I've got this old hp dv8000 lying around and I'd like to use it as a back up computer but the problem is its so old xp ran it into the ground and the internal fan is jammed and a started giving me the blue screen of death Irq not less than or equal to. I tried to open it up but there's no good way to get into it.
Here's the specs for it:
AMD Turion-64 ML-32 (1.8GHz/512KB L2 Cache)
512MB 333MHz DDR SDRAM (1x512MB 200-pin SODIMM)
80GB 4200RPM HD
17-inch Ultra Brightview WXGA+ screen
128MB ATI RADEON XPRESS 200M w/Hypermemory
DVD+/-RW/R & CW-RW Combo w/Double Layer Support
Windows XP Home
Broadcom 802.11b/g WLAN

I've tried slacko, mini jinx, and Ubuntu. Ubuntu won't boot reliably on it ATM, slacko actually caused it to overheat while I was on Facebook and mini jinx is a little too bare for my taste. I'm going to set it up so it will have a fan blowing on it constantly but does anyone have some suggestions as to what I should do or a good distro?

If you use Google to search for 'hp dv8000 hardware manuals' you will find the hardware manual for your system. It has pictures and shows you what screws need to be removed to access any hardware element. See the link below. The fan may only need dust and dirt removed to spin again.

-->http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c00554540.pdf

It's buggy for a reason...

If i owned this laptop, I would think of what advantage I would acquire in using my time and energy to install some linux on a faulty and possibly failing machine. If that fan isn't moving enough air to cool it, it's going to be buggy and it's on its way to die.

I would at least increase my chances of success by using a screwdriver and the good HP service manual provided by cammori to open the case and give it a thorough cleaning.

Depending on whether that makes any difference, I'd decide if going further is worth the effort or a waste of time.

Running the laptop without the internal fan is just going to cause more overheating and problems.

If you want to use it, fix the fan before you start playing with distros.

Fix fan.

Run memtest.

Alright i'll start on it tonight. That service manual is actually very helpful. It's been broken for 4 years at least and that was back when I hardly knew anything about computers.

Thanks for the help and especially the service manual. I'll get it fixed then report back here.

If the fan or heatsink is dusty use a can of compress air.

I'm pretty sure the fan doesn't kick on at all. It's from 2005 and it gets to critical temperature levels and becomes very hot to the touch. The blue screen that I got with windows that said irq not less than or equal to is a specific critical temperature warning.

Alright I got it taken apart and the fan and other parts were covered in dust and hair. I cleaned it all up and now I can hear the fan running and it seems a little faster but not by much. What do you guys suggest next? I'm currently booting slacko off a cd.

Memtest.

See bios temps maybe.

Well just running puppy it doesn't heat up too much but if I go into the bios it overheats almost instantly. I have a fan blowing straight on it right now and it's staying cool. So what's the most lightweight but complete distro?

Replace the fan or give up.

Kind of got me stumped on the bios overheating.

Distro selection will not fix the underlying hardware problem. ebay says your laptop is worth less than $100, personally I would simply replace it.

I think the fan is just not running at full capacity hence the overheat with resource heavy operation but not with simple things. Since its worth less than $100 and the screens broken on it I'd rather not spend money on it. I'm just looking to make it into a backup computer that's fairly reliable. I'd just be using it for browsing and file downloads. I also have another computer btw so it's not like this one is my lifeline or anything. I'd like to just turn this into my project computer.

I think we have different definitions of "fairly reliable."