Toshiba Laptop XP Shuts Down Inadvertantly

JoAnnRathJoAnnRath
edited December 2005 in Hardware
Hi,

I have a Toshiba Laptop - Satellite using Windows XP. It inadvertantly shuts down with no notice. I am running Webroot -Spy Sweeper as the anti-spy software. I ran Spy Sweeper thinking I may have a virus that was causing it. But I found while running it, about 18 minutes into the run the PC shut down and I can duplicate it. I de-installed the Spy Sweeper software - ran a registary repair utility and re-installed the Spy Sweeper software and still get the same problem. Having said this I am not sure the Spy Sweeper is causing the shutdown while I am using the PC with other applications. Anyone have any ideas on what to do? I keep the fan area clean underneath the PC in case that was causing a problem. I have had this PC two years and the shut down problem just started in the past month.

JoAnn

Comments

  • profdlpprofdlp The Holy City Of Westlake, Ohio
    edited December 2005
    Do you get the famous BSOD before it shuts down?

    Also, have you checked the power management settings? Does it do it on battery power, with the wall outlet, or both? :)
  • JoAnnRathJoAnnRath
    edited December 2005
    profdlp wrote:
    Do you get the famous BSOD before it shuts down?

    Also, have you checked the power management settings? Does it do it on battery power, with the wall outlet, or both? :)
    No, I don't get the BSOD - it just shuts down without warning and I have to power back on. I hardly ever run it on battery power because I keep it at the desk most of the time and it's running on the AC power. I've checked the power management settings and all of that looks normal, is there something I should be checking specifically? I really appreciate your help. It's making me crazy because I am in the middle of programs and lose everything.

    JoAnn
  • profdlpprofdlp The Holy City Of Westlake, Ohio
    edited December 2005
    It could be that the power brick is failing. Since a hardware problem will be difficult to diagnose, (you can't easily swap out parts for troubleshooting purposes), let's start by seeing if we can find out if there is a software problem.

    What Operating System are you running? There are some debugging and error-reporting things we can try, but they vary between Win98, WinXP, etc.

    One thing you may want to try is to start the computer in Safe Mode (hit F8 before Windows starts to load to get to the menu to choose that). Then see if you get the same shutdown problem there. If it seems to run fine in Safe Mode I would recommend you try running your Spy Sweeper at that time.

    Does it seem to happen at random, or usually in one particular program?

    Finally, in Device Manager, are there any items flagged as having a problem?
  • JoAnnRathJoAnnRath
    edited December 2005
    I am running Windows XP Home version 2002 with Service Pack 2

    I will try running in Safe Mode - the only problem is that I may have to run it for a while to see if it shuts down at some point. However, I can try to run the Spy Sweeper to see if it shuts down the PC after 18 minutes of checking the drive.

    The shut down problem happens randomly - I haven't noticed it shutting down with a particular program. I can only duplicate it when trying to run Spy Sweeper to check the PC. But other times when it shuts down, Spy Sweeper is in the background.

    I checked Device Mgr and nothing in the screen is flagged.

    I will reply back after I boot in safe mode and run Spy Sweeper - which may be later tonight or tomorrow morning.

    Thank you very much,
    JoAnn
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited December 2005
    This might also be a heat-related problem. JoAnn, do you run any other intensive programs that scan your hard drive? I had similar problems with a laptop with an overheating hard drive. Are you familiar with the cooling fan inside your computer and know what it sounds like when it comes on? Does your cooling fan run for long periods of time preceding one of the crashes?
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