Posted: Thu May 18, 2017 12:51pm
OK.
So we know then it's probably the hardware that's causing the error.
If the information is important on the laptop and you need to recover. I would continue to boot up past the error. If you're afraid then while backing up the information I would sit a fan close to the machine to keep it cool.
Seeing as its an old laptop. It's more than likely that the fan might be lose or needs a new one.
There is also a possibility that a driver isn't working correctly.
If you aren't very tech savvy I wouldn't be installing a Linux distro.
Stick to Windows as it's much more user friendly for the average user.
I would try this first and if not bring to a store to get it repaired if it's worth repairing.
It will save you a lot of time and effort. If you haven't a backup and recovery disc for the laptop then installing drivers and so on can be very time consuming.
These things are easier to pin point the issue when in front of the laptop.
I hope I've helped enough as to that you have a diagnosis and some ideas on how to restore.
If you have any other question I'll happily help. I only registered to help yourself out