Colored Vertical Bars when crashing

I've been getting random crashes for months now, since I got my Dell Inspiron last Nov. It seems to happen randomly, sometimes 2 or 3 times per day or per week.

The screen freezes and shows these vertical bars, about an inch wide, that are multi-colored and not solid, kind of mosaic-like. I then get rebooted to the black screen which prompts me to either open windows in safe mode or normally.

Any idea if this is a hardware or software issue so I can investigate further?

Follow these instructions
https://www.sevenforums.com/crashes-d...tructions.html

The screen freezes and shows these vertical bars, about an inch wide, that are multi-colored and not solid, kind of mosaic-like

Seems like overheating or defective hardware

Make sure the video card cooling fan is running and your not plugged up with dust in the heat sink

Sorry, I'll get that info together. I was only going to ask about the vertical bar crashes this time, although I do get BSOD crashes too, but with the vertical bar crashes, there's no blue screen, just takes me to the "start windows normally" screen.
Does that mean there are two kinds of crashes or causes?

Thanks, diehrd. Fan's running. It's an Intel HD, integrated into processor. I've never worked with GPU's before, but does that mean I can't replace it if it's the culprit? I'm under the Dell 1 yr warranty until November.

If thats the culprit , you can not replace it but you can put in a video card if it came to that.

Follow the BSOD recommendation posted above :) People here are good at sorting out an issue with it

Ok here are the test results and perfmon report.

Got the Dell last November. Win 7 Home x64 OEM
When I first got computer, I messed up something with Windows Live and decided to use Dell Restore partition to restore to factory condition. This failed for some reason, so I started to use the installation disks, not realizing that this would change the MBR. Dell support eventually got me to restore, but I can no longer use the restore partition (b/c of altered MBR?).

Anyway, that was in Nov. But I've been crashing on and off ever since, and trying to find out what it is.

Sometimes it's the vertical bar crash, other times it's a BSOD.

I wanted to zero in on the vertical bar thing first and see if it's a hardware issue. I dont' know, maybe both crashes are related. Really appreciate your help!

Seems like overheating or defective hardware

What's the most likely thing so I can narrow down what hardware to test?

HDD - SeaTools short DST, S.M.A.R.T. and Short Generic tests all pass.
Speedfan reports HD temp=34C, cores 0,1,2,3=24C

How do I test Intel HD graphics card?

I'll try Memtest tonight. How to narrow down which RAM module is at fault (if at all)? Should I try running OS with 1 module at a time or do I need 2 in at a time b/c of Win7 x64?

Any way to test the power supply?

Vertical bar crashes seem to happen while on internet or handling lots of photos being transfered or a video being edited.

Feel like I've been spun around with a blindfold...where's the pinata?

I'm thinking about installing 2nd HD with the WinXP installation from my previous computer, or am I just begging for trouble?

I had no BSOD's or crashes with it before, maybe it will help me figure out hardware vs. software/drivers?

It's a Seagate Barracuda 7200.9, 200Gb, SATA +5v 0.46A, +12v 0.56A.

I'm not a newbie, but just trying to learn from the best. Some of you are amazing-really appreciate how you take the time to help the rest of us!

Scrap that idea-just found out I'd have WPA issues with Microsoft, since that WinXP version came OEM with the old Compaq box.