I think it may be becaused I accidentally bumped it. When I turn on my laptop it freezes after about 3-5 minutes (like it still makes fan noises and that sort of thing but the stuff on the screen freezes and it won't respond to mouse movements or key presses). After I forcefully turn it off it freezes right away if I turn it back on again, only after a long rest (an hour?) does it go back to working for a couple of minutes before freezing again. I tried switching memory modules, didn't help, maybe both of them are busted or neither since it always takes about the same amount of time to freeze. It is also probably not the harddrive as it freezes even if I leave it in bios. It is a dell inspiron 4000. PLEASE HELP ME!!!

If you remove memory altogether and let it sit in BIOS, does it still freeze (ruling out memory altogether)?

Sounds like heat-activated failure, could be mobo or CPU.

Things don't look good for the home team...

if i remove memory all together it doesn't start, like even the lcd won't turn on - a light blinks and goes off. I don't think it's heat either as it used to shut down when overheated instead of freezing. can i salvage it?

Certainly sounds like a hardware issue. It may not necessarily be the heat, but as usual you can not rule that one out.

Have you tried booting into DOS (from a CD/Floppy) instead of Windows? When is the last time you reinstalled? What OS is it? Have you tried memtest [memtest86.com]?

Try booting into 'safe mode' by pressing 'f8' right after memory test finishes then choose 'safe mode' that stops most autostarting programs.
and as redsolar said "Have you tried booting into DOS (from a CD/Floppy) instead of Windows? "
Best of luck

Thanks, but as it freezes in bios I don't see how it will not freeze in DOS. Also, I have tried the memtest but it freezes as well, without producing any errors. I haven't formatted the harddrive since like december/november, but that's not that long ago and I don't think it's the harddrive.

Since you mentioned a bump I'd suggest unseating/reseating the memory and the HD.

:EDIT: Just read you've already reseated the memory. Have to taken a look at the battery? Does it happen even on AC power?

Quote : if i remove memory all together it doesn't start, like

Of course it wont !
if thats what you ment by "frezing in bios" you probaly still have a chance.
leave it run for a while in the bios, still work? ==> check Hdd.
reseat Hdd (youve allready put memory back in) ==> ok now ?
75% of the computers that boot and open windows are fine.
if you get back in windows
start==>Run==> chkdsk (scandisk for 2k and<)

Quote from tropical tech : Of course it wont ! if thats what you ment by "frezing in bios" you probaly still have a chance. leave it run for a while in the bios, still work? ==> check Hdd. reseat Hdd (youve allready put memory back in) ==> ok now ? 75% of the computers that boot and open windows are fine. if you get back in windows start==>Run==> chkdsk (scandisk for 2k and

Ah, not quite. By freezing in BIOS I meant when I go into bios and look at settings in stuff it works for the first couple of minutes and then freezes, just like it does in windows. So no when I leave it in bios it does not work.
And that not booting thing I meant was a response to someone who suggested I take out all of the memory and when I do that it doesn't freeze it just never boots up like the lcd doesn't power on so that wasn't helpful.

So.... any way to get you to try memtest?

next step is power,
but i belive you said it does it with a/c connected?
the bumb seems to bee the nonrepetable here, but you can try a differnt mem stick.
looks like ya gota go in!
check for loose wires and pray you dont find any cracks.

Quote from redsolar : So.... any way to get you to try memtest?

You guys are totally missing what I said. I have tried the memtest as noted above in my post, but it didn't yield any errors just froze after sometime just like EVERYTHING ELSE FREEZES. And it's not the power thing because it does that on a/c and on battery.
And tropical tech, I had two memory sticks and switched them up, but I don't want to have to buy a new one just to prove that switching the two was the same as spending money on a new memory stick. And i have opened it up and didn't notice anything, except when I was putting it back I didn't attach the heatsink well and so it would shut down after like 10 seconds, then I realized my mistake and fixed it, this returned it to its previous state of freezing after several minutes.

Have you tried completely removing the battery and running it straight off the AC?

Does it feel warm to the touch when it freezes? Or is heat not really an issue in your mind?

Describe the bump. How hard? Did it just get bumped, or bump and fall? What external wires/devices were connected to the laptop when it got bumped?