A computer question

[trinityvixen]

I'm calling HP tonight anyway, but I'm getting pissed at my computer randomly shutting itself off. Anyone know of something not hardware-related that might be at fault?

Basically, the problem is that my laptop will, without warning, completely shut down. I can start it up again without incident, though the latest settings in whatever program I've been using aren't saved (winamp, for example, had an earlier playlist on restart than it did before the abrupt shut down). I've trolled a few forums with this question on line, but most people seem to think it's just a hardware/fan/cooling-related problem. When I was at home, I used some canned air my mother has to clean the input area--it was hella dusty. I got back Sunday and have opened and closed my computer since, without repeated incident.

Until I got home tonight, and it not only shut down randomly, it didn't appear to completely shut down. When my computer goes to sleep or shuts down, the lights on the front and sides go out. This time, when it shut itself off, the 'sound-muted' button still glowed, as did the AC power button. They remained on for a few seconds, maybe ten, then went out, too. Anyone have an idea as to why this is?

In related news (it also has to do with a computer), I've made the switch to Mozilla. We'll see how it goes. It seems, at the outset, to be rather like my Safari browser on my mac at work, which is fine--less confusion for me switching between the two. What's nicest about it is how it's completely usurped IE. That shouldn't be a good thing, but IE is so dangerous with spyware and the like, that anything that replaces it is a friend to me. Plus, the icon is really cute.

Comments

[slackwench.livejournal.com]

Firefox is a little nicer than Mozilla, in my opinion. It's just the browser part of Mozilla (no HTML editor or mail) so it tends to be faster. That's pretty much the only difference.

BTW, all Mozilla products exist on OSX as well, so if you really want a unified browser setup, you could switch at work too.

[cbreakr.livejournal.com]

your problem is strange... it's probably a hardware problem, though you should ask Jordan to be sure.

[kent-allard-jr.livejournal.com]

Yep, I've had the exact same problem with laptops in the past -- and I'm currently using an HP. I don't remember how I solved it (if I did!). I remember changing the Power Options settings so the hard drive didn't shut down after a long period of inactivity. I doubt that would solve anything, though.

I agree with slackwench that Firefox kicks ass.

[hslayer.livejournal.com]

It also sounds like hardware to me. Possibly power-related. Although usually a laptop will go into suspend or hibernate rather than just shut down when it's having some sort of power issue.

Make sure Windows knows it's on AC power when it's plugged in (Control Panel > Power Options > Power Meter tab) and check the Power Shemes tab to ensure it never automatically shuts down when running on AC power.

Does it go through the Windows shutdown procedure or just switch off suddenly? Those could signify completely different problems.

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

I checked the power options already, that's all fine. No 'turn off hard disks' ever selected. As for how it shuts down, it really just dies, as if someone had yanked the power cord out and there was no battery in the computer (which there isn't at present). It's not 'windows is shutting down' happy shut down; it's electrical death shut down. I'm wondering if the AC adapter connection is loose.

[hslayer.livejournal.com]

If it just dies instantly, that's almost got to be hardware. If it was just the AC adapter connection, it'd run off battery, and you should get low battery warnings before it dies. I fear it might be something worse. In any event, as it's likely hardware and non-obvious in the specifics, you'll probably need to get it checked out.

[arcane-the-sage.livejournal.com]

Actually my first thought on this is perhaps thermal in nature. I've seen a few laptops shut down if they're getting too warm. Have you checked to see that the machine is cooling properly?

[hslayer.livejournal.com]

It might be. She does mention that specifically.

Dayle, it probably has a tiny little fan over the CPU, somewhere near one of the vent openings. Any chance you remember hearing it spin up, and haven't since it started having problems?
Does it get noticeably hotter than usual? Typically if it's heat-related you can detect the excess heat externally.

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

I believe it is pretty hot, actually. That was my first concern. I've heard the fan working, though, so I didn't believe that it was totally broken.

I'm not sure if it's 'hotter than usual' because my HP has always run pretty warm, but, unless I'm imagining it because it seems like a likely situation, yeah, it's a little warmer than usual.

[bigscary.livejournal.com]

Oh dear.
If memory serves, you and I have the same era/model-family of laptop -- this sounds EXACTLY like the start of a problem that I developed spring/summer of '03, a problem that resulted in me needing to purchase a new motherboard at ~1K$.

[xannoside.livejournal.com]

Yes and no. Phoenix (Firefox 0.4) was the browser portion of Mozilla 1.3 with the extraneous "suite" application connections taken out and a streamlined interface. By the time it actually turned into Firebird (FF 0.6), the two browser projects had become radically different animals with very different code modules and processes. FF is considerably faster, more streamlined, more option-intuitive, yadayada. Functionally, yeah, there's not too much difference, the parsing engine is obviously the same, but FF is better in every single way.

As for the other problem, I agree with the slayer of h, you definitely need to get it checked out 'cause it sounds like it's almost certainly a hardware problem. Question: I'm leaning towards "a cooling issue" myself, but when was the last time you ran your laptop on battery power only? Does the battery itself work?

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

The battery works, but I've not used it in ages. it's not even in the computer most of the time. I left it plugged into AC power with the battery still in the computer, thus killing it for the most part. I'm just going to try and get HP on the phone and make them fix it at this point.

hmmm...

[xannoside.livejournal.com]

Ok, in that case, does your building/room ever had odd power fluctuations? A lot of NYC buildings have them, they usually last only a few seconds and may not even effect an entire apartment, depending on how it's wired. Because if your battery does not work/is not in the computer, then whenever you have a power flux and the computer switches to internal power, then it won't have any power to continue operations and will just shut off, in the manner you describe. Has your computer ever done this elsewhere besides your apt?

Re: hmmm...

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

I think it did at home, but I can't recall. I seem to think it did.

Re: hmmm...

[xannoside.livejournal.com]

Well, so much for that idea :-P

I would have it checked out. Where did you get it?