My laptop (HP Pavlion zt3000) has been randomly shutting off lately. It has been getting really hot and tends to shut off after about an hour of use. It used to always work fine for hours of intensive usage. One weird thing is the fan seems to only turn on when the laptop is unplugged, how do I set it to always be on? Could the shut down problem be caused by something else?

7/14/2006 12:21:47 PM

get a can of compressed air and blow out as much dust as you can, go into the BIOS settings and see if there are any fan settings. Prop the laptop up if the fan intake is on the bottom of the laptop, so it gets better airflow in the intake.

I've got the same issue with my Toshiba laptop, which is a complete POS. It overheats when I run anything even slightly processor intensive, so the laptop has basically become a TWW Browser now that its at the end of its life.

7/14/2006 12:59:13 PM

On my HP, every so often I have to send it back, have Best Buy extended warrenty. This is what I have been told. They have to re-seat the CPU on the motherboard and apply more of that gel in between. If I boot up and stay outside windows (dos, or f8 screen) on mine it will shutoff quicker than if I am in windows. Windows can control it better so it has to be hotter to shutdown in windows.

7/17/2006 1:21:37 PM

^^ I'm sorry you have a Toshiba. HAD one myself...

7/17/2006 2:01:11 PM

it is most likely heat issues with the laptop due to clogged vents and dust in areas where it shouldnt be. compressed air will the best solution and even if you feel daring, can open up the laptop and do a thorough cleaning with compressed air so that you are sure you get it all out. also, in the future, do not lay the laptop flat on a surface...the best thing to do is to prop it up some so that air does ventilate and it's a free-flowing circulation.

7/17/2006 3:13:41 PM

Some Toshiba laptops are some of the worst designed computers I've ever seen. I had a person bring in a Toshiba that was doing the same thing as the orginal posters laptop. Took it apart, popped out the fan and there was literally a 1 inch thick carpet of dust that had collected on the fan housing. No air was being able to be pushed out of the laptop and it would overheat after about 20 minutes of use.

Sony's can be pretty bad as well.

7/17/2006 6:05:59 PM

in dealing with more than 20 toshiba laptops over the course of two years (we replace our units every two years whether they need it or not), i have never had any problems...maybe they tend to die after 2 years, but my last laptop was a toshiba i had for more than 3 years and never had a problem...the current laptop i have is also a toshiba, with no issues

on the other hand, i've had repeated problems with compaq, hp, and ibm

7/17/2006 7:39:58 PM

Quote :

"^^ I'm sorry you have a Toshiba. HAD one myself."

I've had my Toshiba for two years now and haven't had a single problem with it (knock on wood). All laptops are going to run into this problem if you don't take the time to clean out the fan/vent on occasion.

Assuming you haven't screwed up your processor by overheating you should just be able to clean out the fan. You might also want to look into a laptop cooler. It has USB powered fans that help circulate the hot air from your computer.

http://www.staples.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/StaplesProductDisplay?prodCatType=1&storeId=10001&catalogId=10051&langId=-1&productId=101316&cmArea=SEARCH

http://www.targus.com/us/product_details.asp?sku=PA248U

7/18/2006 1:21:12 AM

targus tornado laptop cooling pad yaddy yaddy yadda

7/18/2006 3:14:51 AM

be careful of laptop coolers. If your laptop fans are on the bottom and they take in air then most laptop coolers will actually hurt your laptop for it will fight for the air. Basicly it will increase temperature of the cpu not decrease. I learned the hard way. I have a laptop cooler if you want to buy one. I payed 40 for it so i'll sell it for 25 (used only one day). Antec notebook cooler. The fans are very quiet. You may have better luck. I didn't.

[Edited on July 18, 2006 at 8:52 PM. Reason : .]

[Edited on July 18, 2006 at 8:55 PM. Reason : .]

7/18/2006 8:51:16 PM