Memphis08

Hi.

My laptop, an Asus A7T, is nearly 2 years old, and over the last few months it's got into the habit of randomly and abruptly losing power. This mainly happens sometime into a high-resource program such as a game or when multiple lesser programs are running, such as web browsing, music and virus/spyware scan. I suspect that this is a safety measure due to overheating, but I can't track the source. I've looked inside and the fan seems reasonably clean and works fine, 5800rpm according to Everest. The temperatures listed in Everest's computer summary are:

Motherboard - 75C (165F)
Aux - 80C (180F)
GPU - 80C (180F)
HDD - 50C (120F)

where the laptop is more or less idle.

The Event Viewer displays nothing for the times of the power loss so I'm not even positive that overheating is the reason, although some of the temps seem on the high side.

This only happens when it's running off the AC, as it can't do a great deal of hardcore processing on battery, but the battery is attached and full so a faulty power supply is unlikely.

Any ideas on how to diagnose or fix the problem would be much appreciated, as it has done it about 4 times today and can't be doing itself much good.

Thanks in advance!

Martin

Edit: After setting off a Spybot scan, I'm watching the Mobo creep towards 110C while Aux and GPU are almost 100C.

TriggerFinger

Start by cleaning the dust off the vents and heatsink. Use air brush or air compressor or can of compressed air. Also when you are using it... be cautious not to cover the vents/heatsink. Always make sure it has enough breathing space.

stressfreesoul

Also, angling the laptop at either the front or back edge can also help vent hot air. If you are resting it on a bed, or something soft, try sitting it on a tray, or placemat, anything hard and smooth.

Memphis08

I'll give the compressed air a try, but it's happening even when suspended several inches above a flat surface. The environment doesn't seem to be a factor. Could be the heatsink then...

Thanks guys.

TriggerFinger

Elevating it helps a little if you have TONS of dust already covering the vents . If you have used it on the floor or carpet (and you have a pet), there may be traces of your pet's fur inside too.

stressfreesoul

Its a pig that is. I have two cats. And Zalman coolers. They seem to horde hair like they are too cold.

AugustusCaesar

Memphis08... if you are cleaning the heatsink etc why not take that off the processor and see if you can spread some thermal paste onto it. Then replace the heatsink. Simply cleaning dust may not be enough as the original paste may be too dried out because of the overheating...