Computer's Acting Weird

J-kid

Recently, my laptop has been acting weird by suddenly turning off for no reason. It started a few, maybe 3/4, weeks ago when I would be making instrumental's on FL Studio, but I reckon that was mainly due to the overheating cause I'd check the fan area and it would be really hot.

So on Friday, or during the weekend, I decided to vacuum the dust under the laptop and what I could see around the vents. It didn't help with the situation apart from stopping the fan from being so loud and hot.

However, since last week it's just been shutting down for unapparent reasons: I'd be doing college work on Microsoft Word (whilst the internet is open), surfing the internet, or leave it idle. Today I tried to do a scan whilst using safe mode, but after a while probably 10 minutes, the computer decided to piss me off and shut down.

This is really frustrating cause I can't do anything I love doing like graphics work and 3D MODELLING OR SCULPTING :poly127:. And can't do my college work either. I hope the solution doesn't involve having to remove everything cause not a thing's backed up.

Bartalon

If you have Windows I would recommend getting the Core Temp software (or similar) that can monitor your CPU temperature. Depending on CPU type, age, coolant type, thermal paste quality, and other various things, the average temperature will be different for every computer, however if you are idling at 60-70+ Celcius you most likely have a big cooling problem. Many computers are designed to shut off if CPU temperatures become critical (100 C or thereabouts) to prevent component damage.

http://www.alcpu.com/CoreTemp/

Also because you have a laptop I would insist on keeping your laptop on a hard surface with good ventilation. So, no sitting on your bed with it resting on your covers. That will suffocate the laptop.

Additionally, if you own an ASUS laptop you should pick up software that can regulate the CPU's processing power. I use this on my machine and it keeps my core temperature down about 10 C with minimal impact to performance (I have an i7). I'm not sure where to get similar software for other manufacturers.

http://www.soft-zilla.com/2011/07/asus-epu-6-engine-download.html

J-kid

Bartalon wrote: »

If you have Windows I would recommend getting the Core Temp software (or similar) that can monitor your CPU temperature. Depending on CPU type, age, coolant type, thermal paste quality, and other various things, the average temperature will be different for every computer, however if you are idling at 60-70+ Celcius you most likely have a big cooling problem. Many computers are designed to shut off if CPU temperatures become critical (100 C or thereabouts) to prevent component damage.

http://www.alcpu.com/CoreTemp/

Also because you have a laptop I would insist on keeping your laptop on a hard surface with good ventilation. So, no sitting on your bed with it resting on your covers. That will suffocate the laptop.

Additionally, if you own an ASUS laptop you should pick up software that can regulate the CPU's processing power. I use this on my machine and it keeps my core temperature down about 10 C with minimal impact to performance (I have an i7). I'm not sure where to get similar software for other manufacturers.

http://www.soft-zilla.com/2011/07/asus-epu-6-engine-download.html

Yeah, I always keep it on a hard surface. I make sure at all times. I tried to download Core Temp, but my laptop turned off before I could even get a chance to use the internet. I don't think it's turning off because of overheating because I felt how hot it was and it wasn't that hot, just warm.

ZacD

It still can be overheating even if it doesn't feel hot, see if you can get to the bios and check the temps.

cryrid

Aside from a flat surface, maybe prop up the corners to give extra room underneath (similar to how an xpad works), possibly with a fan angled to blow air underneath and away from the vent.

unscodst

What other symptoms does it have?

Are you able to turn it back on right away? Does the battery need charged or does it need to be plugged into the wall constantly? Are you getting a blue screen when it shuts off?

Sims_doc

this may be a little bias towards laptops but in all my experiences with them they tend to generate excessive heat regardless and because many of them lack the ability to be taken apart and clean you have a rapid build up of harmful things such as dust and other things that may of enter such as cigarette smoke which because of some of the chemicals within it can do damage to certain components.

i'd like to inquire how old is your laptop? because this could be your cause. Shutting down means its overheating or the battery is damage or unable to hold a charge.

Joker_47

I can only suggest to disassemble the laptop, clean it from dust and replace thermal paste, but i'm not recomend do it by your own (because it's a little risky). According to symptoms it's clear for me that this is overheating.

D4V1DC

How old is this laptop i was told thermal paste wouldn't if ever have to be replaced or at least until 10 years. Even though after about 2-3 years i did it myself for my tower luckily everything worked out, I found out HOWEVER that my PSU was about to pop luckily I saw this while cleaning the machine.

Though I agree you have to probably clean this puppy up, check online but basically you need TO BE STATIC FREE, tweezers (if that dirty), Q-Tips, Air can, and a bit of patience if you want to be thorough.

I have to clean my system up every 2 weeks, I would leave it for longer but i just don't feel right letting things pile up like that. I am also going to lift it from the floor if i can because i think that is about 75% of the reason why i have to clean it so often, plus i like to keep it clean because i don't want issues down the road.

Otherwise i'd take it to some repair place and let them do it all though, i'd remove the Hard Disk, cause all they need to do it clean the machine and check there contracts and clauses to be safe.

Hope that helps somehow.

J-kid

unscodst wrote: »

What other symptoms does it have?

Are you able to turn it back on right away? Does the battery need charged or does it need to be plugged into the wall constantly? Are you getting a blue screen when it shuts off?

Yeah, I am able to turn it back on right away, but the last time I did that it didn't stay on too long before it shut down again. The batteries quite messed up, I have to keep the charger in all the time otherwise it'll die withing 3 minutes. There's no blue screen when it shuts down.

J-kid

Sims_doc wrote: »

this may be a little bias towards laptops but in all my experiences with them they tend to generate excessive heat regardless and because many of them lack the ability to be taken apart and clean you have a rapid build up of harmful things such as dust and other things that may of enter such as cigarette smoke which because of some of the chemicals within it can do damage to certain components.

i'd like to inquire how old is your laptop? because this could be your cause. Shutting down means its overheating or the battery is damage or unable to hold a charge.

I got this laptop probably in 2008 or late 2007.

unscodst

J-Kid,

I'd suggest that your battery is finally quitting on you. Even if you have it plugged in that doesn't necessarily mean it will work. It sounds like it tries to charge but it doesn't and then dies.

You said you already ran the laptop in safe mode but if you want to do another test you could do:

Start > Run > msconfig [Under the General Tab] select (Diagnostic Start up)

This will run only what the PC needs, like safe mode, whenever you boot it up.

If you feel it is over heating you can try HWMonitor from CPUID. This app does what other have suggested. It will allow you to monitor your Temps as well as fan speeds and voltages. I'd suggest having a phone or camera near by so you can snap a picture should you get it installed and running.

To check your battery do:

Start > CMD > Right-Click {Run as Administrator}

Enter this line:

powercfg -energy -output c:\battery.html

This will print a report of titled "Battery" to a .html (Webpage) document onto your C: harddrive (Usually main).

What you are looking for in this document is towards the bottom. A section titled "Battery:Battery Information". This will tell you the battery ID, Manufacturer, Serial Number and most of all how much power it can hold and how full the last charge made it.

From here you can report back on your findings or you could order a new battery or see if someone near you has the same type that you could test out to see if your laptop will die or not.