MSI GT780R Laptop Blue Screens when trying to boot.

[357blackhawk]

This laptop is an MSI GT780R. I started having this problem a few years back, the laptop just blue screens and resets before I can read what is on it. I am using Windows 7. This happens regardless of how I try to boot up:
Booting into windows 7 (with and without safe mode)
Trying to boot using a windows 7 DVD
Trying to boot off of a USB drive
The recovery option by pressing f3
The windows recovery option

I am an electronics student, so I decided to try and get this thing running again recently. The whole computer is stock except for the hard drives. (I parted out the stock ones a while back and just stuck a single 320GB western digital blue in it to try and get it running.)
The weird thing is, i installed the hard drive and installed windows on it, and it worked just fine for about 45 minutes. Then it started having the same problem that caused me to buy a new computer again.
I figure this might be a hardware issue, so i removed the case and did a visual inspection of components: no obvious damage. I replaced the thermal paste and tried booting again, but no luck.

I am out of ideas, so I came here to see if anybody can help me learn to fix this problem.

Thanks in advance,
357blackhawk

Edit* When i replaced the thermal paste, the old stuff was kind of crusty, but the heat sinks still felt like they were stuck to the GPU and CPU pretty well, so I don't think that I burned either of them out. (Hopefully)

Edit #2* When trying to boot into windows, it gets to the part when the colored dots start to form the windows icon and crashes about half way through. Also, sorry for the long post. Just trying to provide as much accurate information as I can.

 

[hackerk]

there might be the problem with the power which is provided to the HDD by the laptop. so it seems that it is damaging the HDD that's why your laptop is failing the boot process. and the other thing might be there is RAM. try to replace your RAM and see if it works or not.

 

[357blackhawk]

I know it is a good hard drive, me and my buddy that is trying to help me fix this tested the HDD before we put it in. I also don't have any spare sticks of RAM, but the system has 4 4GB sticks, so I could try removing a few of the sticks. 2 of them are on the other side of the MB, and I am not exactly sure which of the ports I would want to have RAM in if I had say, 2 sticks. I'll give it a shot though, I'll report back with the results in a bit.

 

[357blackhawk]

Ok, so it turns out that the ports on the underside of the MB are sockets 3 and 4. I took the sticks out and it booted up. Now, is there any way to figure out which stick is bad, and if one of them is still good can I run it in socket 3, or does it also need a stick in socket 4 for the 2 to work?

 

[hackerk]

you can just use one stick at a time to check which stick or socket is failing. try single stick per slot and then another stick per slot.

 

[357blackhawk]

Alright, so after some trial and error I've come up with the following results:
Both sticks of RAM are good.
Both sockets on the motherboard are good.
The only time I could not get the computer to boot up was when BOTH sticks of RAM were installed in either order.

 

[hackerk]

OK then that's it. use it on same side. might be possible that it is not supporting the either side bus transfer from ram.

 

[357blackhawk]

I'm not sure what you are saying, can you elaborate?

Are you telling me I should remove the MB and try to put 1 of the sticks on either side?

 

[hackerk]

i am telling that if there is total 4 ports for ram. they use it them like 2 sticks in port 1 & 2 or use them on port 3 & 4.

 

[357blackhawk]

Wow that took a few hours.

Ok, so I swapped sockets 1 and 2 for 3 and 4. Continuing to have the same problem as before. It won't boot up with RAM in sockets 3 and 4, but both sockets and both sticks of RAM are good.

 

[hackerk]

exactly how many sticks of RAM do you have actually? And if everything is working with slot 1 & 2 then you dont have to change other things.

 

[357blackhawk]

There is 4 sticks of RAM, 4GBs apiece. The only 2 sockets that don't seem to work together are 3 and 4, which are on the underside of the laptop.

 

[hackerk]

ok there might b problem with the bus speed and bus width. if your laptop is in warranty period then you should go to service center.