Overheat shutdown. Now, no display after post and splash. HD running.

[Funkykev]

Gateway ML-3109 laptop.  XP Pro.  Sitting on  angled laptop support on my desk.  I was running full/thorough scan in Ad-Aware or AVG (don't recall)...and since this computer is a dog anyway, the scan had gone over the 1-hour mark and then then the comp shut down.  It definitely was hot..  Only one prior overheat incident 9 months ago when we were using it on a pillow :-)  After overheat, I put it on end to cool for about an hour.  Restarted and  now I get the post, splash logo, log-on music, and then no more display.  HD still going.  It's as if everything is 'normal' except that the display is not, uh, displaying..  Safe mode, debugging, recovery center, bootable XP disc,  all F8 options, etc...all yield the same result.  I'm REEEALLY lost on this one, guys.  Thx.  Kevin.

[Funkykev]

Crap!  Noone...NOONE has anything to say about this???   Must be a brand new/unique problem.  Geesh!

[Salmon Trout]

Crap!  Noone...NOONE has anything to say about this???   Must be a brand new/unique problem.  Geesh!

Posting like that is NOT RECOMMENDED. Nor is bumping generally.

[Funkykev]

Didn't actually think of that.  Was genuinely surprised I got no hits/asdvice as I always had in the past without fail.  Not intended, honest.  Flag 'em, burn 'em, delete 'em. It's all OK.  Just so you know it wasn't intentional.  But now I DO SEE your point as it top-lists the posting.
I have the death sentence on 12 systems!!! (but not really.)  Sorry.  KL.

[reddevilggg]

OK, what is the monitor displaying exactly, you say it does not display, but you see the splash logo and the Safe Mode options etc.

How do you KNOW the computer was hot? Any proof? Is your computer set-up to shut down after an hour if not in use.

Also, if it was an overheat,  i wouldn't advise putting it on end, there is no need, just turn it off for an hour.

[Funkykev]

      GOOD NEWS!!!  AVG-Free DID IT!!!  Skip to bottom if you like!!!    
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Recap and answers and I JUST NOTICED A FEW THINGS: Comp shut down after being on for 2 hours...the last hour of which it was running a thorough scan in AVG when it simply shut off/lost power.  I unplugged it and propped it on end, vent pointing up, with maximum air circulation,  left it there an hour or so.  It FELT extremely dad-gum hot!  Just like it did 9-months prior when using it on a pillow and overheated and shut-off.  Comp is not set up to shut-off, sleep, or hibernate.  It can actually only be on or off (another problem).  So, after the shut-off (not shut-down) and cool down I rebooted an it progresses normally: The quick GateWay boot option screen...then the Win XP splash and progress bar and then to black...and then the Win opening jingle and that's it.  Never see anything else.  HD continues to do it's thing and that's it.   All boot options accessible when I hit F8.  Anything it does in a DOS screen I can see.  CHKDSK /p found 1 or more errors.  Any loading/running of windows in any form still results in the black screen at the same point.
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New Info:  1)  I can noticeably affect the brightness of the screen...so it's not dead/powerless.  2)  SAFE MODE w/ Cmd Prompt option shows a hang on:  ...\system32\DRIVERS\AVGIDSEH.Sys
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-Holy WOW!!!  As I'm doing this last section in real time, it turns out AVG effed me.  Gotta go look at the fix.  Sorry so long to look at the Safe Mode w/ Cmd Prompt info.  Heh-heh, my idiot post could have some use...in a roundabout way, hopefully.  Thanks dudes.  Let ya know unless you kick me out :-)
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Whoops.  Here's the link to what I just found on a CNET forum:  http://tinyurl.com/48vgyk8
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And note that the AVG staff actually gets in on this conversation.  NICE!!!  Ironically, this is like the exterminator giving you bugs!!!!

[Salmon Trout]

Funkykev, you could moderate your language.

[umbra]

Hi,

 Since your pc is a laptop you could clean it up from dust, usually laptops should be clean up from dust inside from time to time, that could be the cause of your restarts.

 

[reddevilggg]

Since your pc is a laptop you could clean it up from dust, usually laptops should be clean up from dust inside from time to time,

That should be general maintenance, whether its a Laptop or Desktop.

[umbra]

Laptops more often because they do not have so big coolers, so CPU is affected much harder by dust, and components are crowded there. Anyway desktops should also be cleaned up but not so often as laptops in my opinion.

[fehenry]

Laptops more often because they do not have so big coolers, so CPU is affected much harder by dust, and components are crowded there. Anyway desktops should also be cleaned up but not so often as laptops in my opinion.

I have had more or less the same problem but I ignored it at my cost. One day it finally refused to start and a repair technician told me the motherboard was fried- it was a bin job. He put it down to insufficient ventilation; partly due to placing it on my lap a lot of the time and failing to use the vacuum cleaner on the air vents periodically.Your best bet, funkykev, would be to keep the laptop on a hard surface at all times so as to allow air to circulate freely underneath and to attempt to suck the built up dust that accumulates on the interior parts.
At the same time I'd start thinking about making back up copies of your critical data as a motherboard failure could be on the way.

[Funkykev]

New question & more info.  None of AVG's rescue options (cd/usb) are working out.  I've even tried another boot util using a bootable ISO disc as I tried with AVG's solution.  QUESTION IS:  let's assume only my video drivers got effed up somehow...can I create a bootable disc to reload said driver files?  Also, I'm not sure what can be converted to ISO, if even ISO is the only bootable format for XP.  After this, I'm done...it's either the sledge-hammer, the blow-torch, or a reinstall.  I preferr the first two!  Waaay more fun.  Awww, crap, geuss I still have to fix the hang on the AVG file.  And I can't any kind of useful  "C" prompt that will let me rename or delete or anything.  Source disc, HERE I COME!!! Phooey!