Asus G71GX-A2 laptop shuts down randomly. PLEASE help.

I've been experiencing random shutdowns lately on my laptop. I am running Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit.

Let me begin by saying each time it has shut down on me, (which was twice in the past month) I've had it plugged into the back of my television (Samsung LN46A650) via HDMI, outputting both an audio and a video signal. The audio signal is coming out of the sound system connected to my TV (Panasonic SC-PT960) through an optical cable.

I'm sorry if that was a little convoluted, but I feel compelled to include every detail relevant to this issue. Maybe the HDMI is causing some sort of conflict...?

I utilized Asus' warranty program and took the computer into a local repair center. They told me that after running a 24-hour full system diagnostic, the computer checked out fine and without error. Even THEY were unable to detect, or even witness, the computer shutoff dilemma.

Now.. the keyword here is 'random,' because the shutdowns occur whenever they feel like it. It COULD be due to overheating, except I'm never doing anything very hardware intensive when it happens.

The last two times it happened, I was streaming music online, or playing a standard definition video in my media player. Nothing too demanding.

Is there perhaps something in the event viewer that displays some error message that appeared around the time of shutdown? Maybe I can link that to a possible solution... Who knows.

I'm sorry if this was a little on the wordy side, but any insight into the matter would be GREATLY appreciated.

 

Unfortunately, the event log is not going to flag anything when it just shuts down like that.

Is the laptop on the carpet when plugged into the TV like that? Even if it's not, this has all the signs of overheating. When it's hooked up via HDMI, is the lid of the laptop open or closed? There is a weird driver bug on the G51 (gtx260m) where the laptop will randomly shut down when hooked to an external display if the lid is closed. I had that problem when I had my g51 and ended up just leaving the lid open and shutting the display of the laptop off. That "fixed" the problem.

 

My lid is always open, because sometimes I'll want to extend my display and other times I'll just use my TV as the primary.

I never have my laptop on the carpet, it's always up on my desk. However, I am not using any proper heat management tool like a cooling fan or what have you. I am highly considering buying one, but only if I can isolate that the problem is indeed related to overheating.

 

Hmm, the plot thickens.

Download Hwinfo32. This will measure your gpu and cpu temps. Hook it up to the TV and stream that funky music, white boy.

While that is going down, run Hwinfo and get us your temps.

 

I'll be sure to do that but unfortunately it's still in the shop should be getting it back in the next day or two.

 

It doesn't BSOD at all right? - just immediate shutoff?

 

no BSOD, just shuts off, as if someone totally cut the power.

 

bump bump bump...

 

Without the temps, there's not much more we can help with.

 

It sounds a lot like a power supply problem. I don't know much about laptops, but on desktops, that would be the most likely candidate for this situation. Random shut offs usually mean the power supply is being overloaded. Do laptops even have power supplies?

 

I have a G51 laptop, and I have found that the HDMI port has some sort of short or something with it, because if I play games or do anything GPU intensive with the laptop plugged into my monitor or tv using an HDMI cable after about 5-10 mins the laptop just shuts down like it lost power.

If I play on the laptop with the laptop screen I have no problems, the laptop plays games like a champ and I have yet to encounter this problem.

Also I've noticed that using the HDMI port I get about 10-15 FPS less with everything at the same video settings as when I'm running on the laptop display.

So I've come to the conclusion that there is something wrong with the HDMI port, and I would have ASUS try to play it on an HDMI monitor or TV with a game for a good 15-20 mins and the problem should show itself.

I also ran temp logs and saw no irregular temps, everything was pretty standard.

Hope this helps!

 

I was having this same problem with my computer as well. My solution was the fan had clogged up between the heat sink to the rear of the computer. This was causing the computer to overheat and shut down randomly or any time I bumped the computer. I removed the rear panel and fan, brushed off the dust and blew it down. I haven't had any problems since.

 

I have a g51 laptop and have the same issue with automatic shut downs when connected via hdmi. I've noticed that it is not random - it always happens when gaming or pushing the limits of the laptop. I can game fine when its not connected via hdmi. Watching movies or browsing works fine. I read online that the g51 has issues with heating, especially the 360m graphics card when its connected via hdmi apparently.

is there some way to disable the automatic hard shutdown? its very frustrating....

 

well in the case of a laptop even when the power supply dies the battery would keep it going.

Ive had a lot of power supplies die

how is the battery power working? Does it run on battery?

I think youre right theres a short in the hdmi port. The power draw is beyond what the laptop allows and it shuts down to prevent damage.

test a different hdmi cable to be sure. And then, Id say just never use the hdmi port again you may ruin it. I dont actually recomend trying to fix it it sounds like something you could ruin.

 

After further testing I think this may be my issue as well.. I've tried with the lid open and no issues even when pushing the laptop to its limits so maybe that's the solution for me. wierd! Except mine is a gtx360m on a g51. maybe there's something different in the 260 and 360 that allows it to work for me?

 

Just got my G51J back for the same exact reason. ASUS replaced the cooling fan, which was noted as defective on their work sheet, but after 5 minutes of Civ V is shut down completely, so no change whatsoever.

If I plug into my TV instead of my ASUS monitor, the laptop plays movies just fine, even in HD.

Called ASUS back up and I'm shipping the laptop back to them next week.

Will keep you guys posted.

 

Please let me know what happens with your laptop. The only time that my laptop has ever shut off before randomly is while plugged into my ASUS monitor via HDMI cable. I have to imagine that it is a short from what was above mentioned, its not the fans clogged up for sure, I'm getting plenty of airflow. The event happens randomly.