Laptop shuts itself off

[Achika]

So for awhile now, my laptop has been shutting itself off. Lately, it's been getting more rapid with doing it. I thought originally it was a battery issue, but I replaced the battery and it's still doing it.

At this point, it's not even turned on long enough to really heat up or anything. It loads Windows, loads all the startup programs, might open the browser window when I ask it to, and then shuts off.

I'm fairly certain it's not any of the startup programs that are doing it, because up until recently it'd allow me on for at least 10 mins.

I'm not really sure what to do now. I made an attempt to open it up one night, but I have no clue what I need to do to open my case as there doesn't seem to be any good seams for an opening. I have a Toshiba Satellite A75-S2131 if that matters.

Is there something I can look into, or should I consider taking it to a repair shop at this point?

[Isiolia]

First look into obvious heat problems. A fan that isn't spinning, vents clogged with dust bunnies, that sort of thing. It doesn't take long for a CPU to heat up to the point that thermal protections would get activated.

If it only ever does that when in Windows, try using the machine without booting to that. Snag a bootable Linux distro like Knoppix and see how it does. Run a RAM test for a while with an Ultimate Boot CD. Something along those lines. HDD and RAM checks at least would be a good idea. Many laptops also have a built-in diagnostics that you can run.

If it purrs along happily, and passes scans, then that'd indicate that it's a good chance the problem is with Windows (still exceptions to it). If it still exhibits the issue, then it's most likely a hardware problem.

A possible exception with that can possibly be low power modes for hardware. A device that is having problems when dropped to a lower power mode (which is common for laptop devices to have), may not exhibit issues when booted into Linux or something because it's just being run at full power the whole time.

I did have an extremely similar issue on a personal machine. Same basic symptoms, where it would boot up, load Windows, start running and then randomly lock up within a short period of time. In my case, it was the wireless driver that was doing it. Same sort of thing too, where it was very random at first, and progressed to the point of doing it within a few minutes of booting. So disabling non-essential hardware would probably be a good troubleshooting step if it can stay booted long enough to do so (safe mode may be the better option).

If the problem seems to be in Windows, and you can't otherwise figure it out, back up your data and restore the system to factory.

I would say to try looking at some of the above before bringing it to a shop. After that, consider the age/specs and potential repair costs.

[Achika]

Well, I've narrowed it down to it *not* being a Windows issue. My laptop just shut off while running a RAM check using Ultimate Boot CD. Would it shut down if it hit a bad sector of RAM? It did a few different tests before it shut down.

I need to see if I can find out how to open it. The fans on the bottom seem to run just fine and I can't see any dust in them. I know for awhile the back of my laptop tended to get a bit hot, I think I had always assumed that's where the hot air blows out but maybe I was wrong.

[Norellicus]

Try removing the battery from the chassis completely and running strictly off the AC adapter. Sometimes faulty batteries can trip the protection circuits that keep the system from bricking when there's a short.

But to answer your last question, yes bad RAM can most certainly shut a system down, depending on where it faults. Though it won't typically shut it off, just lock up or force a reboot. Laptops can be weird though.

[Mayareira]

Well, I've narrowed it down to it *not* being a Windows issue. My laptop just shut off while running a RAM check using Ultimate Boot CD. Would it shut down if it hit a bad sector of RAM? It did a few different tests before it shut down.

RAM issues generally cause random system reboots or crashes so I don't think that's the issue. Sounds like a hardware or a power(doesn't really have to overheat) related problem to me.

Don't use it until you get it fixed, take it to a repair shop. if there is a power related problem using the system can cause a more serious damage.

I know for awhile the back of my laptop tended to get a bit hot, I think I had always assumed that's where the hot air blows out but maybe I was wrong.

Laptops do get hot it doesn't mean its "overheating". If you really want to open your laptop google your model number and look for tutorials. I wouldn't recommend it if you are not familiar with laptop hardware, though.

[Isiolia]

Sounds like a problem with the power circuitry/converter then. It's pretty rare that a RAM problem would cause the system to reset from a RAM check.

Most laptops get a bit warm, that's the nature of cramming that much hardware into a small space. Long as it seems to be moving air, it's probably fine in that regard.

Probably your only real choice is to get it repaired or replace it. It's quite possible that repair would involve a new motherboard though, in which case it'd probably cost more than it's worth. Not saying to just not get it checked, but rather to make sure they don't do anything like that without your say-so.

[Lyrai]

I had this problem with my laptop where it'd shut off seemingly randomly and I could never pin it down to a specific issue. Even now I'm not totally sure what causes it, since it could happen 8 times in a day, 20 times in a week, or not at all for three months. One of the things I did was open it up and clean it completely, as well as reseat the RAM. I cleaned out the heatsink as best as I could, and replaced the thermal paste. Too much or too little can make a difference.

[Achika]

Well, I tried to open up my laptop all the way following some instructions I found online...only to find out several of the screws decided they didn't want to come out. =(

I did manage to get one part of the case off, and I decided to shoot my can o' air towards the fans, and a cloud of dust came out of both of them. So I shot them a little more until nothing came out, and while two days with only about an hour isn't enough to have fully tested I think, I think it may have actually worked.

Thanks for the help all. =D