I need to keep this message quick...for reasons that will become clear soon. Every so often, my laptop just shuts itself down. No error message like that virus (which it had a while back). I'll be surfing the web or something one minute, the next thing I know, I'm staring at a blank screen. It's a Toshiba Satellite laptop running Windows XP. I usually have the vent that leads to the fan on a hard surface so it's not covered up, although there's only about half a centimetre space between the fan vent and the surface. I really would appreciate help with this, because it has me stumped. I've even tried unplugging the internet cable to ensure there's no internet connection, and it happened again (only once, I think). Virus or cooling issue, or something else? If it's any help, I use Adaware, Hijackthis and Avast Antivirus to keep my system poo free... Thanks for any help
Yeah, the fans are usually on...and if I turn the PC back on straight afterwards, the fans usually start up pretty quick. That's one of the reasons I thought it might be a cooling issue. As I said, there's usually a little space between the vent that the fan draws air into and the surface it's on...I've started putting items under the rubber feet at the back of the laptop to raise it a little bit, although it only raises it a little bit - maybe about a centimetre. I could drill a hole in my PC desk for the fans if that would help them keep the PC running, but I'd have to know whether or not that would work before I went driling holes
Would that be the 1735 model??? Those have real battery problems. Bad. Mine the battery never lasted more than 30 minutes, and I had the monitor settings so low you could barely see it. (Brighter Screens run the battery more)
Download Motherboard Monitor from http://mbm.livewiredev.com/, it shows you the temperature of your Computer. Dependent from the number of sensors it has, at least CPU-temp and temerature in the laptop itself...If CPU gets hotter than 65°C, you really have a serious cooling problem
Even though you hear the fan(s) going it could still be that one of them is not working. I've had the same problem and I found out it was because my Power Supply fan was not working even though my case fan and the others were working. Try opening it up while it's on and making sure they are all turning on. Also if you have recently installed any hardware programs it could have messed with your vcore temparture settings. That happened to me about a year ago and my computer would radomly crash on me. Check on the manufactors website to see what the Vcore should be and then check your bios and make sure they are the same. Peace ~Eirek
It's likely just dust clogging up the air vents. The same thing was happening to me a while back on my laptop untill I thouroughly cleaned out the vent system, you wouldn't believe how much junk was in there. Now I keep canned air around and thouroughly airdust the vents every couple of days. Dust can be a real problem, it clogs the vents so your computer cant get air, your comp can be permanently damaged by overheating. Also, if it's really bad there is a chance the dust could catch fire, which is just about the worst possible thing that can happen to your computer.
I took a look at the fans through the vent holes before, but obviously I didn't look well enough. I just took another look, and it seems that one fan isn't moving while the other is - and they're next to each other, so I'm guessing they should both be going (am I right?). I'm a bit hesitant to take the bottom off to have a closer look, though...I might get it checked out by a pro. Thanks for the help
Yes. ALL fans should be running when it's turned ON. Unless you KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING, do NOT open the case! Take it to a pro!
Sorry about bringing the topic back up, I just noticed something. In an attempt to make the fan move again, I put a piece of plastic through the guard and tried to encourage movement. It did begin moving, and I thought that solved it. But after further examination, it seems that the fan sometimes turns on, and sometimes is off. It's just the one fan that seems to be going most of the time, with the second fan occasionally kicking in. Is it still a fan problem, or is this supposed to happen? Damn, I'm staying with guitar tech after this. At least guitars don't reset themselves and have a barrage of popups...
some laptops have dual fans but don't run them both if the CPU is idling a lot.. my laptop has two fans and both shut down very occasionally.. more often both are running.. occasionally one is running.
I'd lean towards overheating issue. It could very well have dust accumulation inside. Might want to crack the laptop case, if you feel comfortable with that, and see if it needs cleaning inside.
