Is My Laptop on it's Last Legs and now Dying?

Okay, I've been using my not so trusty lenovo g-555 very heavily over the past few weeks….it's older, i bought it the spring of 2010…. this week I think it might be telling me it can't handle the stress I'm on a website and the screen goes white, it doesn't CRASH per se, it is still running, but everything i was doing is gone and i'm in a white screen limbo…. happened twice yesterday and just today, now, twice….. it's not just the losing of what I was saying, it's scarier because the second time, it just wiped out over half of my favorites list….. now how'd that occur? nothing shut down, but the computer re-adjusted something and wiped out 3/4th's of my favorites list and that is darn annoying, i can't remember those 50 other websites that were important or caught my eye and offered me something I wanted to remember. I know nothing about computers, but i do know they really don't last all that long, maybe some of you out there have the ability to do updates and add features that keep it well oiled like a new spring, but let's face it, there are dolts like me out there who just are not intrepid enough to open a computer and do what? well, what you are doing, i sure can't do it. I just can't. i've had minor nervous breakdowns just running scans and downloading stuff you tell me to do when i get a virus… well, to be truthful? a lot of them weren't so minor….. when the computer goes ka-flooey, it's like apocalypse now for me. do ya think it sounds like my computer might be giving up the ghost here??? Should I run to best buy and get a bunch of USB memory sticks and save my poems, scribblings and photos IMMEDIATELY????? thanks guys for your in put!!!!

What is sometimes common on laptops through opening and closing it many times, the Video Flex Cable from the M'board to the LCD (mentioned elsewhere in a recent thread) can become loose or one of the very tiny wires in the ribbon connection of that cable, can become frayed and cause "white screen" episodes.

It might be worth getting a quote to have the Video Flex Cable inspected and replaced if need be, but it is worth remembering that with any laptop (and they are becoming very cheap), consider replacing it, as repairing them have very diminishing returns unless you can take it apart, are capable of removing all dust and replacing parts if need be, yourself.

Cheers,
Lee

but let's face it, there are dolts like me out there who just are not intrepid enough to open a computer…

That's not fair. Notebooks in particular are NOT designed for "normal" users to open up and do maintenance. And most technicians I know would much rather work on PC where you can almost climb inside and still have room to work.

However, normal users typically can access the hard drive via an access panel and I would suggest you pull the hard drive, install it into an enclosure, or in a second computer as a secondary drive, then copy off any data you don't want to lose.

Taking out your "Favorites" is a concern because those are really just shortcuts (small files) saved typically under C:\Users\Bill\Favorites (with your username instead of mine - unless you are Bill too). If files are being corrupted, that would be a sign of something more serious.

I might suggest connecting an external monitor and see if the display is bad there too. If good, then it likely is your notebook's monitor and not the notebook computer itself.

digerati, i admire your confidence in me, but at my advanced age, i have lost the capacity for intrepid, courageous movement. no can do, not going to open this up, not going to pull a hard drive out, wouldn't know what it looked like anyway, lol and as for " install it into an enclosure, or in a second computer as a secondary drive, then copy off any data you don't want to lose. " ????????????? basically you just asked me to split an atom, invent a cure for cancer and solve world peace, I have no idea what an enclosure is, once upon a time i had a second computer, my old desktop, seriously now, i would know how to install it in my cut rate bare bones psuedo-kinda-cheapo-non-name-brand-hunk-a-junk computer tower that would have been 7 years old this year??? the tower that didn't even have a disc drive??? LOL, yeah, right. dream on….. i have no idea how to do it and how would anyone get data out of some hard drive onto another computer, do all computers have empty holes inside for more hard drives???? you live on another planet than i do…. that's not a diss on you sweetie, it is true of me though, you live on planet earth where everyone has i phones,i-pads, mp3's, tweet, can open a zip file unlike me, it took me three years before i could cut and paste, lol….. i'm an alien from a far less advanced civilization who can't even figure out how to flash when the second phone call comes in, i have to tell the person i'm speaking with i have to hang up now, another caller is trying to get thru. I know you are not able to conceive of this, this level of stupidity, but in cases such as mine, it kinda goes hand in hand with living on $609 soc. security each month, y'all out there have multiple tech toys, I have one lap top and no cell phone and no money to get 'em used, second hand or donated even, 'cause who can afford minutes, monthly plans. Lee? same thing, i assume what you are talking about is something inside the computer that needs a repairman and computer people here in the Triangle charge an arm and a leg. if this computer dies, i will do what I will have to do to try to purchase a USB stick, save little bits out of the gasoline budget and the food budget, instead of $20 a week in gas make do with $15, do without meat for a few weeks and there's at least $20,heck, we are transitioning out of hot humid summer and my fuel bill should be lower for a bit, and when push comes to shove, can wait until it hits 55 degrees in here before I turn on the furnace, slowly but surely I'll eventually have enough to get another computer ((((SIGH)))) you have a nice day guys, thank you for trying, i guess i have the impression you don't think the computer is taking it's last breaths, I will take my chances and wait to purchase the USB memory sticks when I can save enough for them by robbing the food budget or my gasoline budget to purchase them. You can close this thread, no reason to torture either of us any longer take care thanks anyway

Then it seems you have two choices then, bite the bullet and go find a screwdriver or take the computer to a shop. There is certainly no shame in doing that.