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laptop shutting down shortly after boot

I have a dell vostro 3500 laptop that has had overheating issues. I have had it to bits and cleaned out the fan. Put it back together and it still worked!! I then tried updating the Bios from version 2 to version 12. I have been into the bios to see if there are any helpful settings regarding the overheating but the laptop shut itself down after 30 seconds or so. (Didn't seem to be hot).

I can't boot into safe mode - I get a screen of windows drivers loading and a please wait message at the bottom of the screen. I wait the computer shuts itself down.

If I try to let it boot normally I get a "one of your disks needs to be checked for consistency" message, if I bypass this I get as far as the windows splash screen and log on password then it shuts down.

Last time I allowed the chdisk to start, it got to 44% (step 2 of 3) having deleted some indexes before it shut down.

Any ideas? - it doesn't seem to be an overheating issue as it has run much hotter in the past? But I only got to 44% by removing the battery and running it from the adapter. With mains power and the battery I only got to 4% before shut down. I have given up for the night - will let it go stone cold and try something tomorrow - I just don't know what.
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Comments

  • Laz123
    Laz123 Posts: 1,742 Forumite
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    Have you got a disc? If not http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/63289-63-free-windows-boot-disk-download

    Then you can either run a repair or chdisk. Or if you've got data you want to keep hook up the disc to another machine to extract then restore to factory settings. Unless it's a hardware issue and the hd is !!!!!!ed.
  • photodgm
    photodgm Posts: 236 Forumite
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    I may have access to a disk (daughter's) laptop. I was considering using a live linux CD to get in, but if it shuts down when I'm looking at the Bios settings ie before it hits windows I'm not sure that will help?

    If I put the hard drive into a usb caddy and attach it to another working (windows 7) computer, can I run chdisk on it? If so how do I do it (it's been a long time since I played around with command line instructions).

    Suggestions very welcome - I need to be very clear about what I intend to do if it keeps shutting down less than 2 minutes after starting!!!
  • ok if it reboots whilst in the bios , then it does not sound like a disk problem , unless the h/disk is drawing a lot of power?


    can you confirm that the fan is working ? as it sounds like the CPU is overheating
  • photodgm
    photodgm Posts: 236 Forumite
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    I've taken the hard drive out of the laptop and done a scan and fix on it using another computer using a usb adapter. With the hard drive and DVD drive out of the laptop I can use a bootable usb drive to get into DOS.

    The laptop has 2 files that can be flashed into the bios
    the Dell Vostro system BIOS A12 which I used to upgrade from A02 and the Dell Winery 15 BIOS A10 which I have not used.

    I have the correct file on the usb drive to flash the bios with the Winery but am unsure of the correct DOS command to ensure that it flashes to the correct place in the bios (I didn't realise that the bios held 2 sets of information).

    The fan did work when I booted into DOS although previously it has been working at slow and high speeds at low temperatures and only at slow speeds at high temperatures as thermal shut down approached. I had hoped an upgraded bios would fix the issue.
  • Big_Graeme
    Big_Graeme Posts: 3,220 Forumite
    Sounds like the fan is gubbed, it should be a fairly easy replacement though
  • Check the thermal paste on the CPU heatsink- and renew where neccesary.

    Is the power socket loose/wobbly?
    The quickest way to become a millionaire is start off as a billionaire and go into the airline business.
    Richard Branson
  • photodgm
    photodgm Posts: 236 Forumite
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    Big_Graeme wrote: »
    Sounds like the fan is gubbed, it should be a fairly easy replacement though

    I don't think it is a physical issue with the fan as it seems to work using at least 2 speeds at reasonably low temperatures. It only works at its slowest speed as temperatures rise.
  • photodgm
    photodgm Posts: 236 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 100 Posts Name Dropper
    Check the thermal paste on the CPU heatsink- and renew where neccesary.

    Is the power socket loose/wobbly?

    Power socket seems ok - The cooling on this laptop consists of a copper 'bar' running across the top of the GPU and CPU to the fan and fins to the outside. The heights of the CPU heatsink and GPU are different and a 'thermal pad' sits between the GPU and the 'bar' I have had the motherboard out to look at this assembly, there is no evidence of dried thermal past coming from it and I didn't fell brave/desperate enough at the time to take it all to pieces.
  • Laz123
    Laz123 Posts: 1,742 Forumite
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    See what your core temp is without having to go into bios http://www.techpowerup.com/realtemp/
  • photodgm wrote: »
    Power socket seems ok - The cooling on this laptop consists of a copper 'bar' running across the top of the GPU and CPU to the fan and fins to the outside. The heights of the CPU heatsink and GPU are different and a 'thermal pad' sits between the GPU and the 'bar' I have had the motherboard out to look at this assembly, there is no evidence of dried thermal past coming from it and I didn't fell brave/desperate enough at the time to take it all to pieces.

    Ah, you've got far enough then... on underside of copper bar where CPU is, unless you've renewed it already, you'll find a large amount of encrusted paste with a missing patch where the CPU actually contacts the copper. Scrape all this off and apply a 'grain of rice' sized drop of paste directly on to CPU (no need to scrape/flatten it). Re-seat copper heatsink/bar (which will flatten and spread paste as you do).

    Have seen this literally hundreds of times- its where OEMs crappy thermal paste is applied in excessive quantities in the factory, and after an amount of time, will prove completely useless. I always renew, as a matter of course, at my workplace- it seems to be the first thing to cause issues in modern laptops.


    One other thing I can think of is that you've got a short somewhere else on the motherboard. Once had a case where a PC was reported as not working. I tested it, swapped motherboard into new chassis, changed RAM, CPU etc and it was indeed dead. Had a closer look at the motherboard and a staple had got caught under the CPU fan and was shorting a connection.
    The quickest way to become a millionaire is start off as a billionaire and go into the airline business.
    Richard Branson
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