Laptop powers off unexpectedly, problem of battery or laptop itself?

My laptop, when on battery power, would just power off entirely without any warning. When I immediately tried to power it back up again, it wouldn't turn on, only until minutes later, it was able to power on again. This is a 3 months old HP dv2700t, customized version with a high capacity 6 cells battery installed. This problem has occured 5 times so far, it just occurs randomly. The last power down was about 1 month ago.
So could you guys tell me if this is most likely a problem of the battery or the computer itself? I'm leaving for college in 28 days and I really need to get this sort out before then. I pray it is the battery's problem, because I know how undependable HP's repair service is. Please help me. Thank you.

 

When this happens and the notebook can be turned back on does it stay on and run on battery power like normal or does it shut off again after a few minutes? If the notebook runs normally when powered back on I would suspect it is something other than the battery.

You might get HP to send you a new battery by explaining what is happening. You would only have to send your battery back after the new one arrived.

 

The computer stays running normally after being powered back up again. Looks like I'll need to call HP after all. As for the replacement battery they send me, are they brand new or refurbished? Batteries start dying the moment they leave the factory.

 

it might be that your computer is overheating.

 

really??? Omg, this computer does get extremely in the lower left palm rest (hard drive). I'm running the computer on power saver mode, and it is still pretty hot. Do computers usually shut down like this when it overheats?

 

if you're in power saver mode, and its still heating up, somethings definately wrong. Have you checked temps of your cpu/gpu??

Use HWMonitor and CoreTemp.

 

Yes, computers are designed to shut down if they get excessively hot. Download this free program, HWMonitor, http://www.cpuid.com/hwmonitor.php and let us know what the temps are or post a picture of the results. Download the 32-bit version, it is in the upper left hand corner of the page.

Out of curiosity has the notebook ever shut down while connected to AC?

 

The first one was taken for a 30 min interval on power saver mode. The second one was taken fresh right at the 70 minutes mark.
Also, the laptop has never powered down when it's on AC power.
I was just used the HP battery check and it says the battery is in "good" status. I also called HP tech support to see if they can replace anything for me. So far they've led me through a series of useless troubleshooting procedures (hard drive check, BIOS update, set BIOS to default). After none solves the problem, they determine the problem is caused by software and asks me to restore my computer to factory setting the restore partition. I knew this will not solve the problem, because the problem first occurred couple days after I got the computer. Even after that I have clean installed the system several times, the problem persists. So I just told the tech guy to call me back two hours later after I have "finished" restoring the computer.
Here is what I have on my computer:
Microprocessor 2.5 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor T9300 featuring Intel Centrino Duo processor technology
Microprocessor Cache 6 MB Level 2 cache
Memory 4096 (2 x 2048 MB)
Memory Max Up to 4 GB
Video Graphics NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS
Hard Drive 320GB 5400rpm Western Digital HD

 

I don't know much about computers but my sister's Lenovo did the same thing -- would cut off at least once a day. We had a hunch that it could be overheating so she bought a cooler to sit her laptop on everytime she uses it, and it hasn't cut off since. That was almost 2 months ago.

 

your temps seem fine, though alittle on the high side. Have you checked too see if there is dust builld up in the vents? You should clean them out every 3-5 months using a can of compressed air.

 

The one thing that bothers me about your temps is the temp of the hard drive. The max operating temp of the WD drive is 60C. I have had mine on for 1 hour now but have been stressing it doing a defrag. to heat it up and the max temp it has reached is 45C. I have the WD 250GB but the same environment specs as yours. My Desktop PC also has a WD 250GB drive and doing a defrag. on it for the same hour caused a max temp of 48C. The ambient temperature in my den is 30C or 85F (Hot day today).

Maybe someone else can comment on the temp of your HD. I know you have the 14" notebook so your temps will probably be somewhat higher. You might try booting into BIOS, F10 at startup, and run the "Primary Hard Disk Self Test" program under the "Diagnostics" tab just to make sure the HD is working properly. I really don't have any further info for you, sorry.

 

But it only shuts off when the laptop is on battery power, not on AC. Even if the problem is caused by overheat, it should shut off regardless what the power source is.

 

Harpeet, temps are perfectly normal for a 2500t+ series notebook. You HD temp is a little iffy, but all else is normal. My hitachi hd temps are around 45 to 50 idle. 55ish to 60 gaming. Try getting a cheap notebook cooler and see if there's a difference. Personally, since the notebook works properly on ac power, I don't think its an overheating issue at all. It might be a loose connection internally thats causing the random power downs. Were you mobile when the shut downs were occurring?

If you have the money...
http://www.amazon.com/Zalman-ZM-NC1...5?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1217131870&sr=8-5
If you don't: (I use this, works fine)
http://www.amazon.com/Powered-Effic...8?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1217131870&sr=8-8

 

The laptop has only powered down when it's on battery power. I tried calling HP, but they are insisting it's a software issue and refuse to assign me a repair number.

 

Oh well, thank you guys for your information and concerns. I really appreciate it. It's just so disheartening that you guys, who are helping me voluntarily, provide me with better info than the HP tech support, which has totally been irresponsible.