6d ago

Uh oh, this doesn't look good.

This laptop is like 10 years old and belonged to my dad before he gave it to me so I could use it for studies (I have a different gaming PC). I hope it just requires an OS reinstall...

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Hardware gore
That’s the telltale pattern of VRAM issues If this system has dedicated graphics, there’s a high tool and skill ceiling to executing repair.
If this has integrated graphics, regular RAM gets used as VRAM and repair is easy as long as the memory is modular
There’s always the possibility that this is a silicon level issue in the GPU/CPU but those cases are statistically less probable
- This is an Acer Aspire ES1-512 with integrated Intel graphics, so I am still betting it's likely the RAM stick that decided it didn't want to be alive anymore. Luckily for me I can get a new 8 GB DDR3L stick for like 12 USD.
  
  If you can, run memtest86 to confirm memory errors are happening
... Wild guess, but this looks like ram failure...
- I'm gonna try to shove a Linux Mint distro on it. But if this error happens again I'll know it's the RAM and will take measures to replace it.
  EDIT: Seems like the power led keeps flashing on and off, so that's probably it...
  
  If the RAM is removable (i.e. not soldered to the motherboard), try re-seating it.
  
  You can search for blink codes and the model number. It will give you an idea of whether its the RAM or something else.
Is this how they design carpets for hotel hallways?
- And bus seats
Seen similar due to dead or nearly dead cmos battery, (like a watch battery). Easy fix in my experience multiple times
Whoa...full keyboard with numpad?!?
- Only type of laptop I find acceptable :>
  
  I found it so strange that the last time I looked at laptop reviews all the reviewers would list a numpad as a negative and not just a simple preference thing.
  Guess people don't use their computers to compute anymore...
Does the bios screen display ok before boot?
If not you might have a loose cable between the motherboard and display.
- The power light keeps flashing when I turn it on now, so I suspect it might be RAM failure.
  
  Yeah RAM or GPU
My Commodore 64 does that!
Are you defragging the hard drive?
That looks like an OS reinstall to me. Time to distro-hop?
- That's hardware failure, bet money.
- I was using Windows 11 before cause I wanted to use the Xbox app so I could get Rewards points if I left my gaming PC, but with the bad quality of the SSD installed on it I might just shove Linux Mint on it and call it a day. My only usage intention is programming/browsing the web. And if I ever get a bigger SSD I could just use a Windows virtual machine to run the Xbox App on.

28 comments