Comments on: Help Me Out With Some “Laptop Experts” Questions, Win $50

By: prizrak

prizrak — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 13:44:49 +0000

or btw, try here
http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/ProductInfo...

By: prizrak

prizrak — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 13:36:31 +0000

1: need bsod fault data.

2: need vendor and device data, for smbus controller :
win+r -> devmgmt.msc -> select the smbus controller -> right click -> properties -> open details folder -> select device instance id and look for strings like VEN_???? and DEV_????
then google for it with both of this strings, and look for the driver in another
drivers pack.

for example look here for smbus driver/inf:
http://www.station-drivers.com/page/amd%20chip.htm

By: prizrak

prizrak — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 12:44:49 +0000

or btw, try here
http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/ProductInfo...

By: prizrak

prizrak — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 12:36:31 +0000

By: Kouroth

Kouroth — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 22:02:29 +0000

Another thing for the “TOSHIBA M205 SHUTS OFF SUDDENLY THEN REBOOTS.”
You could try running a scandisk by booting up off the XP cd. The drive might have errors, don't know if you did a full format but it is normally a good idea with laptops just to be sure.

By: Kouroth

Kouroth — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 21:59:46 +0000

Does the laptop crash randomly after some time of use or does it happen right away? Does the bios allow you to adjust the fan speeds manually? What are you doing when it crashes?
Need more info but my first guess is a heat issue, one of the fans might be dead or blocked.
-
It doesn't look like Toshiba made an XP driver for that PC. http://www.laptops-drivers.com/ might have a hacked one.

By: no

no — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 20:17:53 +0000

turn off auto reboot on bsod and see what the problem is

By: Tim

Tim — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 15:53:23 +0000

I'll answer the first one first. I agree that it sounds like overheating, but with it shutting off in the exact same spot every time, I don't think it is. It really sounds like a memory issue. When the computer begins asking for more memory, it tries to access a sector that is bad. Replacing the memory may help.

Second, many computers shipped with WIndows VIsta do not have XP drivers. THe manufacturers have chosen not to support XP with a computer designed for Vista. I have experienced this with some HP models.

Thirdly, I have a Verizon modem that I use with my laptop that gets great coverage and is at least giving me DSL speeds, and sometimes faster. I hope this helps.

By: Pete

Pete — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 13:56:17 +0000

1. Tosh M205 – Most likely a bad stick of ram. But a replacement stick at a local shop (hell, get a bigger stick – not a bad time to bump up, ram is cheap). The Portege M205 has two ram slots, so check each in turn.

2. The “SM Bus” controller (system bus). This is a part of the AMD chipset (AMD M780V) on the motherboard. Unfortunately, I don't think there is an XP driver for this chipset.

3. Your choice of “broadband” wireless provider depends heavily on your location, but you'll probably be choosing between two providers – AT%T and Verizon.
AT&T's 3G wireless (HSDPA) has a pretty limited rollout so far compared to Verizon's (EV-DO). Check the service maps to figure out which one wil best suit your needs-
AT&T – http://www.wireless.att.com/coverageviewer/
Verizon – http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/CoverageLoca...

By: LHFixer

LHFixer — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 13:27:00 +0000

I used to have a Sony Vaio that did the same thing. I had to buy replacement chips and soldier them to the board. This was a well known, especially to Sony, use of bad chips. Might want to look around for a pattern. I would also check to make sure that your air intakes/exhausts aren't clogged up with anything, you wouldn't believe how much Husky hair will fit into a laptop.

I have rolled back my HP to XP and it isn't officially supported wither. The first time I did it I was never able to find the SM bus controller driver, the second time (yesterday) I was looking for the right Graphics driver from Nvidia and I downloaded one off of their website, it installed the SM “co processor” driver, and Ethernet driver and something else that I was planning on cobbling together with separate drivers. What it didn't install was a graphics driver, so it might be an option eventhough video on the M205 is intel based.