[fugazifan]

my laptop keeps turning off by itself, while im in the middle of stuff. my computer said that if it happens often, i should try system restore, but every time i try system restore it says that its incomplete and it cant do it.
is this a sign that my computer is about to crash or something?

much obliged

[phoenix]

simple q but is yr power always plugged in when this happens?

if Y,

what happens? do you get any warning, as in, does the computer DO anything (or spend any length of time NOT doing anything.. )
or does it just flash straight to power off?

if its the latter, its probably not anything to do with software, but a hardware power supply problem, or yr on/off button is just jammied up and constantly shutting off power..

[pbradley]

What's the specs on your laptop?

[fugazifan]

lenovo 3000 intel core 2 duo t5250 (1.50 ghz) 1GB 120 GB

or at least thats what it says on the reciept

thanks pheonix, it is the latter, it just, shuts off, no warning no nothing. so maybe ill play with the button. although i doubt thats the problem

[phoenix]

do you have it still under warranty? I'd give them a call and get someone to look at it. I'd still think something like that sounds more hardware than software..

[Glice]

Originally Posted by phoenix

do you have it still under warranty? I'd give them a call and get someone to look at it. I'd still think something like that sounds more hardware than software..

This one.

The fact that it's a laptop makes me think that it could be a problem with the cooling fan - if the computer overheats, it'll just shut itself off without warning. You could try elevating the computer at the back (with a book or something) and pointing a fan to the underside.
I don't really work with laptops (professionally) but I think that's one of the more likely causes of a no-warning shut down. That or what Phoenix has said already. Either way, people on the internet are not the best people for fixing the internet. Serious business etc.

[pbradley]

Yeah, it must be a hardware problem. I looked up the model on Google and there are a few posts in various forums reporting the same problem. Most replies are saying it sounds like a cooling problem. Try opening up you laptop and cleaning the cooling fan.

[fugazifan]

could be that, it has been feeling warmer than usual. i asked here, since its saturday so nothing is open in israel so nowhere to call. i could try opening up the bottom, im guessing that its the screws directly underneath the ventilation area?

and thanks!

[terriblecanyons]

It could be one of three things:
1) the fan isn't cooling how it should and is shutting your laptop down so the processor isn't fried
2) There's something wrong with your motherboard
3) your computer is about to become an hero

[atsonicpark]

Same thing happened to my friend about 6 months ago. He sent it back to Sony and had to pay $200 to get it fixed. :/

[greedrex]

Originally Posted by terriblecanyons

It could be one of three things:
1) the fan isn't cooling how it should and is shutting your laptop down so the processor isn't fried

^^this

kind of shitty on a laptop.
Still under warranty?

[Derek]

My computer used to do a thing like this, except it was if the internet connection cut out, the whole computer would just shut off instantly. It was really weird and I don't have the same computer anymore gladly.

[Glice]

Originally Posted by Derek

It was really weird...

One thing that's always worth noting about computers - they are never weird. They are persistantly frustrating, badly-designed, exasperatingly obtuse but never do anything entirely unprecedented. They are the Doctor Spock of irritation.

[floatingslowly]

how long have you had it? I had a 3 year old laptop perform like this.

the fix was a simple matter of unscrewing the panel near the cooling fan and freeing it from the gobs of cat/wife hair.

also, I've seen two computers with conflicker.c that would completely shut down mid-processes. yr first step should always be a malware scan.

[fugazifan]

i was in the middle of a malware scan when it shut off before. ill do another one in the morning.
and its about a year old

[pbradley]

Unfortunately, this phenomenon of suddenly shutting down can be from a variety of different problems. My last laptop, for instance, had the interior power connection (that hole in which the adapter plugs into) becoming disconnected. After surviving for a while with simply jiggling the adapter (probably advancing the problem), the laptop wouldn't receive power. Sudden shut downs until finally stone dead.

[Sonic Youth 37]

If the laptop feels extremely hot, it's probably a cooling problem. I had one that would do that exact same thing, but it was like a 2002 HP with a 2.8GHZ Intel and 512MB, so it was bound to have heat issues.