning all the breakers off, except for the furnace and the one room where I tested it. The result was that zapping. I guess I might be able to try turning off all but some other circuit, or running the plug to a surge protector (if I have or can find one that filters emi).

I'll do a little experimenting and report back. In the meantime, if anyone checks in and has any other ideas, please let me know.

Thanks.

 

Well there's your problem then you could have mentioned this before:-D Yes it will be unstable AC voltage,this isn't EMI 'electromagnetic interference',EMI is caused by other electrical sources emitting radio waves that induce current into components,you would have to practically be living on a radio mast for this to effect your laptop.

 

What about utilizing a UPS and plugging the laptop into the UPS while you are at home. The UPS will help regulate the power better than the laptop itself.