Computer Conundrum

[Beprepared]

I have a notebook (windows xp) that powers down after 15 min. I scanned for virus's and replaced the thermal compound. Any Ideas would be appreciated.

Much Thanks

[zteknik]

try giving Byte Stryke a pm
he's a wiz at this sorta stuff[Coffee]

[DSB OUTDOORS]

try giving Byte Stryke a pm
he's a wiz at this sorta stuff[Coffee]
^^^^ 2nd that. Some times if your battery is old and weak they will shut down like that too!!

[gnihcraes]

1. Does it run without the battery? (if so, battery is dead or shorting out)
2. AC adapter could be going out or not working properly. I have people do this at work, they run and run on battery not knowing the power pack or outlet isn't working, they have been running on battery for hours and it eventually just shuts down on them.
3. Could be a short in the cord of the power pack, you think its working, but it might not be depending on if the cord is touched or moved.
4. Hard drive might be over heating. Does the laptop seem to run ok or is it acting slow? Laptop drives tend to go bad more frequently than desktop drives due to size, heat and space inside those laptops. If the drive is failing and working extra hard to read the data, it builds up more heat and will shut down.
5. Is the laptop sitting on a docking station or stand alone?
6. Is the laptop on your lap sitting on something soft like pants or blanket that will be blocking the cooling ports on the side or bottom of the unit, causing excess heat build up.

what brand of laptop?

[Beprepared]

Thanks for all the quick responses.
It has a mobile processor, but always run hot. It was built by a small local shop.
Haven't given the battery too much thought but makes sense. It is old(3.5yrs) and now just left plugged in. The notebook sits on a desk and seems to be running ok until shutdown.
I'll try a few things.

Thanks again folks

[Zundfolge]

might double check the energy saving settings and see if you have them set all "Turbo Al Gore".

Also does the machine power down after 15 minutes while plugged in or just on battery?

[Byte Stryke]

PM Sent

[theGinsue]

Similar problem with my laptop until now that I only use it while it's on a wire rack that I can put over my alp and it still has a couple of inches of airgap beneath it.

My bet is that it's overheating.

[Byte Stryke]

I was going to put a thermometer on it and check his settings.
I have an HP that pops off after about an hour on one account and not at all on another.
It's the power settings.

[Irving]

...while it's on a wire rack that I can put over my alp and it still has a couple of inches...

I had to read this sooooo many times before I figured out that you had a typo and meant to say "lap." heh.

[ruthabagah]

I am thinking thermal event. I bet you if you check the bios at startup you will find that the fan are set to low rpm to minimize the noise, instead of really cooling down your mobo or CPU. Dell and hp used to ship their laptop with a low rpm setting so that they would sound quiet on the store shelves....

[Irving]

Also, what is the cheapest place to order lap top batteries from. It sure as heck isn't Microcenter.

[Beprepared]

I was having issues last year with high performance settings. Stays plugged in now and on battery saver.
Byte I'll give you a call at a reasonable hour.

[Beprepared]

Plugged in without battery, adjusted fan speed from automatic to high. May have gotten a few more minutes out of it? I'm going to try to swap hard drives with another computer.

[AR_ART]

DOS and Windows have so much "crap" it loads.... I absolutely HATE it. Over time it slows down and you have to defrag. Thats IF you can because you can't cause you've run out of disk space.

I installed ubuntu, linux based. It does everything I need a PC to do without the headaches of Windows.

I highly recommend it. It does not play games, yet. But I don't spend alot of time playing PC games, so it s moot point.

BTW, I do understand what I've stated doesn't solve or address your current issue, just a thought for the future.... :)

[StagLefty]

Also, what is the cheapest place to order lap top batteries from. It sure as heck isn't Microcenter.

I just replaced mine 2 weeks ago from buy.com for a Dell ran me about $30. [Beer]

[spyder]

Similar problem with my laptop until now that I only use it while it's on a wire rack that I can put over my alp and it still has a couple of inches of airgap beneath it.

My bet is that it's overheating.

I have a toshiba that overheats and shuts completely off after 15 min. on the dot unless I prop it up or hang the left end where the fan is (can see the inlets on the bottom) over the edge of a table so it can breathe. I would say before you spend more money on it, check to see if it is a heating problem.

[Beprepared]

I have a toshiba that overheats and shuts completely off after 15 min. on the dot unless I prop it up or hang the left end where the fan is (can see the inlets on the bottom) over the edge of a table so it can breathe. I would say before you spend more money on it, check to see if it is a heating problem.

Mine did this until I lowered the battery performance. Now it does it no matter what I do. I'll be visiting Byte next week.

[Zundfolge]

I installed ubuntu, linux based. It does everything I need a PC to do without the headaches of Windows.

I highly recommend it. It does not play games, yet. But I don't spend alot of time playing PC games, so it s moot point.

For a machine that you're just doing basic web surfing and simple office type work and you don't need any specific Windows programs (or games) I would also recommend Linux (but I'm going to recommend Linux Mint (http://www.linuxmint.com/) which is based on Ubuntu but it is a little more Linux newbie friendly).

But yeah, the OS is probably not the issue with the OP's machine.

[Irving]

I just replaced mine 2 weeks ago from buy.com for a Dell ran me about $30. [Beer]

Perfect thanks. I can buy 4 of them for the same price as the ones at Microcenter.