win xp laptop turning off periodically, solved by turning off 2 services. But why ?

[jameshanley39]

i have a panasonic toughbook CF W2 running win xp.

It started turning off periodically. I thought maybe it was the
battery being overcharged or undercharged. But I ruled them out.
It would happen at any level of power, even 40% power, whether the AC
plug wa sin or not. And sometimes i think it wouldn:t turn on
immediately, I had to wait. I checked the temp in speedfan, it
seemed ok when seeing it 10min before the shutdown,

Then I went to event viewer, saw 2 services that were around near when
the shutdown occurred. They were

WMI performance
IMAP CD Burning

I stopped both of them, and the problem stopped.

Any ideas why?

Normally even viewer is used in such a way when win xp freezes or
restarts (depending on whether a checkbox is ticked). But for windows
to actually shutdown!!

If it was a desktop i`d try to retrigger the problem, but I won`t
here, it`s a laptop that I can`t open up! The head of a screw is
damaged.

 

[kony]

i have a panasonic toughbook CF W2 running win xp.

It started turning off periodically. I thought maybe it was the
battery being overcharged or undercharged. But I ruled them out.
It would happen at any level of power, even 40% power, whether the AC
plug wa sin or not. And sometimes i think it wouldn:t turn on
immediately, I had to wait. I checked the temp in speedfan, it
seemed ok when seeing it 10min before the shutdown,

Then I went to event viewer, saw 2 services that were around near when
the shutdown occurred. They were

WMI performance
IMAP CD Burning

What did Event Viewer say about these?
You might Google the particular error or alert messages.

I stopped both of them, and the problem stopped.

Any ideas why?

Just a random guess - you have a WMI problem pegging the CPU
at 100% utilization, causing it to heat up a lot more than
at idle, and this combined with a cooling subsystem problem
is putting it past critical shutdown temp. IF (big "IF")
this is the case, take enough of the case /paneling off to
check for dust buildup and check proper fan function. Some
fans last a long time but others crap out.

If a sleeve bearing fan, consider lubing it with very thick
oil (almost grease), making sure the bearing cavity is
completely sealed by the plug and/or a sticker afterwards
(sometimes a new sticker is needed if the original won't
stay on, substitute any sticker you can get ahold of or even
a piece of mailing label/etc sticker material is better than
having oil leak out, though the problem is worst when the
oil is too thin in the first place.

Normally even viewer is used in such a way when win xp freezes or
restarts (depending on whether a checkbox is ticked). But for windows
to actually shutdown!!

If it was a desktop i`d try to retrigger the problem, but I won`t
here, it`s a laptop that I can`t open up! The head of a screw is
damaged.

Is the screw head otherwise accessible or is it countersunk
significantly below the surface of the (plastic?) casing
plane? If it's not too deep in the hole, you could cover
all areas around the hole first to prevent particles getting
in the notebook, then carefully cut a slot in the screw with
a dremel tool + cutoff wheel, allowing use of regular
screwdriver.

Another alternative attempt would be an "ez-out" (screw
extrator), though I would usually try cutting a slit with a
dremel tool first, because some of those laptop screws are
uncommon sizes, hard to find, so having the screw extracted
doesn't resolve how to find a new screw to use, while a
well-cut slit in the screw might allow reusing it again (so
long as you're sure it's not mangled too much to reuse).
Sometimes screws are factory installed with threadlock on
them, so that first time you break it free in the hole is a
pain but subsequently is much easier. A bit of wax or a
tiny bit of oil on the end of the threads would make it even
easier next time. In extreme cases (if all else fails),
carefully dripping a drop or two of very light oil into the
screw cavity such that it runs down the shank of the screw
to the threads might help, though you might leave it sitting
to penetrate for awhile but it may not do any good with some
threadlock compounds.

Another setting which might offset the problem (if it's
overheating) is always setting the processor/other to the
lowest speed & power states possible (screen won't matter
but sometimes video also has a lower power setting possible
which will also lower ambient temp).