Help! Computer problem

[paul253]

I have been having major issues with my computer lately. The problem: It constantly shuts itself off. I'll be doing whatever, looking at a website, and boom...its off. The real problem is that lately it's been doing it so much that I can barely use my computer. It'll shut off, then when I turn it back on, it'll shut off again before the computer even loads. I've tried doing the recommended startup problem screen where it tries to figure out what the problem is, but the computer won't stay on long enough to let it finish. I've tried opening it up on safe mode and that doesn't help. When I actually do have enough time, I've run both my anti-virus program (webroot) and Windows Defender and neither of them find an issue. I haven't looked at any new websites lately and the only thing I've download recently is an update to Itunes. My brother in law is pretty good with computers and without looking at it he thought it had to be some sort of virus, but again, my virus scans don't register anything. The computer itself is a Toshiba laptop with Windows Vista and its about 3 years old. Oh, I also just recently replaced the battery and this problem happens both when its plugged in and when its not, so I don't think it's a battery issue either. Does anyone have any ideas?

[nate82]

Might be a bad stick of RAM or something on the motherboard is dieing or the motherboard itself is dieing. Have you tried cleaning out the inside of the laptop? It might be overheating due to a lot of dust and other junk inside the laptop.

[Baldkin]

Sounds like an overheating problem, either vid card or motherboard.

 

Check in the bios on initial boot (usually will say "Press delete to enter setup") and you can look at what the temperatures are. Odds are your processor temp is 70+ degrees Celsius. Just too hot.

[paul253]

You guys might be onto something, as I have taken notice as to how hot it has felt lately. Is there anything I can do about that myself, or does something need to be replaced? Keep in mind I feel terrible uncomfortably actually taking my computer apart to clean it because I hate messing with things that cost so much money.

[Baldkin]

You'd have to open it up and de-dust it to clean it out, more than likely. Laptops just aren't easy to clean from the outside. Odds are you'd need a special screwdriver as well to get into the case.

[paul253]

Ok so you think if I can get the back off and use something to get the dust off that it would make a fairly sizable difference?

[Baldkin]

This probably isn't your specific computer, but... something like this:

http://www.informationweek.com/news/hardware/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=60300177&pgno=4

 

Remember: take out the battery and unplug first, and use soft things to clean (toilet paper, air, q-tips, etc).

[paul253]

That helps out a lot. I appreciate it!

[paul253]

Just a little update. Dust was definitely the problem and after I cleaned it it has run much better. So thanks again for the help.

 

Now to a new problem: I managed to drop my laptop down the stairs. It runs fine, but the screen is all messed up. It doesn't feel like it's cracked, but there are some lines and stuff running across the screen. It's hard to explain exactly what it looks like, but is that something that is able to be fixed, or should I work on getting used to it?

[cwolf2012]

The cost of getting it fixed is not worth it on something like that. You'll have to replace the entire LCD, which will run a minimum of $200 for an older laptop, and upwards of $400 for a newer machine. Since you can buy a reasonably decent laptop at Best Buy for $500, it's not worth it to me.

[LouisEly]

Or you can try to find a used laptop of an identical model and transfer "the guts" (motherboard/processor, hard drive, memory, etc.), provided that the screen works. You may be able to do that cheaper than buying a new laptop.

[paul253]

Other than Milwaukee PC I couldn't figure where else to take it. The estimate there was $320. I'm just going to hope it doesn't get any worse because right now it's really not too bad.