Inspiron 1521, runs for half an hour, then shuts off.

Hey all,

Long time no see! I'm about to grab a Inspiron 1521 for $100, the problem is in the title. Run's fine, for a half an hour then shuts off.

My assumption is the maximum problems could be:

- Fans not working, resulting in an overheating: hence shutdown at max temp.

- Heatsinks or thermal compound issues, resulting in an overheating: hence shutdown at max temp.

- Rare possibility that it has a cold solder somewhere located in the mobo: hence shutdown after 30 minutes of running, generated heat build up.

Could we call those claims accurate or should I say leave it as it may be something more costly then the machine itself to replace.

Let me know folks, thanks.

 

sounds like a heat-related issue, yes. the first step now would be to run HW Monitor (or a similar temp monitoring tool) and see how hot your system gets.

 

If your fan isn't working, you could very well be facing an overheating issue.

 

Well, this is how I see it: in the worst case scenario, you're going to have to replace the motherboard. A new board for the 1521 costs about $200 on eBay, so you're looking at a total cost of $300 in this worst case scenario. $300 still isn't a bad deal for a working 1521; you can even sell off the old board for parts. So if you value the 1521 more than $300 (and the labor to replace the board), you should buy it. In fact, it is even likely that the problem is significantly more simple (as you postulated), in which case the expected cost is less than $300.

 

Indeed, thanks folks, going to grab it then. =D

 

let us know how it turns out.

could maybe be a software issue , just a quess....i would re-install windows , and update bios too. first, restore to an earier date, then if problem still persists, factory image, or just re-install windows...worth a try...but i sort of agree,,,,hardware probably