[wolgy]

So ill go along and explain this whole situation from the top, and hopefully i cover everything. note, some of the things in this process may have been stupid on my part, but thats in the past now, so id like to continue forward.

So i decided I wanted to format and reinstall windows on my computer. the main reason being that i wanted to upgrade from home to professional, but also it had been a while and just sorta wanted a refresh. i'd like to note that to the best of my knowledge, my computer was having no hardware problems, or at least to the extent that i was having before this whole ordeal.

So i got a copy of windows from one of my buddies and inserted it, booted from cd, installed windows, and began installing drivers until i felt tired and left my computer for the night. All in all a pretty uneventful re-install. I get back on in the morning, and continue to install drivers and then try to install all my favorite programs when all of the sudden my laptop just turns off. thought since its a high performance laptop and was on my lap it might have over heated. i let it cool for a while before trying to turn it back on. then (and like everytime after when this happens) the first time i push the power button it loads till the loading windows screen and then shuts off again. then on the second start it loads windows completely. thinking that this might be a corrupt hard drive problem i swapped out my hard drive for a new one, formatted and installed win7 on this new hard drive. repeated the process of installing drivers installing programs and for a good part of the day.

I should note that at this point i was convinced it was a faulty hard drive, i completely dissembled the first hard drive so it is now out of the picture. Then, later in the day, i got the same problem, computer just shut down. Starts to do it more rapidly so i start to think this is a RAM problem. so i try running the computer with each stick separately, problem still persists. tried dusting out my laptop as but i could, cleaned the RAM connects and still i am having this problem. Also, since it is not technically crashing, i am not getting an error report. So, i am stuck, out of ideas and cant find anything on Google related to my situation.

tl;dr my computer just turns off. since i am not getting a crash report this leads me to believe it is a hardware problem. i have eliminated the cpu over heating, bad hard drive, and faulty RAM.

 

[TheCyberMan]

Hi and welcome to TSF,

With the Laptop unplugged from the mains remove the battery and re-connect to the mains and boot the system.

 

[wolgy]

Thanks for the response and help.

well, that worked slightly better than before but in the end i had the same results.

 

[TheCyberMan]

Does the system attempt post ?

Does the hard drive access light flicker continually as it boots or just a quick flash then nothing?

 

[wolgy]

i guess im not sure what post is. if it helps the computer loads up the same way it did before i had a problem.

as far as the HDD light it blinks constantly.

 

[TheCyberMan]

Ok when you boot the computer up does it boot into windows before shutting down or does it just turn on for a few seconds then shut down.

Is it a desktop and make and model please also.

 

[shawnpb]

Have you tried applying a fresh application of thermal paste?

 

[wolgy]

The first time i boot it up itll only load for about 20 secounds before itll shut off (regardless of how much down time) but the secind time it boots fully into windows but will crash randomly and from doing different things.

Its a laptop, the model is a qousmio x505-q875 i can look to see if newegg still has it on its site. Also, since it is a laptop i didnt feel comfortable with my assembly skills to take it apart and apply paste.

 

[wolgy]

Toshiba Qosmio X505-Q875 Laptop

thats a direct link to the product info.

 

[TheCyberMan]

Prior to the problems have you noticed the Laptop getting unusually hot and the fan making a louder or high pitched noise or appearing tobe overworking being on almost constantly prior to the shutdown issue?

If you have the Laptop may be overheating and shutting down is initiated by the motherboard to protect the cpu from burning out hence the hdd light constant flickering at boot time telling us that the cpu is still working.

As well as fresh thermal paste the Laptop will need to be opened up and the vents and heatsink and fan will need to be cleared of any dust and debris so the fan can operate properly and cool the system down.

As you don't feel comfortable with opening up your Laptop if it is out of the warranty period take it to your local computer repair shop who can do this for you for a nominal charge.

 

[wolgy]

As far as it over heating before, the only time it would happen was when i played a really intensive video game and the game would crash. and to be more ironic, i actually dusted out the interior (compressed air) before i reformated :/

 

[TheCyberMan]

You mean you took it apart or just blew air from outside?

 

[wolgy]

Sorry, i didnt mean to imply i completely cleaned out the inside i was just trying to point out i had made an effert to clean it. Ill think about taking it apart or taking it in to a repairstore.

Thank you guys for you time and help.

 

[TheCyberMan]

Yes taking it apart is the only way to clean any dust or debris that may be blocking the vents and more importantly the heatsink which the fan blows air to cool the hot air coming from the cpu if it is clogged up it wont be cooling properly.

As far as it over heating before, the only time it would happen was when i played a really intensive video game and the game would crash

If toshiba comes with hardware diagnostics it may be worth running that to see if any hardware is faulting like the graphics card.

The link below is for a hardware monitor for temperature download it and right click it choose run as administrator look at the cpu temps and report back here those temperatures. If it displays your graphics card temps give us those also.
Open Hardware Monitor - CPU Temperature, Fan Speed and Voltages in a Free Software Gadget

 

[wolgy]

The gpu over heating is a combination of a poor design by toshiba (this machine was poorly engineered.) and one of my fans not working. So I've just come to accept im not going to be able to play and decent games on it.

Other than that, my roommate and i took apart the laptop ourselfs, with the help of a youtube video, and it now works without overheating. that aside, it is now running really slowly, web browsers take their sweet time to load, i can hardly run more than one task at a time.. its quite frustrating.

 

[TheCyberMan]

What temps was your cpu and gpu reaching? One or both will more than likely need replacing.

Fans will need replacing.

I would not use it untill these are resolved taking it to a repair shop for diagnosis will confirm.

 

[Amd_Man]

Just as a side note: Laptops run hot to begin with and that's why they should not be used for running demanding games. Demanding games generate alot of extra heat as both the Gpu and Cpu are working hard to run the game. When you get it cleaned out thoroughly and fixed, regularly blow the vents out with compressed air and it will eliminate a build up. I blow mine out once a month!