Solved: BSOD or freeze up shortly after computer starts

I inherited this Toshiba laptop from a friend. It occasionally froze up when I ran explorer.exe or Windows Media Player. It always has run slow. I started to remove software I was not using and installed MS updates. I have checked it out with Avast and Spybot, and ran registry software. I tried to defrag but the computer said it did not need it.

Now it has started to give me the BSOD or just freeze up every time I start it, shortly after I start it. It does better in Safe Mode, but it still eventually freezes.

This is beyond my abilities at this point and I am not sure if it can be fixed short of reinstalling a new OS which will be difficult since I don't have the discs and am not currently in the US.

MORE DETAILS:

Sysinfo:
Tech Support Guy System Info Utility version 1.0.0.2
OS Version: Microsoft® Windows Vista™ Home Basic, Service Pack 2, 32 bit
Processor: Intel(R) Celeron(R) CPU 900 @ 2.20GHz, x64 Family 6 Model 23 Stepping 10
Processor Count: 1
RAM: 1915 Mb
Graphics Card: Mobile Intel(R) 4 Series Express Chipset Family, 830 Mb
Hard Drives: C: Total - 143736 MB, Free - 35653 MB;
Motherboard: TOSHIBA, Portable PC
Antivirus: avast! Antivirus, Updated and Enabled

Temp file generated after crash
C:\Users\Owner\AppData\Local\Temp\WER65F3.tmp.version.txt
Windows NT Version 6.0 Build: 6002 Service Pack 2
Product (0x2): Windows Vista (TM) Home Basic
Edition: HomeBasic
BuildString: 6002.18881.x86fre.vistasp2_gdr.130707-1535
Flavor: Multiprocessor Free
Architecture: X86
LCID: 1033

 

Yes, it is a Toshiba laptop L305-S5955. http://www.cnet.com/products/toshiba-satellite-l305-s5955/specs/

Purchased approx in 2008 or 2009 and running Vista Basic.

I am working on getting the memory test going. Thanks, and I'll get back to you asap.

I probably should mention, the battery for the laptop is quite dead and if I unplug the computer for even a few minutes the computer shuts down. I wonder if that could be an issue.

 

It turns out I can boot from the usb. Can the mem test be run from a usb? If so, would it be the same or different file? I tried to burn it to a cd but while it starts and seems to work, it has problems when it tries to verify that it burned correctly. Please advise.

 

I ran the mem test from the USB port. It didn't show any errors. When the test starts it gives the option of Fail Safe (F1) or Multi Thread (F2). So, I ran them both for 14 passes each, not being sure of the difference. I also played around with the settings. I never was able to figure out the SP and CR (which button to hit?), but I played with the test settings. If I put in test number 11 it did crank out errors but that test did not seem to be a part of the regular test it was runs. It said that I have two banks of memory 1024 MB each. The test I ran did them concurrently.

 

Thanks for the help, especially to BluesHarp. I found a guy who is here visiting who helped me rebuild the computer. Now it seems to be working fine. No more BSOD and it is much faster.