Laptop cutting out
daisydee
Posts: 39,590 Forum Member
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My laptop has lost power 3 times this evening, no other electrical appliance is affected, so assuming must be a problem with the laptop. It just shuts off without warning - keep having to retype my emails grrrrr. Any ideas what might be happening?
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Does it feel particularly hot underneath? Have you been inadvertently covering the air vents so it is overheating?
Checks the fan outlet on the back or side(depending on machine) and can you feel any air flow, if not then the heatsink is probably clogged with fluff/dust.
A can of compress air may help clean it out but if it is badly blocked it will need taking apart to clean out properly.
Are you using the laptop on your lap? Despite the name the worst place to use a laptop is on your lap!
The reason is that your clothing can block the cooling vents on the underside. Ideally you should sit the laptop on a solid surface so the vents are clear. You can get special cushions that have what looks like a tray stuck to the top on which you place the laptop with the cushion on your lap.
If you never hear the fan even when the laptop gets hot then either it's not working or is so clogged up with gunge it can't work. Under normal use the laptop base can get a few degrees above ambient temperature but should not be hot.
I would check out the vents and make sure they are not clogged up. A can of compressed air can free the vents up but ideally you should remove it by taking the laptop apart and giving it a good clean out.
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A common problem that causes laptops to ‘crash’ with fatal results, or extremely annoying intermittent faults, is overheating.
The hardware in all decent laptops, by and large, is inherently very stable and extremely reliable over long periods of time if allowed to work within its quoted temperature range.
If any of the fan vents on the base/side/rear of laptops are obstructed the internal temperatures rise very quickly; over time, these high temperatures ‘stress’ the electronic components leading inevitably to the aforementioned problems – maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon!
Always try to use the laptop on a flat solid surface. If you want to use the laptop on your knees then purchase a decent quality laptop ‘cushdesk’; (lots of inexpensive ones around.).
Never use the laptop on a rug or carpet and most definitely (this is a common problem!) do not put it on a soft bed resting on a duvet/pillow/sheet etc; - guaranteed problems sooner or later.
Good laptops are expensive – treat them with a little TLC from day one and they should serve you faithfully for years.
Always remember; ‘EXCESSIVE HEAT KILLS LAPTOPS!’
I have my laptop on a flat coffee table, only once put it on my lap and by golly it got hot! I turned it upside down to see how dusty it might be and noticed letters etc underneath, which may have contributed to the problem. I gave the vents a quick suck with the vacuum cleaner. I did notice that there are little pads on each corner of the laptop, and was concidering the possibility of adding more to raise it further off the coffee table. Yesterday the laptop was on for and hour and a half before cutting out, then 1 hour after that. I gave up at that point, didn't really need it on, I just get used to it being on and searching for stuff as thoughts occur to me.
PS the fan does come on, I'm just so used to it, I don't 'hear' it anymore.
Google that make/model and add "overheating" on the search.
e.g. "Toshika A210 overheating" or try "Toshika A210 shutting down suddenly"
Maybe it's a common problem for that model.
One thing you could try is installing Speedfan on your system. Download it here
http://www.almico.com/sfdownload.php
The download link is not obvious, it's the words "Speedfan 4.49" under the Download heading.
Speedfan is a bit geeky but on the Readings tab it shows the temperature readout from the various sensors on your machine. See this screenshot
http://www.almico.com/sfscreenshots.php
What readouts you see depend on what sensors the machine has, but will probably include CPU which is the critical one. Have Speedfan running and see what the CPU readout does as you use the machine. If it starts climbing and doesn't seem to stabilise at any temperature then it's possible the cooling system is compromised and that the processor is shutting down to prevent it overheating too much.
Might give you a clue as to what is causing it.
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When you said you noticed 'letters etc' underneath do you mean literally letters/envelopes/sheets of paper ???
The rubber feet in each corner of the laptop serve a dual-purpose really.
1. To give the laptop a relatively slip-free stable platform.
2. To provide an air (ventilation) gap between the laptop base and the surface it sits on; (the gap is not usually very big and that’s why a flat solid surface is so important.)
If that ventilation gap has been compromised for any length of time it may well have contributed to the problems you are now having.
Electronic components that have been ‘heat stressed’ over protracted periods will usually fail completely or give intermittent, but ongoing, problems. They don’t usually ‘recover’.
Your idea of raising the feet slightly to increase the air gap underneath is certainly worth trying; it may just tip the balance in your favour, but just be careful that in doing so you don’t inadvertently block any of the vents. Give it a go and let us know how you get on.
Yes, just a couple of letters I had to reply to.
I have raised the laptop by sticking little pads onto the original 'feet', but it still cut out earlier, seems like I can get about an hour out of it before it cuts out. I wondered about that too. I hardly ever use it without the lead, unless it accidently falls out. Anything is worth a try.
Good idea, will try that too.