Laptop died--then came back!

speleobat2 · Post by **speleobat2** » Thu Dec 25, 2008 5:13 pm

Good morning everyone and I hope a merry one too!

Half an hour ago I was sending out emails when all of a sudden my laptop went zzzzt and died completely. My first thought was power outage, but the light were still on. The computer wasn't--no power, black screen. I unplugged it, took out the battery, waited a couple of minutes, put the battery back in--still nothing. Couldn't even turn it on so I thought some very uncharitable thoughts then rooted around and found my extended warranty papers and planned a trip to the city tomorrow.

A few minutes ago, it occured to me that I should remove the battery as a safety precaution so I opened the laptop and hit the power button just to try it. Much to my surprise it powered up and rebooted!!! Everything seems fine now.

I'm delighted, but baffled. Any ideas as to what went on?

Carol

LesleyB · Post by **LesleyB** » Thu Dec 25, 2008 7:06 pm

Hi Carol
I know from time to time (about once year) my PC has done this - in my case it is related to overheating, due to an accumulation of cat hair, dog hair and dust in the fan!! So I then know it is time to take it apart and do some cleaning... (My PC lives in a real life environment, not the more sterile environment I'm sure it would perfer!!

)

I wonder if there is either some muck in your PC or a problem with the fan? (the fan is needed to keep the processor cool. The processor is the "brains" of the PC that does all the hard work, juggling all the info, making calculations etc. - if the processor overheats it tends to cut out, which is a good thing, as if it got any hotter it would cause permanant damage to the processor and so no processor, and no processor = no working PC...) That may not be your problem, just an idea, as I know it happens to mine.

As a precaution, I'd also run an anti-virus, spyware etc check just so that I could tick those off the list of possible causes, and check that you ahave the most up to date software for all peripherals e.g. printer, scanner, and things like a sound card, graphic card whatever, as conflicts there can also cause sudden shutdowns (again, from personal experience!)

Best wishes
Lesley

speleobat2 · Post by **speleobat2** » Fri Dec 26, 2008 2:03 am

Thanks Lesley,

Cat hair could be a real possibility! I have noticed that the top of the desk gets very warm sometimes so I have propped the little legs up giving more air circulation. The fan does seem to be working though.

I wouldn't have a clue how to take it apart! I guess I'll limit my time on the computer until after the holidays when I can get close to one of those people who might be able to work on it once they are done explaining how to work all those Christmas presents to people like me who are technically challenged!

Might even have time to do the housework now!

Carol

Currie · Post by **Currie** » Fri Dec 26, 2008 3:42 am

Hello Carol,

Is that the Lazarus Model LT12345 laptop you’re using? It’s very prone to that sort of problem.

Perhaps Windows is dusty and needs the newspaper and vinegar treatment, that’ll improve the Vista.

Maybe if they’d put a reverse switch on it you could occasionally get it to blow rather than suck and get rid of the dust that way.

If you don’t have any documentation specific to your laptop try the manufacturer’s support pages for dust removal information or Google your model number and dust. This guide is quite straightforward and very basic but if you have a warranty why bother (but read the warranty’s fine print just in case) http://att.com.com/9602-3121_7-20508891 ... ID=2509842

All the best,
Alan

Post by **SarahND** » Fri Dec 26, 2008 8:50 am

Currie wrote: Perhaps Windows is dusty and needs the newspaper and vinegar treatment, that’ll improve the Vista.

Currie wrote:Maybe if they’d put a reverse switch on it you could occasionally get it to blow rather than suck and get rid of the dust that way.

What a good idea! You could put one of those little bags on it to catch the dust like you have on an electric sander...

Cheers,
Sarah

speleobat2 · Post by **speleobat2** » Sat Dec 27, 2008 12:16 am

Thanks Alan,

It's a Gateway Model MT 6456. There are many unhappy Gateway customers out there from what I'm seeing on the internet so we'll see what happens when I take it in. In the meantime, I have backed up everything and informed my husband that I may need a new computer some day soon...

Right now, I'm just not using it much even though it seems to be working just fine.

Carol

speleobat2 · Post by **speleobat2** » Sun Jan 11, 2009 8:18 pm

Well, that was an interesting experience. I took my laptop in for service last Thursday and got it back today. The good news is that the hardware all checks out as fine. The bad news is that no reason for my blue screen/white screen incidents showed in all of their testing.

So they took the back off, blew out the dust bunnies and gave it back to me. I'm supposed to log any new incidents and bring it back. Still have a year to go on the extended warranty so this isn't costing me anything but time.

And, since we were in the city, we did get dinner at a decent restaurant!

Carol

Post by **marilyn morning** » Sun Jan 11, 2009 8:52 pm

So are we back in business or are you still on ten minute dialups? Didn't get to post those documents to ya yet, but could scan them tonight.

Regards
Marilyn

speleobat2 · Post by **speleobat2** » Sun Jan 11, 2009 9:07 pm

Marilyn,

I was on for about 45 minutes earlier with no problems so who knows?!!!

Go ahead and scan the certs. if that's more convenient for you and we'll see what happens.

Going to go back and get in line to try to get on Ancestry. They must be really busy right now. Of course, I'm not real patient either!

OK, here's another question: How do I get the emoticons to work again. They seem to have quit on me.

Carol

Post by **marilyn morning** » Sun Jan 11, 2009 9:26 pm

Hi Carol,

On second thought

I better drop them off at the post office in the morning.

Just checked your profile and you're enabled to allow the emoticons. Have you tried to clear your temporary files lately?

Regards
Marilyn