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Toshiba laptop shuts down without warning
Korlash
QuébécoisTorontoRegistered User regular
QuébécoisTorontoRegistered User regular
Hey guys, I need your tech skillz!
My father's Toshiba laptop (Satellite L500 -OOW) will shut down very quickly after startup without warning. There doesn't seem to be any link to what's happening: it will shut down during boot-up, when loading into windows, even sometimes almost immediately after pressing the power button. There doesn't seem to be a specific time at which it will shut down. It can rarely get to fully boot up windows, but it just shuts down in the same way at some random time.
When it shuts down, as I said, there's no warning: the screen goes black and all the lights turn off immediately, and you can hear a click coming from inside the laptop.
I thought it might be an overheating problem, but you can hear the fan running when the computer's on.
It's not the first time this happens. The laptop had the same problem this summer, but after a virus scan, it was magically fixed. So there's a chance this might be the problem.
Bastard is just two months out of warranty also, just our luck!
Can you help? Do you know what might have caused this?
My father's Toshiba laptop (Satellite L500 -OOW) will shut down very quickly after startup without warning. There doesn't seem to be any link to what's happening: it will shut down during boot-up, when loading into windows, even sometimes almost immediately after pressing the power button. There doesn't seem to be a specific time at which it will shut down. It can rarely get to fully boot up windows, but it just shuts down in the same way at some random time.
When it shuts down, as I said, there's no warning: the screen goes black and all the lights turn off immediately, and you can hear a click coming from inside the laptop.
I thought it might be an overheating problem, but you can hear the fan running when the computer's on.
It's not the first time this happens. The laptop had the same problem this summer, but after a virus scan, it was magically fixed. So there's a chance this might be the problem.
Bastard is just two months out of warranty also, just our luck!
Can you help? Do you know what might have caused this?
Korlash on
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It may stopped happening in the summer because it started getting a little cooler around that time.
Just to be certain, you're not using the notebook with any of the bottom vents blocked by legs or anything like that? Can you prop up the back a little so the vents have even more clearance to pull air and see if that helps?
Also, 2nd the can of air.
My father is now apparently convinced that this is due to static electricity buildup. Apparently, laptops are now equipped to shut down if this happens. He wants to buy some kind of mat to deal with the problem.
I've never heard of this myself, is this a realistic explanation?
I love when people asking for advice (your father) suddenly become experts in the thing they're asking advice for.
Static electricity buildup? Just... no. Not at all.
Running off battery or A/C?
I should probably have a look at those temperatures myself. What's the norm for a laptop?
Check whether the fan is spinning at all. Or turn it on next to an open window with the bottom plate removed and the laptop propped up at an angle and see if it stays on longer.
Remove the battery and run off AC and try that.
Another possibility is some internal wiring getting loose, but this may be hard to observe unless you dismantle the thing wholly.