screwed up laptop

Blue screen from windows say something about drivers and then shuts off. It only is on for a few seconds, not enough time to read it. When I try to start up my computer, sometimes I'm able to get to start menu page, other times when I start up computer just get a black screen. Know I could just reinstall vista, but don't want to loose all the music I have on my computer. Another thing, when I do get to the start menu, the computer works normally for a minute or so before screen freezes and the screen becomes wierd. There is rectangular pieces of the screen in different spots, if that makes any sense, I don't know how to discribe it. My message is way too long, sorry!

Can you get into Safe Mode by rapidly tapping the F8 key just before the Windows Splash Screen shows up?

If so, please do this:

Upload Dump Files:
Please go to C:\Windows\Minidump and zip up the contents of the folder. Then upload/attach the .zip file with your next post.
Left click on the first minidump file.
Hold down the "Shift" key and left click on the last minidump file.
Right click on the blue highlighted area and select "Send to"
Select "Compressed (zipped) folder" and note where the folder is saved.
Upload that .zip file with your next post.

If you have issues with "Access Denied" errors, try copying the files to your desktop and zipping them up from there. If it still won't let you zip them up, post back for further advice.

If you don't have anything in that folder, please check in C:\Windows for a file named MEMORY.DMP. If you find it, zip it up and upload it to a free file hosting service (not RapidShare as the analysts usually can't download from it) - then post the link to it.
Then, follow the directions here to set your system for Minidumps (much smaller than the MEMORY.DMP file): Set MiniDump

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I really "hate" computer's right now!!!!!!!!

You lost me after F8. I know unbelievable right? Could you please reply to me again, and make it so this monkey can comprehend? If not, that's okay.
Tell you though, in the morning I turned on the laptop and it did a system restore point right away. Was working fine. I did basic cleaning; run ccleaner, disk cleaner(wow alot of stuff on it).(It's actually my 22yr.old son's computer, dumped it off good old mom to fix). So, the computer ran for a good 15 mins. before it froze up again, had to shut if off. Tried to start up again, freezes after welcome screen.
I'm wondering if something wrong with overheating? Yesterday I open up the fan area and cleaned it right out, was super filthy! I know long message again, so sorry!!!

When the computer boots, there's first a screen that shows a lot of stuff about the computer and it's manufacturer.

Then you get a short period of a black screen, then you get a screen where the Windows logo shows up and it says "Microsoft Windows".

Just before that Microsoft Windows screen comes up, start rapidly tapping F8. If successful, you'll get a black screen with white lettering that has several Safe Mode choices on it. Use the cursor (arrow) keys to scroll to the plain Safe Mode selection and then press "Enter". That'll get you into Safe Mode where you can do the stuff that I've suggested in my previous post.

If the system still crashes immediately after getting into Safe Mode - please post back and we'll see what else we can do.

I don't know what to do with this @#%@##ing laptop anymore. Now, it won't do anything. I press the power on, the fan starts, press F8 repeatedly, nothing, just black screen. The fan shuts off after a few seconds. Wonder maybe it's a hardware issue, I don't know. Thinking maybe his "acer" laptop is just a piece of, you know what!
Thinking maybe I just go and buy windows 7 and try it, see if it does anything. Tried the recovery discs for vista, nothing happened, cd tries to run and stops after few seconds.
What do you think, go buy windows7, see what that does. I don't have original of vista, because it came loaded already on my son's laptop.

Thank you for sending me a message and trying to help me out, I appreciate it soooooo much!!!!

Do you get anything on the screen?
If so, try these free, bootable diagnostics:

H/W Diagnostics:
Please start by running these bootable hardware diagnostics:
Memory Diagnostics (read the details at the link)
HD Diagnostic (read the details at the link)

Also, please run one of these free, independent online malware scans to ensure that your current protection hasn't been compromised: Malware (read the details at the link)

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if its a laptop then you cant really replace much hardware if its a hardware fault. Do you get past the POST screen(the screen that says your OEM's name with the options for the function keys)?

If the vista reinstall cd doesnt work then i doubt that the windows 7 disc will.

Sounds like your video card is screwed up.
If you are getting a wierd screen.
It could be the hardware or the driver.
Call acer support hear what they have to say.
Maybe they will fix it for you.
Or you could try best buy. If there is one near you.

Jimmy

I want to really thank everyone who posted solutions for me. I figured out, with all of your suggestions, my thinking, about 30hrs. of @#!?@#ing troubleshooting, and with the help of my perverted 3rd cousin(thinks it's okay for 3rd cousins to date!!)(BARF!!!!) the problems were my son had way too much stuff on his hard drive, get this he had 10,000 songs on it! Ram he only has 2 sticks 512mb, and there is some type of short from the hard drive that helps the monitor to work. My perverted cousin and I took the whole computer apart to troubleshoot. So we were able to safe some of my son's music by putting his harddrive into another laptop in safe mode. So, the harddrive isn't toast, once started from scratch, will work in the other laptop great. My cousin says he'll figure out what is is from the harddrive location that is faulty for the screen not to work. What I've learned from my own week of computer hell is to always check the harddrive first for issues. My cousin, the apartent computer wizard troubleshooted possible problems with me for the computer for 6 hours, before he even thought of testing out the harddrive itself.
Ya, I know again I've typed to much, I'm a woman, what do you expect!!!!!
So hopefully my cousin can figure out why the screen isn't working properly without me, I'm sick of him coming onto me, so siiiiickkkk!!!!!

Latest sagga for my son's laptop. Completely reinstall vista on harddrive by putting harddrive into another working laptop. Worked great! So I know harddrive is okay.
We took apart the whole laptop resoadered all connections to try to troubleshoot screen not working properly. We bent the cooling thing(the bronze coloured j shaped thing a little) and put back in and my laptop was working , shut on,etc... I noticed if I lift up the right hand corner of the laptop just a touch, computer screen problems come back, computer freezes,have to shut it off again. Even get the blue screen of death again when I try to start up again in safe mode even?
Sould I just give up on this computer. How do you know when your computer is beyond any type of repair?????