[RESOLVED] Power Problem with Portable

[Doogle]

I have an Advent T5250 Portable running Vista Home Edition SP2. Every so often, it might be after 10 minutes or 48 hours, it decides to power off. I get no warning, the screen goes blank and the machine just powers off.

I've Googled around and found out that 'most' problems like this are associated with temperature, but when I feel the case, it's not hot to the touch and the Fan is running. I am about to take the covers off and see whether the fan(s) need cleaning but before I do that I was wondering what other possible causes might be.

As far as I know I've not got any 'nasties', at least AVG doesn't report anything.

I've checked the Power Options and set everything to stay on all the time when running from mains (I don't often use it without it being plugged in as the Battery life is about 10 minutes, fully charged.) Could it be the because the Battery shot to bits, perhaps?

[techgnome]

I'd suspect the cpu temp.... or possibly some bad memory....

-tg

[stanav]

I suspect the cpu temp getting too high. This happens when the fan doesn't turn when it's supposed to. To troubleshoot, you can install CoreTemp and set up its notification such that it will notifies you when the cpu temp reaches certain temp, says 90F. When you see the notification pops up, put your hand over the air outlet vent. I bet that you won't feel any air blowing out (because the fan isn't running). You can use a paper clip try to spin the fan blades through the air inlet vents and see if the fan starts running. If it does, you need a new HSF. If it doesn't, you will need to tap into the fan's power to measure supply voltage with a voltmeter. If there is voltage (12V), you need a new HSF. If there isn't any voltage, you have a bigger problem and may have to replace the MOBO.

[Doogle]

Thanks for the responses. I have cleaned the Fan and air inlet (loads of junk) and it appears to be working OK (it's been on for 3 days solid now)