I recently bought a used laptop, a Toshiba Tecra 9100. On startup, it will sometimes freeze before Windows XP can even load. If Windows does manage to load and I get to the desktop, it will freeze soon after. And this is if the laptop even starts up, sometimes I’ll press the power on button and the indicator light will come on, without any other sign of life. I then have to hold the button until the light goes off, then try again. I also don’t have any peripherals attached (mouse, wireless USB adapter, etc.), and it does this with the AC cord connected as well as disconnected.
I was just wondering if these laptops are known to ever experience these problems, because then when I get it repaired, I can point the technician in the right direction (resulting in me hopefully paying less in time saved). He estimated the work would cost 0 CAD, unless it took over an hour. He tested the hardrive and checked viruses for free, and found no problems.
Any info/ thoughts are appreciated, Thanks

I’m torn between these 2 choices.They are of the same price but I don’t know which to buy for school use. Please give me your opinion.

1.Dell InspironTM 640m
Intel® CoreTM Duo Processor T2050 (2MB Cache, 1.60GHz. 533MHz FSB
Genuine Windows® XP Home Edition
512MB DDR-2 SDRAM
60GB SATA-HDD
14.1" WXGA Display
Integrated Intel Graphics Media Acceleratoe 950 up to 224MB of Shared System Memory
About 2.4kg

2.Dell Inspiron 1501
AMD Turion 64 X2 Mobile Technology TL-50
Genuine Windows® XP Home Edition
512MB DDR-2 SDRAM
60GB SATA HDD
15.4" WXGA Display
ATI RAdoen Xpree 1150 with 256MB HyperMemory
About 2.9kg

I keep getting the message NTRLD missing and I keep having to format and reinstalling windows xp. at the xp setup window I can’t use the "R" Key to repair it, my only option is to partition and install xp.. after I get this message NTRLD missing I try to boot from Harddrive and it mentions a problem with cable, but it doesn’t say much, just error on cable or something like that.
I’ve already tested my harddrive and it’s working fine.. How do I test the cable on the harddrive.. I really need help here as i’m at uni and I need my laptop to study cisco and I keep having to format to gain my OS. Thanking you in advance

I tested my download speed at speakeasy.net/speedtest .
I have 2 computers. One computer is a laptop, I bought a USB Wireless adapter for it, the laptop runs on Windows ME. It’s DL speed is about 4700 kpbs. On my computer which is faster than my laptop and is using WIRE, using Windows XP. It only goes at a speed of about 3000kbps. And the wire is only about 20 feet. What can I do to make the speed for my Windows XP faster? I defragged the computer already.

I uninstalled Windows XP on my old computer. Can I install it on my new computer? Is there any way to test the key beforehand to see if it is a valid code? I tried to use the key from my laptop, but it would not allow it. I threw my old computer away. Will the key still be linked to my old computer? How does it know if the key is installed on another computer?

I have been having problems with my older laptop. Windows XP keeps restarting and looping. I am unable to use safe mode because when I choose any of those options, a blank screen appears and that’s it, or it freezes. It was an Acer Inspire 5004 WLMi and it has a 100GB hard drive that was partitioned into two sections. I took the hard drive out, and I want to repartition it to get all of my data off of there so that I can use this laptop as a test laptop and put Windows 7 on there. How do I repartition the notebook hard drive with a usb disk enclosure? If I must use another method, please let me know that as well.

i bought a used laptop that belonged to a school. it is locked with a password. is there anyway i can overwrite the password myself without having to take it to a computer shop?
i bought a used laptop that belonged to a school. it is locked with a password. is there anyway i can overwrite the password myself without having to take it to a computer shop?

i’ve tried using "password" and not entering a password at all and it still doesn’t work. the computer is an hp compaq nc6000 and the operating system is windows xp professional.
it’s the password at the welcome screen