Laptop crashes

[prague newbie]

Hi everyone,

I have fairly old acer laptop running intel Pentium and windows xp. I'm not sure of the ram but I thinks is 256mb. The problem is that it keeps switching off after sometime. Laptop makes loud noise with the fan I think and then it just shuts down - this used to happen after 2 or 3 hours but now its more often. I used to think because it overheated but now it happens too soon. Starting up is no problem except for today - it was the first time it crashed during start up. So I waited for 10 mins before starting up again. I have updated my windows as well so I don't know what is problem. Can anyone pls help? Now I have to go to hotel here in prague to use internet and do work and its horrible.

[PrairieDawg]

Re: Laptop crashes

You very well could have an overheating issue. Have you actually looked at the fan and heatsink to see if they are congested with dust? You may have to find a manual for your system in order to know which chunk of plastic to remove from the back to get at the dust .... or you can do what I do and just keep unscrewing untill you find the correct plate then blow out the dust with a can of compressed air. A good cleaning and a very small drop of light oil in the fan bearings may be enough to fix the problem.

[prague newbie]

Re: Laptop crashes

Hey there,

thanks - I don't have a manual on how to take apart my laptop but I will attempt to have a look (very nervously tho). I will let you know how it goes. Thanks again!

[PrairieDawg]

Re: Laptop crashes

Going to Acer website may help you a bit if you want to search for a manual for your computer. On most laptops there are several removable plates on the bottom of the case (for adding ram and access to other areas). Often they are easy to take off and see what they are hiding. Remove one at a time and have a look ... you should be alright.