A Dell Tech had me run a hardware diagnostic test on my laptop which was accessed by holding down the Fn key while hitting the power button. The test said everything passed. I'm still having problems with the computer crashing when running videos even though I have updated the drivers.

The Dell diagnostic test is a rudimentary test of some, but not all, hardware functions. Think of it as a quick physical exam by your doctor. It is what it is--it isn't an MRI or stress test or any of the more elaborate tests that your doctor might prescribe for you.

Also, remember that some hardware problems are intermittent. Your memory may pass a quick test but fail on a repeated 24-hour test of the same kind.

Odds are that the crashes are due to software or interactions among various software modules. Sometimes the latest drivers are NOT the ones you should be using--they may not work as well with your particular laptop as the older drivers. Or the computer may be misidentifying its hardware and selecting the wrong drivers. Or you may be using a 32-bit driver for a 64-bit system or vice versa, or one meant for a different version of the operating system.

There are many ways to troubleshoot the sort of problems you describe. First tell me what you mean by "crash"--does an error message appear, does the machine restart or freeze, does it always happen with one particular video, does it NOT happen with other videos? Have you tried simplifying your computer environment by eliminating startup items? Can you play the video in Safe Mode with Networking?

Jeff/CompGuy