Blank gray screen and frozen

[ewhitford007]

I'm not sure how to describe this, but while I'm working on my laptop, the screen will suddenly go blank/blackish-gray; it will not respond to anything other than removal of all power sources or pressing the shutdown button for about five seconds. Upon restarting my computer, nothing appears to be wrong, other than it was shut down improperly...This is a reoccurring problem that has recently gotten worse, and I have no clue what's wrong. I have Vista, so maybe that's the problem; it doesn't matter what I was doing before it freezes. Help!!

[ChrisXPPro]

No idea right now but more info might help.

What time frame?  Consistent or random?  When did it first start?  Any recent driver/software changes?
What laptop - basic spec's and age? 

While it is normal check out your graphics details.

More info the better tho may still be hard to diagnose.

[ewhitford007]

Time frame:  It will stay blank until power is removed. Today, for instance, it's frozen up three times, doesn't matter whether I'm online or not.
It's random, I never know when it will freeze; sometimes I'll have been working for an hour, other times it's ten minutes after I turn it on.
This first started a while after I bought it brand new (about 10 months ago) and has gotten worse recently. I was told that new computers often have problems; the hard drive had to be wiped about four months ago, and I assumed the problem would be fixed afterwards, but it continued.
No recent changes.
What should I look for in my graphic details?

[ChrisXPPro]

Graphics - just basic info from Hardware manager should do - just to know what vid RAM there is and type of chipset maybe.

So it's erratic by sound of it - and this does suggest to me there could be some fault in the graphics card area - hardware or driver.

"I was told that new computers often have problems" - hmmm ... sounds like sales-talk to me!  10 months old - I'd be looking for some tech support from maker.

Anyone else - thoughts?

[drmsucks]

"I was told that new computers often have problems" - hmmm ... sounds like sales-talk to me!  10 months old - I'd be looking for some tech support from maker.

Anyone else - thoughts?

I agree totally!

What laptop - basic spec's and age? 

Mfg and model.

Do you use the laptop on a hard clean surface.

Down load Speedfan: http://www.almico.com/speedfan.php. Report back temperature readings.

In the meantime, remove and re-seat RAM: Power down, remove battery. Ground yourself and remove the memory. If you have 2 modules, just replace 1 and boot and run. Run long enough that the error would normally occur. Repeat with other module. Be certain that the memory is fully seated. Post back results.

[drmsucks]

the hard drive had to be wiped about four months ago,

Why?