COMPUTER CUTS OFF SUDDENLY

[bobby]

has anyone had the problem of their computer just cutting
off in the middle of working . it seems to happen when
the system is under a load. Normal work , word, excel ,
surfing the net , or just sitting idle all day it is
fine. But as soon as you try to play a game or run an
intense program it will cut off, not shut itself down
propperly just pop and it is off . help please. i was
online for a few hours last night with hp online support
and no luck.we did all of the basic tests . I feel it
might be a hardware problem. I have noticed my cooling
fan speeds up right before it cuts off. I have HP zt1170
notebook 1 1/2 yrs old .I take care of it ,im am not
rough with it.

 

[Steve C. Ray]

It is probably overheating (the CPU). Open the case and see if the CPU fan
and heat sink are clean (if you can - laptops aren't easy to open). You may
also used "canned air" to blow thru the cooling vents. Be sure nothing near
the laptop is blocking air flow. Also there are stands you can buy to raise
the laptop so you get better air circulation.

 

[f/fgeorge]

Sounds like you have some serious cooling issues. Yes some cpu's are
designed to shut down when they get to dangerously high temps. You
need to make sure that it is in the open with lots of airspace around
it and not in an enclosed area. If it continues you need to contact
the manufacturer as it may just be a faulty unit.
My laptop is running a distributed net program called Seti that uses
100% of the cpu, 100% of the time.
No problems here. I have a Toshiba that is also about 1 1/2 years old.

 

[Gadgetman]

You can easily enough find out if it is a heating problem. Just install
software for mother board monitor.. and watch the cpu temp..
http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file_description/0,fid,7309,00.asp
you can set up an alarm to notify you before it shuts down if that is the
problem..
Good luck
gadgetman