Rant Help me! Windows 7 system turns itself off

[rseferino]

Do not know if anyone can help me.
 
In a matter of weeks my laptop has had a very annoying problem. When you start Windows 7 automatically turns off. But after trying to light it 3 or 4 times starts normally, but when we use, for example, running Sony Vegas, turns off (not continuous). It is not overheating because recently I did maintenance and replacement of thermal paste (I am've worked with laptops). I reinstall OS and continuous failure. On forums I've seen say it's problem with video drivers, and the funny thing is I did not do any software change before failure. My computer is a Toshiba Satellite U505, intel T4400, 4GB RAM, Windows 7 Professional 64-bit...

 

[Ripley]

...recently I did maintenance and replacement of thermal paste...

Sorry to say that, but this thermal paste replacement sounds like the only possible cause then...are you absolutely sure it was done 100% properly?

 

[rseferino]

Sorry to say that, but this thermal paste replacement sounds like the only possible cause then...are you absolutely sure it was done 100% properly?

Yes, is not the first time, in fact maintaining did almost two or three months ago, long before the problem. In fact the same paste is recommended by the manufacturer (one that is gray)

On the other hand, beginning with a disc with Linux and can stay all day without going out.

 

[dbeachy1]

Do you mean that the system spontaneously turns itself off while the system is running? If so, I have to agree with Ripley: it sounds very much like the problem is that the CPU's heat sink is not making proper contact with the CPU chip. I have never heard of a software bug spontaneously powering off a system.

The first things I would do are:
1) Verify that the CPU fan is still spinning.
2) Enter BIOS setup when the system starts to boot. Then look at the CPU temperature and fan RPM on the status page. If the CPU is running hotter than normal it should show up there.
3) Boot into Windows and install some CPU temperature monitoring software, such as Real Temp. Then run something like Prime 95 to generate CPU load while you keep an eye on the temperature.

If the CPU temperature gets too high the CPU will throttle down its clock speed to prevent damage to the chip, and if it continues to get too high it will power off the system. If the CPU is overheating I would remove the heat sink and thermal paste and reapply it. One thing to double-check is to make sure the heat sink is flat against the CPU so it makes proper contact with it.

 

[rseferino]

I'll do some testing tonight to see it. I have repaired laptop in the past but first time I see something and just to mine!

 

[Fabri91]

If it is indeed running hot, check for dust buildup between the fan and the heatsink fins:

(A not-more-so-loud friend's laptop)

 

[rseferino]

I have come to see where nearly solid sinks fluff. But in my case it's not that. Would have to monitor whether the cooler fan is spinning at the correct speed, placing another hard drive where I installed linux mint is not turned off. The paste is a thick gray recommending manufacturers, which have made him something over 2 years. When I work on a technical service for toshiba laptop even get to see one where placed a coin between the processor and heatsink to increase the contact. Although you can not think, last night was lit only in the BIOS and in the morning was still on. I surf the internet and stays on, start to edit a video with sony vegas and in less than a minute off. I open up Orbiter and I can spend an hour and not turned off. If the fan cooler internally possibly dirty.

 

[GLS]

What about the graphics card? I've seen a laptop shutdown because the graphics card would overheat.

 

[Quick_Nick]

What about the graphics card? I've seen a laptop shutdown because the graphics card would overheat.

Presumably it's a standard laptop where the CPU is doing the graphics.

It really does sound like bad contact between the CPU and the heat sink. I would redo the paste job, after looking over lots of instructions online. Also, the paste manufacturer may have instructions to, for example, run a lot of hot/cool cycles to get the paste to spread itself better for the first few days.

A few months ago I worked on an all-in-one PC that was known for overheating and needing new paste. (Indeed, the paste was essentially not existent and crusty when checked) Even after looking at all these directions online and redoing the paste, it only worked for a few days. I never looked into if something else was the issue, but presumably I just didn't do a good enough paste job even with my knowledge. So... even if you think you did it just right, it's probably worth doing it again if you really want this laptop to work.

 

[jedidia]

Presumably it's a standard laptop where the CPU is doing the graphics.

There's hardly any such thing anymore today. It would have to be a real antique for that (as in, 6+ years at least... I had older laptops with built-in GPU).

Overheating should be easily diagnosable by turning on heat warnings in the BIOS. Then the computer will start to beep when exceeding a certain temperature, so you can see if there's any relation.

However, the fact that you get the laptop to boot after several attempts is attypical of an overheating problem (unless the room temperature changes significantly between the attempts... ). If it's not a heating problem, and you already resinstalled the OS without that fixing the problem, you might be out of luck...

 

[rseferino]

I will review the contact between the heatsink and processor again, but I think there is something that does not take into account the thermal pad on the video chip.

http://www.laptopparts101.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/laptop-main-board-560x420.jpg

It's not mine, it is only for reference.

 

[jangofett287]

If your heatsink had a thermal pad on it, when you took it off it ruined the contact area of the sink and CPU. Those pads contain part parafin wax or simmilar, and melt into the microscopic valleys in the metals, forming a good solid contact. When taken apart however the stuff in the valleys is very hard to clean off, meaning future attempts at applying proper thermal paste are less effective.

 

[jedidia]

Those pads contain part parafin wax or simmilar, and melt into the microscopic valleys in the metals, forming a good solid contact.

Which would be the job of the paste, really. I.E. its only purpose. And a good paste job will always have a better efficiency than a pad, because it doesn't add another layer of poorly conducting material between the heatsink and the chip. But placing a pad is easy while a good paste job requires some experience.

Anyways, if the GPU has a pad on it, I would check that out. Pads can act up after a few years, especially if some dust got stuck to it during assembly. Cleaning off pads isn't really a problem with some alcohol (ideally >99%. You don't want any water sticking around in there...).

 

[Urwumpe]

There's hardly any such thing anymore today. It would have to be a real antique for that (as in, 6+ years at least... I had older laptops with built-in GPU).

Actually wrong - On all mobile Intel I(x) processors, you have an Intel HD GPU on the same chip.

The better ones just also have a dedicated GPU additionally to the Intel HD GPU.