The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.

    NP9150 (P150EM) turning off on it's own

    Discussion in 'Sager and Clevo' started by drifterzer0, Mar 8, 2016.

  1. drifterzer0

    drifterzer0 Newbie

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    1
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    I have a Sager NP9150 [w/ 7970m] running windows 7 64-bit, stock BIOS, that I bought from xoticpc around June 2012 I think, so almost 4 years old. Honestly, it's been working quite well all things considered - I travel a lot, to include some areas of the world that are not very well established. However about a week ago it started shutting down on its own. It would just power off.

    At first, when it happened, it happened a few more times when I was trying to boot, but it recovered and was working fine. In the process of troubleshooting after it happened I did a few things:

    - ran sfc to verify system file integrity; passed
    - ran a memcheck; passed
    - checked ssd for errors; passed
    - popped the bottom off and blew out any dust just in case, though I do this every 6-months like clockwork anyway so it was pretty clean
    - updated video card drivers

    Then it happened again 2 days later and would happen anytime I used the GPU it would shut down for a bit, so as long as I didn't engage the GPU I was good. I struggled with this for a day or so because it was inconsistent, but it eventually became consistent.

    At this point I checked temperatures. CPU was in normal range, however my GPU temperatures are unable to be read, or the fan RPMs for that matter. It was at this point that I noticed that the GPU fan didn't turn on (CPU fan runs fine). If I use the fan override (Fn+1), both fans work fine but the shut downs still occur whenever the GPU is engaged. The CPU heatsink was warm to the touch after a shutdown, the GPU heatsink was hot - you could put your fingers on it, but it was definitely hot (hotter than CPU at any rate).

    It continued to function as long as I didn't try to engage the GPU. Until today, where it shut down, and it continues to shutdown roughly 30-40 seconds after powering on.

    At this point, I suspected some kind of overheat shutdown or some such so I repasted the GPU and the CPU. Just as well I suppose because the old thermal paste was definitely dry and needed to be replaced. So, after being cleaned and repasted, I tried to power up again. Same 30-40 second before it turns off. This happens if I try to boot into windows or if i just sit in the BIOS. I had thought about flashing the BIOS, but given the current problem, I didn't want to brick my mobo.

    Anyway, to make a long story longer, at this point, I've run out of ideas. I have no spare parts to test components with, but I am relatively comfortable disassembling or removing anything (or putting it back).

    I am open to any suggestions, thoughts, ideas, whatever.
     
    Last edited: Mar 8, 2016
    drifterzer0, Mar 8, 2016
    #1
  2. Meaker@Sager

    Meaker@Sager Company Representative

    Reputations:
    9,436
    Messages:
    58,194
    Likes Received:
    17,909
    Trophy Points:
    931
    When your not engaging the GPU it is mostly off (Fan should not spin and you wont be able to get any readings from the card, the core is parked and awaiting the wake command), you may have a short on the GPU or the core has gone bad. You likely need a video card replacement, it's something your original reseller may be able to test for you.
     
    Meaker@Sager, Mar 9, 2016
    #2