Sudden Shutdown

[Unlord]

i've been suffering lately from sudden shutdowns with no error messages whatsoever and nothing to relate the reason. I have a pentium 4 , 2.8 Ghz processor, 512 RAM, 64 MB VGa.

What i've been mainly doing before it shuts down is gameplay, like NBA 2005, Red Alert command and conquer, and similar games. It even shuts down when im just browsing the internet.

Any hints?

 

[VenomXt]

open your case up make sure its realtivly clean and air flow is ok. you could be overheating but would need more info.

 

[Mastershakes]

open your case up make sure its realtivly clean and air flow is ok. you could be overheating but would need more info.

That's a good hint / guess

 

[ray_gillespie]

Yeah could always be you PSU too, what brand/spec is it, and how old?

 

[mlakrid]

Yeah could always be you PSU too, what brand/spec is it, and how old?

True, but PSUs normally give signs of suffering from old age such as sudden lock ups and restarts, long before they go the auto-shutdown route....

I would say an airflow/over heat as well..

Or maybe even thermal paste past its shelf-life, when I experience things like these its vacumm out the PC and fans, remove the CPU, remove the old thermal paste, replace, and restart. then if the shutdowns happen again.. I would start looking at the PSU

Unless, you changed something in the system, such as CPU, or other peripheral ESPECIALLY if you entered a new video card in the mix... being the power hungry pigs they are now...

:laugh:

 

[Unlord]

Its a two year old Toshiba A30 portable. No hardware changes done. I do believe its overheat but open the case? I'm not that experienced to do such a thing on a portable, maybe a desktop.

 

[American Zombie]

Look around the case for the vents and make sure they are not clogged with dust. Maybe get a can of compressed air and spray air in the vents to make sure they are clear.

 

[mlakrid]

Its a two year old Toshiba A30 portable. No hardware changes done. I do believe its overheat but open the case? I'm not that experienced to do such a thing on a portable, maybe a desktop.

OOPS, yea didnt look it up... portable = NO OPEN or VOID warranty

 

[Unlord]

Thanks a ton for the help guys.

Here's what just happened. I downloaded some program i read on a forum, SpeedFan and its supposed to detect temperature of CPU(probably not efficient) and right after it shutdown, i turned on the portable and it said it was 42 Celsius and read that it was considered high(no idea). So i bet its overheating, is there anyway i got find out why, since all i was doing was doing a research. Dunno what info u need but post to reply

 

[Unlord]

oh and by the way, this may sound silly, but i get less chances of shutdowns whenever i settle the portable on a higher gap in between, meaning i place two things, like books on the edges to lift it, in attempt to get better ventilation( since ventilation is at the bottom).

 

[mlakrid]

oh and by the way, this may sound silly, but i get less chances of shutdowns whenever i settle the portable on a higher gap in between, meaning i place two things, like books on the edges to lift it, in attempt to get better ventilation( since ventilation is at the bottom).

Thats normal with portables, and although I have never used one, they have pads which go under portables/laptops, which is supposed to increase the amount of heat transfefered away from the box...

Might be worth a shot... or take your portable in for a servicing, should be less than $50 and have htem clean out fans, and re-apply thrmal paste for your cpu...

 

[Unlord]

hey guys, its getting worse, now i got the pc shutdown when barely using anything, like IE and such and i haven't been free for a sec cause of exams to go anywhere to check it up, is there anyway i could check for fan and etc... to see if they aint functioning well so as time to save time and take it for someone knowing what's wrong

 

[kcnychief]

I have used laptop cooling pads before, and from my experience it makes a considerable difference. I would suspect you have a faulty fan which is causing your laptop to overheat.

However, it could also be a battery. Is your battery holding charge? Does it shut down when plugged into the wall?

 

[Unlord]

well my battery is definitely ok, cause after shutdown no loss in charge happens plus i was suggested to try working with the battery taken out to see if it was from the battery but it still shutdown. As for the fan it sounds REAL fine and LOUD(dunno if that means fine) but is there anyway i could check if it really is the fan that's worked out

 

[kcnychief]

If the fan is loud that generally means it's working harder to keep the CPU or other internal parts cooler. Is there any type of warranty on the unit?

 

[mlakrid]

I agree, but a minor service call should be all thats required, even with buying a new one and replacing the old it should only cost about $75

$50 for the service call, and about $25 more for the fan purchase and install... if they try and get more out of you, find a good electronics shop, and see if they do any kind of PC reapir/upgrades, many of them do now...

Good Luck, and keep us posted..!

 

[Unlord]

yeh i bought the thing with a 2 year warranty on hardware, which will end this year so i best make a hurry for it eh? Hope it aint software cause they dont cover that.

 

[kcnychief]

I would doubt that it is software, but yes scurry in while warranty is still good. Places will leave you high and dry if the warranty is expired, even by one day

 

[Unlord]

hey i wanna ask you guys, which would u think is more relevant, a portable or desktop ? im kinda confused cause i need one for home, actually university dorm, prefer desktop but suggested a portable, what do u think?

 

[kcnychief]

The only real gain to a portable, is well, it's portable. If you are going away to school, that might be the best thing because you can easily bring it with you to class, libraries, coffee shops, lounges, etc. A desktop, while slightly more cost effective and more than likely powerful, doesn't have those options unless you are a body builder with a portable power outlet

Unless you are fine with using a computer 100% of the time in one place, I would get a laptop. They are great

EDIT: Also, make sure you do some digging on what model you get if you are replacing what you currently have. Some key points to look at are battery life and weight which are commonly overlooked. Battery life obviously so you don't have to lug around your AC Adapter (extra battery is always good too), and weight so it's not like having 10 more books in your bag.