Notebook Powers Down

[marcplante]

I have a notebook (Asus in my sig) that occasionally powers down...dead to black screen like it has been unplugged. It is in the extended warranty period for my credit card, and I figure there is a hardware problem, so I take it to a shop for a bench check. They tell me that there is no problem and that I need to reinstall windows (which they will do for $90). This machine has a factory image of windows that I have patched using the factory approved patches and nothing else.

Do O/S corruption problems cause spontaneous shutdown? or do I have a marginal hardware problem that a single (or few) cycles of hardware checking did not identify? I'm thinking Mobo link to Power supply or power supply problem.

Thanks,

 

[corkyg]

Heat can cause such a shutdown. Does it behave the same way on battery as on pure A/C power?

 

[marcplante]

It can happen either on battery or plugged in. Also, happens after only a short period of light use, not processing that would get the temperatures up. My wife is only using this box to do basic surfing.

 

[TheStu]

Blow out the fans with compressed air all the same, they could be clogged up. If you feel like popping the bottom off, do that do to blow out the heatsink as well.

 

[marcplante]

This is a new, factory refurbished model...pretty much just out of the box. It hasn't seen use, let alone dust.

 

[corkyg]

Even a factory refurb can have accumulated dirt. It is also possible that surfing the web could have picked up some malware. Run a full AV scan just to rule that out. Heat can occur just from being on if there is a component out of tolerance. How long have you had the refurb? Can you throttle the CPU back a bit?

 

[corkyg]

Just an added thought - is your wife operating this on a hard surface?

 

[marcplante]

Thanks for the ideas. The machine is already "detuned" using power saver settings since it has much more horsepower than my wife needs. I'd tuned the CPU down to 50%.

Yes, she uses the computer on a granite desktop, and it vents to the side, not down. I'll try blowing out the computer when I get back home from my current business trip.