Thread: Laptop shutdowns unexpectedly

  1. #1
    Android geek@02's Avatar
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    Unhappy Laptop shutdowns unexpectedly

    Hi,

    My Toshiba Satellite laptop has started to shut down suddenly. Before shutting down it isn't displaying any warnings, error messages, nothing - just suddenly blacks out. Shutdown occurs after about 2 hrs of running. I have also turned off the "automatic restart" option on system errors. Anyone know what's going on here?? Could it be a hardware problem? This is a fairly new laptop of about 1 1/2 years of working. OS- Windows 7.

    Thanx for any input.
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  2. #2
    Deprecated Dae's Avatar
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    Check your Administrator Tool's Event Viewer for errors (usually driver errors, like graphics cards and network adapters).

    If there's nothing.. probably overheating, power supply or power adapter issues.
    Warning: Have doubt in anything I post.

    GCC 4.5, Boost 1.40, Code::Blocks 8.02, Ubuntu 9.10 010001000110000101100101

  3. #3
    Devil's Advocate SlyMaelstrom's Avatar
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    Is it the release candidate of Windows 7? Because that just expired at the beginning of the month. If I remember correctly it will continue to shut down after a few hours until August when it just won't go on, at all.

    I was having the exact same symptoms with the release candidate until I reinstalled Vista a few days ago. It fits the symptoms, but I would imagine you'd already know this as the release candidate gave plenty of warning that it was going to expire for the entire last month.
    Sent from my iPadŽ

  4. #4
    spurious conceit MK27's Avatar
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    If
    1) it has been used a lot during that 1 1/2 years,
    2) the fan is on most of the time and it gets quite warm
    there's a very good chance the problem is this:

    Ubuntu Forums - View Single Post - [ubuntu] CPU Temperature : 95°C

    Mine got the point where it would not stay on for more than 20 minutes. Cleaning it out is very difficult (read that post carefully) but after that it was perfect. Once you see the crap inside you'll understand (nb, it is not visible from outside and there is no way to blow or vacuum it out) -- there's a pic in that post, mine was even worse. There was absolutely no air flow around the CPU.

    Toshibas are notorious for this if you start googling, and in fact the other person I know with a toshiba had the exact same problem. It's because they have a giant heat sink with a grill that is actually 6"+ deep.

    Windows may suppress the fan more than linux so that symptom may be less observable.

    If it isn't very noticeably warm before shut down this isn't the problem.
    Last edited by MK27; 03-04-2010 at 08:35 AM.
    C programming resources:
    GNU C Function and Macro Index -- glibc reference manual
    The C Book -- nice online learner guide
    Current ISO draft standard
    CCAN -- new CPAN like open source library repository
    3 (different) GNU debugger tutorials: #1 -- #2 -- #3
    cpwiki -- our wiki on sourceforge

  5. #5
    (?<!re)tired Mario F.'s Avatar
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    Just a guess, but does your screen get corrupted immediately prior to the shutdown. That is, do you see your screen going down with vertical multi-colored lines, or freezing right before shutdown?

    Many Toshiba Satellite similar issues to what you have on certain models (including one I owned) are due to an issue with the soldering on the graphics card. The 6000 and some of the A series had this problem that I guess started on their assembly line. Contact the company. If this is the case with your model, they will replace your motherboard. Even if your warranty had already expired. Which is not the case I know. But just so you know, my 6000 was replaced 2 years after the warranty expired.
    Last edited by Mario F.; 03-04-2010 at 08:56 AM.
    Originally Posted by brewbuck:
    Reimplementing a large system in another language to get a 25% performance boost is nonsense. It would be cheaper to just get a computer which is 25% faster.

  6. #6
    Woof, woof! zacs7's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by MK27 View Post
    If
    1) it has been used a lot during that 1 1/2 years,
    2) the fan is on most of the time and it gets quite warm
    there's a very good chance the problem is this:

    Ubuntu Forums - View Single Post - [ubuntu] CPU Temperature : 95°C

    Mine got the point where it would not stay on for more than 20 minutes. Cleaning it out is very difficult (read that post carefully) but after that it was perfect. Once you see the crap inside you'll understand (nb, it is not visible from outside and there is no way to blow or vacuum it out) -- there's a pic in that post, mine was even worse. There was absolutely no air flow around the CPU.
    Wow. No idea what condition he's been using his laptop in. That sure is more dusty than it should be.

  7. #7
    spurious conceit MK27's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by zacs7 View Post
    Wow. No idea what condition he's been using his laptop in. That sure is more dusty than it should be.
    Not really. Mine was about 4 years old, and it was probably on at least 6 hours a day during that time. Once you get a good look at the grill and how it works -- the fan blows INTO it from the bottom -- it's easy to see how it would start. Once there is some build-up, the fan starts to come on more and more often, until it is on most of the time. That just sucks more and more dust into the unit.

    Like I said, a little investigation implied this is really common with the Toshiba. The grill is monstrous: it occupies maybe 60% of the internal volume. Once you get it out it's easy to clean, but you literally have to remove EVERYTHING.

    Refrain from dusting the top of your TV for a few years. Now image sucking all that thru a fan and catching it with a fine metal mesh. With the mesh heated to 60C, like a slow-dry bake.

    Since then I've been duct taping window screen over the laptop fan ports and all the openings on my "desktop", which sits on the floor. Desktop cases can have gaping holes in the bottom. Window screen works great -- it is much finer than the plastic grill used on laptops and the pattern of holes in a desktop case. It will collect a pretty noticeable amount of dust in a surprisingly short period of time (which is easy to wipe away). Highly recommend this -- it's cheap, it's easy, it obviously helps.

    And no, I don't live in particularly dusty place.
    Last edited by MK27; 03-04-2010 at 04:02 PM.
    C programming resources:
    GNU C Function and Macro Index -- glibc reference manual
    The C Book -- nice online learner guide
    Current ISO draft standard
    CCAN -- new CPAN like open source library repository
    3 (different) GNU debugger tutorials: #1 -- #2 -- #3
    cpwiki -- our wiki on sourceforge

  8. #8
    Android geek@02's Avatar
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    Oops it's release candidate.. (Build 7100 means RC right?).
    Anyway, gonna check with ubuntu.
    Thanxxx for the replies.
    GameJolt: https://gamejolt.com/@KasunL
    Game Development Youtube:
    https://is.gd/XyhYoP
    Amateur IT Blog: http://everything-geeky.blogspot.com/



    (and, sorry for my amateur English)

  9. #9
    C++まいる!Cをこわせ!
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    Quote Originally Posted by geek@02 View Post
    Oops it's release candidate.. (Build 7100 means RC right?).
    Yes, it does.
    Quote Originally Posted by Adak View Post
    io.h certainly IS included in some modern compilers. It is no longer part of the standard for C, but it is nevertheless, included in the very latest Pelles C versions.
    Quote Originally Posted by Salem View Post
    You mean it's included as a crutch to help ancient programmers limp along without them having to relearn too much.

    Outside of your DOS world, your header file is meaningless.

  10. #10
    Android geek@02's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by SlyMaelstrom View Post
    If I remember correctly it will continue to shut down after a few hours until August when it just won't go on, at all.
    Will RC not gonna run at all after June? or will it continue to run with the disabled desktop and 2 hrly shutdown?
    GameJolt: https://gamejolt.com/@KasunL
    Game Development Youtube:
    https://is.gd/XyhYoP
    Amateur IT Blog: http://everything-geeky.blogspot.com/



    (and, sorry for my amateur English)

  11. #11
    Devil's Advocate SlyMaelstrom's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by geek@02 View Post
    Will RC not gonna run at all after June? or will it continue to run with the disabled desktop and 2 hrly shutdown?
    I don't remember which month... but as of now it's just going to keep shutting down every two hours until July or August or something where it will just lock you out of the operating system with a message to upgrade. Kind of like what you get on your standard 30 day activation of most OEM Windows products. Basically your only choice is to install another operating system. Just make sure you use one of those two hour sessions to back up all of your lost data before you reformat the disk.
    Last edited by SlyMaelstrom; 03-05-2010 at 07:19 AM.
    Sent from my iPadŽ

  12. #12
    C++まいる!Cをこわせ!
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    Who says you need to format?
    Quote Originally Posted by Adak View Post
    io.h certainly IS included in some modern compilers. It is no longer part of the standard for C, but it is nevertheless, included in the very latest Pelles C versions.
    Quote Originally Posted by Salem View Post
    You mean it's included as a crutch to help ancient programmers limp along without them having to relearn too much.

    Outside of your DOS world, your header file is meaningless.

  13. #13
    C++まいる!Cをこわせ!
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    Discussion piracy on a forum? I don't think that's appropriate.
    Quote Originally Posted by Adak View Post
    io.h certainly IS included in some modern compilers. It is no longer part of the standard for C, but it is nevertheless, included in the very latest Pelles C versions.
    Quote Originally Posted by Salem View Post
    You mean it's included as a crutch to help ancient programmers limp along without them having to relearn too much.

    Outside of your DOS world, your header file is meaningless.

  14. #14
    (?<!re)tired Mario F.'s Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Elysia View Post
    Discussion piracy on a forum? I don't think that's appropriate.
    Maybe you should read the posts more carefully. No one is discussing piracy.
    Originally Posted by brewbuck:
    Reimplementing a large system in another language to get a 25% performance boost is nonsense. It would be cheaper to just get a computer which is 25% faster.

  15. #15
    C++ Witch laserlight's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mario F.
    Maybe you should read the posts more carefully. No one is discussing piracy.
    Elysia was talking about a post that has been deleted by its author.
    Quote Originally Posted by Bjarne Stroustrup (2000-10-14)
    I get maybe two dozen requests for help with some sort of programming or design problem every day. Most have more sense than to send me hundreds of lines of code. If they do, I ask them to find the smallest example that exhibits the problem and send me that. Mostly, they then find the error themselves. "Finding the smallest program that demonstrates the error" is a powerful debugging tool.
    Look up a C++ Reference and learn How To Ask Questions The Smart Way

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