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    Random shutdown issue with my m5550

    Discussion in 'Alienware' started by rzarado, Apr 14, 2008.

  1. rzarado

    rzarado Newbie

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    Hey everyone. I have an Alienware m5500 that is around a year and a half old. The problem that I have is that it occasionally shuts down for no apparent reason. There is no warning, it just turns off. When I reboot, the date and time on XP are reset to December 2005. This seems to happen more when I am playing Battlefield 2. My notebook does not cool well; I have fried two graphics cards since I purchased it. It now sits on a cooling pad with 2 fans and has cooled noticeably. However, the shutdown problems persist. I am running Windows XP and Ubuntu. I really have no inclination as to what the issue is. Thanks guys
     
    rzarado, Apr 14, 2008
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  2. pixelot

    pixelot Notebook Acolyte

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    Does it happen in Ubuntu (the shutdown part, at least)?
     
    pixelot, Apr 14, 2008
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  3. rzarado

    rzarado Newbie

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    It did once or twice while not running on the fan. I think it may be some sort of overheat issue?
     
    rzarado, Apr 15, 2008
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  4. pixelot

    pixelot Notebook Acolyte

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    Well, if it's cross-OS, it sounds like a hardware issue definitely, and overheating is a good guess. Can you use some software to check on the heat?
     
    pixelot, Apr 15, 2008
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  5. n640nec

    n640nec Notebook Consultant

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    Yeah, if it shuts off when you are gaming then it's over heating. My HP laptop shuts down when I play Warcraft III with intense battle. It even has a cooling pad but unfortunately it can't disperse the heat quickly enough. Make sure your fans are running properly (pressure air can can help with dust inside the system) and if they are clean and spinning as it should be, then it could be that the laptop just can't handle the heat.
     
    n640nec, Apr 15, 2008
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  6. kobe

    kobe Notebook Virtuoso

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    Try opening up the bottom of the computer. Then take a can of compressed air and blow the dust out of the fans and exhaust. You probably have so much build up that the heat isn't getting out properly.
     
    kobe, Apr 15, 2008
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  7. rzarado

    rzarado Newbie

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    Yeah I actually haven't opened it up and cleaned it since I put my new video card in like 6 months ago...can't believe I spaced on that. Thanks guys.
     
    rzarado, Apr 15, 2008
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