Power supply problem?

I have a D9T laptop and have had a really strange problem. If I'm playing a game or doing really system intensive stuff, it'll just shut down and wont start back up without the ac adapter. I've only had it for a week and this is my first Alienware computer but I'm pretty sure it's not supposed to do that.
Most of my friends think it's the internal power supply and that it's not providing enough power to support the system, while another friend says it could be the processor's going bad.
I still have 3 weeks store warranty left on it so I want to point them in the right direction or they'll replace this with a piece of crap. Any idea on how much it would cost to fix either problem and where to even find the parts?

 

like gaming when it shuts down could be overheating

if it just dies minutes after u unplug thats ur battery

download HWmonitor and post a screen shot

its a alienware m7700

 

It shuts down after only a couple minutes of gaming, so it's not overheating.
I don't play anything big, just The Sims 2 and LOTRO, any more won't fit.
The fans are all going too, along with an external cooler.

I hardly ever have it unplugged because the battery dies very quickly.
The battery only charges to 33% and uses about 2% per minute.
I do get better performance when the battery is removed.

 

OK, maybe it's overheating, so how do I go about fixing it?

 

well if it won 't start back up unless you have the ac adapter then its the battery ....

did you check your temps?

 

Ya, I have a screenshot in my last post. BTW, that was taken while just browsing the web, can only imagine what it is while gaming.

 

There were two power supply options for the Clevo D900T/ D900K series of laptops, the 180 watt power supply and the 220 watt power supply.

If you have a graphics processor in the X800/nvidia 6800 range a 180 watt power supply is enough for your system. If you have a 7800GTX/nVidia Quadro 1400 or faster graphics card, a 220 watt power supply is required.

The 180 watt power brick is rated for 20V at 9 amps
the 220 watt power brick is rated for 20V at 11 amps

You can see from this image where these numbers are on the power brick:
I have the 220 watt power brick



I suppose your problem is purely power supply related.
Sometimes when I try to power my system on, I hold the button down the blue led halo light comes on and than it shuts off. It will repeatedly do this for some unknown reason. I have to physically remove the ac power and boot on battery. Than while it is booting i plug the ac power in and everything works fine.

What power supply do you have, the 180 or 220 watt?
and what graphics card do you have?

The ebay owner could have pulled a fast one on you, giving you a lower wattage power supply, which is why I ask.

K-TRON

 

Well it was a pawn shop and, although I have the 6800 Go graphics card, I have the 220 watt. Last night I turned down the graphics on a game and surprising it didn't die on me.

 

Interesting, what processor do you have in your laptop?

You may also want to try downloading memtest86, and run that for a few hours. If it finds any errors your random shutdowns are from a memory corruption. If that was the case you should rma your memory to the manufacturer. Almost every memory manufacturer offers a lifetime warranty so it shouldnt be a problem.

K-TRON

 

I have the P4 3.4 Ghz Processor. The memory is the stock 512mb from Alienware and I've been considering upgrading to 4x 1gb sticks. I think the random shutdown were due to overheating because I cleaned it and literally gobs of dust came out. I got a screenshot of the new tempurtures while doing what I was before (browsing the forums and listening to music).

 

yay lol it sounded like overheating get to gaming and let us know

btw get the ram on newegg.com

 

Well then I think you partially answered your problems.

When gaming press FN + F2 and the fans will automatically run at full speed.
This will help your computer stay cool no matter what you throw at it.

As far as memory goes, I have read about people installing 4 x 1GB memory kits and it only reads 3Gb regardless of the 32 bit or 64 bit operating system.

The maximum memory support is 1GB per slot.

Look into a 2 x 1GB of PC5300 sodimm memory kit and your current 512 to it

K-TRON

 

Ty for the advice. I have tried to press Fn + F2 and nothing's happened, not sure if F2 just doesn't work or if I need a driver for that. About the ram, the 512mb in it is incredibly slow so I'm just gonna go for 4x 1gb sticks. Who knows, it might be recognized in Linux as 4Gb. Would this ram be a good upgrade? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820144183

 

Get two of these kits:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820134554

You want the Pc5300 memory. And with free shipping it ends up being cheaper.

The fan control should work. If it doesnt try GETTHERMAL

http://www.intarapm.de/D900_Thermal_Utility.zip

It is pretty simple to use

K-TRON