BSOD on startup -- even after switching drives

[NRXl]

I'm at wits end and am desperate. I'm not a computer whiz but I know basically how one works. My wife's Dell laptop (less than 4 months old) (Windows 7) crapped out and now wont load windows at all. It started BSoDing last week and i tried to diagnose it. Everytime I would do something rather task intensive the computer would BSOD and restart. We got all her files off the computer and used the recovery image on the computer to recover the computer to "factory state". The installation completed but upon restarting would bsod right as the windows logo appeared and restart. Ive read countless forums and others with this problem. Here are the things I did to try and resolve this issue with no success.

- ran the recovery tools to try and fix it
- check Ram and HDD for errors (none)
- removed the ram one at a time
- replaced the HDD with another laptop hard drive I had with windows vista on it. (still BSODed upon startup just like 7.)
- Tried installing Ubuntu (just so she could have something) Would not complete installation.

I'm assuming this is a hardware related issue. I just checked online and a CPU for this bad boy is only 30 bucks. But I thought I would check here before I go messing with hardware. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you

 

[Tmagic650]

Less than 4 months old? Any Warranty on it? Did you try a full factory restore?

 

[dernt]

I agree with Tmagic, check your warranty. But I would check air flow, get some canned air and clear the vents

 

[NRXl]

We purchased it from Walmart (I Should have known). I checked the serial number online and there is no warranty information.

Good Suggestion about the vents. I took compressed air to them. No success on boot though.

 

[NRXl]

I did try a full restore also. It restored and we were able to load windows once. We haven't been able to load since. The only thing I havent tried is a fresh install from a disc as I don't have a windows 7 disc. I just found a Windows 7 iso online and I'm going to try that. I'll update.

 

[Tmagic650]

"We purchased it from Walmart (I Should have known)"...
Computers purchased from Walmart carry warranties from the computer manufacturer. It is up to the purchaser to register the ownership and warranty terms on-line or by mail. The laptop should have had the instructions on it. It may be too late now, you have messed with the OS voiding any warranties

 

[NRXl]

I can't believe it.... I threw in the Windows 7 install disc, re-installed the OS, and it works perfectly now. I am dumbfounded.... how did it not work with a seperate hard drive? Oh well... I'm gonna hold on to this disc. Thanks everyone for your help.