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My Laptop is pretty new and today it random shut down on its own. I was surfing the net and the computer shut down on its own (Like losing power, without any warning).

It was the 2nd time, the first time was 3 weeks ago. It happens during cold days. I remember one time I was unable to turn on my laptop at all. So I'm pretty sure it's not related to heat issue.

Could it be the laptop is too "cold"? My room temperature is around 17-18 degrees on average.

  • I use Windows 7 Professional
  • I ran memtest86 once and it passed
  • I run my laptop WITHOUT battery all the time
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17-18 Celsius? It is under warranty, contact Asus, don't mention your room temp, do not give them a reason to dishonor your warranty. I doubt it is the cold. – Moab Jan 29 '11 at 16:03
Does the laptop BSOD before it turns off, or does the screen just go straight to black? – Connor W Jan 29 '11 at 17:21

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If this happens regularly, you could try to run the machine off a fresh Live-CD (e.g. Knoppix or Ubuntu-Live) to see whether this is caused by the hardware, only. What system are you usually running? Is there anything interesting logged right before the shutdown?

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It is very likely to be a temperature or RAM problem.

  1. Use RealTemp to keep a track of your temperatures
    It will give you a CSV of your temperature trail.
    Could be useful to compare several re-boot time curves.

  2. Use a Ubuntu LiveCD or some such to run memtest86 for one complete cycle.
    Will take a few hours I guess and confirm that your RAM is not in trouble (or loose).

ps: I hope you do not block your laptop air-vents when using it.
17C ambient temperature won't help if CPU ventilation cannot drive the heat out.

There is one more possibility -- the power rails are not working properly.
This is on my list because you report problems turning on the laptop after one such failures. You might need to get the laptop power supply checked (the one inside the device, not your home power).

btw: there is another question about a year ago along the same lines here,
Why does my laptop shut down on its own?
Curiously, that too claims of cool conditions...

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I dont think the temp is a problem. 17°C is well within most laptops working temperature limits (Usually around 10°C). – Connor W Jan 29 '11 at 17:20
@Connor, fair statement. But, what happens if the room is at 17C and you use the laptop on a mattress which blocks all its vents? Besides, there could be something blocking the vents or fan-trouble... I'd like to look at the CPU temp profile before ruling heat out. – nik Jan 29 '11 at 17:22
If it was turing off due to overheating, then it would happen less often on cold days, not more often. Also, I dont think a netbook is powerful enough to cause itself to overheat, espicially if he was just browsing the internet. – Connor W Jan 29 '11 at 17:25
@Connor, Yet, why look at the room temperature when you can profile the CPU figures and get a conformation? And, imo, once the CPU heat-transfer is blocked, there is no use looking at external temperatures. – nik Jan 29 '11 at 17:28
Thanks for all your replies. I run memtest86 once and it passed. (I'm using Windows 7 FYI). Btw, I forgot to mention that I always run my laptop WITHOUT battery. – Mr.Y Jan 30 '11 at 13:56

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