Dell latitude 5100 shutting down

[st]

My laptop if not touched for a few minutes will shut down. It's not the power
options either because I have those off. I don't think it's a virus, but I
can not finish running the virus scanner because my computer shuts down. My
laptop does get pretty hot, but it has always got hot since i have had it the
past 4 years. The fan on it seems to be running. What do I do, or maybe how
do I run the virus check if it keeps shutting down?

 

[JohnO]

My laptop if not touched for a few minutes will shut down.

Describe this...is it a normal shutdown with the pop-up box that let's you
know what's happening? Or is it a sudden and complete loss of power with no
warning?

-John O

 

[scollins]

If it just turns off, you could be looking at an overheating issue on the vid
card. Or a PS problem. Do you have an extended warrenty? If so send it to
dell and make them figure it out.

 

[st]

It does just shut off without warning. The other guy says it could be my
video card over heating. How do i tell if the fan on the video card is
running?

 

[JohnO]

It does just shut off without warning. The other guy says it could be my

video card over heating. How do i tell if the fan on the video card is
running?

I'm pretty certain there is no fan on the video. The video chip on a 5100
probably doesn't get hot, we're not looking at a powerful system here,
relatively speaking.

See if you can get into the BIOS and set the CPU to 50% speed or something.
That might let the machine run long enough to see if you have a malware
issue, which is entirely possible. If you can get it to run for a while you
have to run a spyware scanner/cleaner. Spybot Search&Destroy is a good one
to start with.

If the system is clean, you might have a blocked airway for the cooling
system, or a bad CPU, or something equally bad.

-John O

 

[sdlomi2]

It does just shut off without warning. The other guy says it could be my
video card over heating. How do i tell if the fan on the video card is
running?

If it seems to be a heat issue--and it sounds likely with this limited
info--set it on one of those freezer-packs you put in a picnic cooler. I
keep one just for working on laptops, and it does quite a good job. It
should allow you to run your diagnostic/virus software. On really
hot-running laptops, I actually put them in my freezer for a few minutes
before I reboot. HTH, s

 

[FeMaster]

It does just shut off without warning. The other guy says it could be my
video card over heating. How do i tell if the fan on the video card is
running?

Get a can of "air" and blow out the vents. I service Dell computers, and if
this has never been done, the cooling fins are probably plugged solid. I've
seen some real nice looking cooling fin plugs on a number of the laptops
I've serviced. Generally after about a year of use, they are really plugged
up, ESPECIALLY if you have pets. Blow it out, and I bet everything will be
back to normal.