Hi everyone, I am having a problem lately with my laptop shutting down very suddenly, I will be in the middle of something and suddenly kaput, it's gone. The basic steps to reproduce are: * Laptop shuts down * Restart laptop * Black screen with message 'Sorry - XP could not start, please choose last known good configuration' and also gives the option to start in 'safe mode' * Click 'LKGC' (OR safe mode) and XP starts to load * For several attempts Laptop will continue to shut down at the XP loading screen * Finally it loads and starts again successfully for a few hours before shutting down again I am using a Toshiba Laptop, less than a year old XP OS, 40 Meg Ram, 512 Processor, Using Zone alarm and several spyware killers Have ran a defrag and bug check and found nothing Im 90% sure the OS is clear of serious spywares and the like Any thoughts at all would be greatly appreciated as it appears it is really shutting down suddenly and for no reason at all thanks!!
when u get into windows again press CTRL-ALT-DELETE and see how much resources you are using if it 100% see what it is that is causing that....just a suggestion hope it helps
oh, u r getting the blue screen of death too? i had the exact same problem. Can you please tell us the code error type and i can help you.
Hi, thanks to all of you for the replies, I tried a very, very basic 'fix' and it seems to be working, I basically was worried that it was over heating and it appears so. I put a book under the back edge and the laptop is raised slightly, letting the fans breathe better, and sure enough I havent had one shut down since! It's the little things in life!!
Hi again, I'm afraid I am having the same problem, and I am 90% sure that it is the laptop over heating still. I say this because the machine has been thoroughly cleaned, using trend micros online virus checker and then the usual zone alarm/ad aware etc.. The back left hand side of the laptop gets extremely hot even though the fans are running (altho pretty weak) and the laptop is propped up on a book to let them breathe. Does anyone know how to combat this overheating? Is there anything you can do to minimise overheating? Does anyone have any interesting solutions they have tried that have worked? And a general question, is it normal for a laptop to heat up so fast? (In 5 mins it is extremely hot in that one area) The constant shut downs are a total nightmare, any help would be greatly appreciated
Did you try opening it up and blowing the dust bunnies out of the heatsink? My Toshiba was also having spontaneous shutdowns (it's 3 years old). When I opened the access cover over the cpu, the heatsink was NASTY! That solved the overheating problem. If the heatsink is clogged with crap, the fan won't do squat to cool it down.
Thanks, I am reading more and more about 'Dust problems' with all sorts of laptop users, seems thats often a large part of the problem. I'll try that I guess, and see what happens, I'll post back if that makes a big difference. Thanks.
I dropped the idle CPU temp almost 30* on a laptop just be cleaning the dust from the heatsink. Definately worth doing at least once a year. Laptop had very similar problems. Random shutdowns, etc. Give it a shot. Good luck
Yep - I can 100% concur, I actually had a go at the laptop using a hoover, I vaccumed (sic?!) the vents, the air vent at the back and the fans, and could actually see a tonne of crap coming out, dust, obviously. I may still bring it to a dealer to clean the heatsink properly but right now it works fine, and the bottom is no longer 'hot to touch' so its pretty basic really!! thanks again for all the feedback Cormac
I found this thread when doing a Google search for "Laptop shutting down suddenly" or something like that. I was having symptoms like the original thread described. Anyway, the above quote prompted me to check out the heatsink for my Compaq Presario R3360US. This is what I found: At first glance, the dust was not that bad. However, the dust on the above pictures was down on the side and not readily visable. I cleaned it and then after I reinstalled everything, it would start, but no screen, etc. The hard drive light would come on, but go out almost immediately. Since I bought a three year warranty from Best Buy, I took it to the Geek Squad. They do not normally work on laptops, but the one guy did. He said the processor should not have come out with the heat sink. When I tried to reinstall it, the prongs were not seating fully. He fixed it for me and I no longer have overheating and sudden shutdowns. This little experience prompted me to invest in a USB hard drive that allows big files like DVD movies, movie folders, etc to be backed up. Now I feel better in case my laptop ever decides to go off the deep end for good. I hope this information adds to the value of this thread for future hits. Thanks, Ed
