CF-51 MK1 blue screens

hello all. i am new to this site and i need some help or advice. i am working on a cf-51mk1 and it keeps blue screening. i have switch the memory to lower to a pc2100 and i got through the windows setup, then i was doing some updates which probably took about 15min, after that i re started, once it started back up only 2 mins after that it blue screen and re started. before i re installed windows it was doing it before. when i was installing windows it never blue screened. only in windows it blue screens. mention before i changed memory and i even changed the hd 3 times thinking it might be that. any advice? please help

 

Sounds like you have a thermal problem. You need to check the cooling path for dirt, hair or just about anything that can block that path. Open the system and check the fan and cooling fins for the CPU. You would not believe what I have found in some systems. A can of compressed air would be a real help.

 

thanks for your help. ill give it a try this weekend when i have some time and let you know how it turns out. thanks.

 

I suspect the ram....but:
Under the keyboard you will see the cpu. Pull the spring loaded screws (4) and turn the metal piece upside down. How's that thermal pad?
I just had one heating on me that I had replaced the pad on. Turned out I did not have good contact so I doubled it in my case using 2 .5mm pieces. (total 1.0) If you have to use the old pad smoosh it gently together. Better yet get a chunk of thermal pad from FrozenCPU.
In case anyone brings it up.. I don't think Arctic Silver on a dried out pad is the answer.

As always FWIW.

Welcome to the forum.

Jeff
replace test with thermal pad or Frozencpu (Thanks to Azrial)
TEST site:forum.notebookreview.com/panasonic - Google Search

 

frozencpu's thermal pads can be bought directly from them or found on fleabay for less than heartlands, it the shipping that gets you, but they ship FAST.....Driller

 

thanks for all the replies and advice. i had tried it this morning, it had had some heavy dust in it, so i cleaned that up with some canned air. i also had put some new thermal paste called shinetsu some brand that panasonic uses. so after all that i put everything back together, turned it on and left it running. within about 5 mins it blue screens and restarts again. can it be the fan? i haven't checked that out.

 

1. Did you try a different ram module?
2. Thermal paste can be a fair band-aid until you get a thermal pad.

If the ram checks out the band-aid failed.

Is the fan running continuously or on and off? My 51R runs about a minute or so and then the fan kicks on. I have a CF-51A that seems like it's two speed.

Look for a free program( with Azrial's search engine )to monitor temp.

G'luck.

 

Most definitely check the fan. Check all the vents making sure they are clear. Also try spinning the fan blades. They should spin freely and spin more than a few times after you 'flick' them. They should not stop almost right away. I have follow-on tips if that is the case.

 

ill try the thermal pad on tonight and while im in there ill also check the fan to see how that it.

 

so i just put in a new fan and it still blue screens. im going to go ahead and assume its the main board that bad. thanks again

 

Your last hope. Take out all the ad on hardware like cd rom, wireless card and etc except Ram coz it has no builtin one. Then power it up and see if it happen again. Also check the hdd cable riboon specially the connector if there is some bruises that may short tiny line. Both side of the connector.


ohlip

 

Wait a minute. I have never seen any reference to what error the BSOD is telling you. WHAT error are you getting? Did you research that error on the web? It is very possible you have a program or a combination of programs that are not playing nice.

Remember it is almost impossible to accurately troubleshoot a problem if we can't see what is happening right in front of us. We have to rely on what you tell us. Yes, some of us said it may be a heat related problem but that was based on what you told us. Now is the time to tell us a much fuller picture.

Sadlmkr mentioned he thought it might be the RAM. Did you swap that out? If you have two sticks of RAM installed, try pulling one at a time and see if the problem disappears. If it does, it is that stick. If not, put that stick back in and pull the other looking for the same thing.

If it is a heat problem, it may very well crop up if you went into BIOS and stayed there for some time.

Pull everything not necessary to run. Pull the CD drive, wireless card, battery. Try again. I ran across a CD drive today that will give me a BSOD when it is accessed.

Don't just give up and assume the motherboard is bad. There are still alot of steps to figuring out the problem.

 

Good post Rusty. Where I was comin from is his second? sentence mentions a change of ram. Is this correct?
1.Your computer worked.
2.Changed ram and does not work.
Or did I miss something?

 

My bad, I missed that. Wait, PC2100? Maybe too slow? According to Panasonic:

What type of memory can be used in the CF-51 Toughbook? This depends on the specific model number:

CF-51xxxxA/H/Qxx (Mk1) -- DDR SDRAM, PC-2700-compliant

CF-51xxxxB/J/Rxx (Mk1LL) -- DDR2 SDRAM, PC2-4200-compliant

CF-51xxxxC/K/xx (Mk2) -- DDR2 SDRAM, PC2-4200-compliant

CF-51xxxxD/Lxx (Mk2LL) -- DDR2 SDRAM, PC2-4200-compliant

CF-51xxxxE/Mxx (Mk3) -- DDR2 SDRAM, PC2-4200 compliant

CF-51xxxxF/Nxx (Mk3LL) -- DDR2 SDRAM, PC2-4200-compliant

 

rusty thanks for all the advice. yes the memory that did come with it was a 2700 inside and i thought it might have been that so then i changed it to a 2100. i also did try having everything removed and start up and also that failed. i put new heat compound that pansonic uses on the old units, also put in a new fan. still fails.

 

One more thing that I've missed to tell you to check it out. Look on the PCMCIA connector terminal(inside the cage). The location where you slide in the card. Check if there are bended pin or pins that shorted to the other. It must be clear as nothing to be bended to the other and each of every pin must free from one another. Use a flash light if necessary.


ohlip

 

Not sure what the issue with the OP's unit may be, but it seems to me that the CF 51's have a much higher motherboard failure rate than other Toughbooks.