18 replies to this topic

[Hergiswi]

Hey guys, I'm having yet another mysterious laptop problem, and this time I can't tell if it's because of Windows or my hardware. Pretty much every night I'm on my laptop in my bed until I just pass out. I'll usually wake up some hours later to pee and at that point I'll close my laptop which was open because I fell asleep using it. I have the computer set to "Sleep" in Power Options, and I leave it plugged in every night.

Lately, however, it hasn't been just "sleeping" at all. When I open the lid back up, Windows has shut down (Windows 7, by the way). It tells me that "Windows was not shut down properly." When I boot back up, the time and date have been reset to 11:00AM, 12/31/2008 (I checked the BIOS to see if the battery cell was dead, but it's still accurate). The wireless icon in the corner is not there and is instead replaced by a blank space that you can click but does nothing, and when I open some websites, it tells me that it's an "untrusted network." This icon only comes back after I reboot. It has also been doing strange things with my screen brightness, adjusting it all over the place when I have it set to maximum brightness both plugged in and unplugged (yes, I know that drains the battery faster). On top of this, the computer runs slightly laggier as well, include simple things like Windows Explorer.

I'm getting supremely frustrated by this happening almost daily, especially since it seems like some hidden force is trying to prove to me that I'm not as good with computers as I previously thought. Does anybody have any thoughts?

[Koh]

Try running CHKDSK:

-Command Prompt
-Enter "CHKDSK -f -r" without the quotes.

This will look for any bad sectors on the harddrive and attempt to repair bad files. This may take a couple of hours. There may be a corrupt file somewhere linking to this. If this doesn't work...I suggest Google as I've never had this exact problem.

Edited by Koh, 17 March 2013 - 09:11 AM.

[Saffith]

If you're in bed, does that mean it's resting on a soft surface? That might block the air vents, causing it to overheat.

[Old-Skool]

some PCs running windows 7 may have an issue where they overheat in sleep mode. This can cause components to melt, which is never good. Not saying that has happened yet.

What I did was just shut down a few times instead of setting it to sleep. after that, I went back to the usual way and have not had any problems.

[Ben]

The wireless icon in the corner is not there and is instead replaced by a blank space that you can click but does nothing, and when I open some websites, it tells me that it's an "untrusted network." This icon only comes back after I reboot. It has also been doing strange things with my screen brightness, adjusting it all over the place when I have it set to maximum brightness both plugged in and unplugged (yes, I know that drains the battery faster). On top of this, the computer runs slightly laggier as well, include simple things like Windows Explorer.

I'm getting supremely frustrated by this happening almost daily, especially since it seems like some hidden force is trying to prove to me that I'm not as good with computers as I previously thought. Does anybody have any thoughts?

Run Malwarebytes! Like, asap!

[Old-Skool]

this, coming from Bagel, sounds like advice you should follow paramount.

[Omega]

If you're in bed, does that mean it's resting on a soft surface? That might block the air vents, causing it to overheat.

This.

Overheating can cause internal damage. Also the untrusted network thing is probably because the date and time is/was out of wack.
You can buy this cheap handy fan thingy to set your laptop on as well. And if there was a power problem the "shutdown" error message would fit as stated.

[Mero]

Hey guys, I'm having yet another mysterious laptop problem, and this time I can't tell if it's because of Windows or my hardware. Pretty much every night I'm on my laptop in my bed until I just pass out. I'll usually wake up some hours later to pee and at that point I'll close my laptop which was open because I fell asleep using it. I have the computer set to "Sleep" in Power Options, and I leave it plugged in every night.

You haven't been spooning with another laptop behind it's back have you? That's always a bad idea, as she always finds out and then cuts your nuts off.

On a more serious note, grab a table, some screw drives, a cup "to keep screws inside so you don't lose any", and open her up. Check for any loose parts or dust bunnies. I had a 1/2 inch partly burned dust bunny in my old laptop which I removed and then it stop overheating.

[Magi_Hero]

I used to use my laptop when I was younger on the bed and/or couch. It started to overheat while I was playing WoW and I'm 99.9999999999999% sure parts melted internally and caused it to be the brick that it still is today. Gateway was also not a great brand towards its end. Bleck.

[Hergiswi]

Try running CHKDSK:

-Command Prompt
-Enter "CHKDSK -f -r" without the quotes.

This will look for any bad sectors on the harddrive and attempt to repair bad files. This may take a couple of hours. There may be a corrupt file somewhere linking to this. If this doesn't work...I suggest Google as I've never had this exact problem.

Thank you. I actually meant to do this and completely forgot.

If you're in bed, does that mean it's resting on a soft surface? That might block the air vents, causing it to overheat.

Yeah, it's a bad habit I have. My dad has yelled at me several times for it in the past. =/

some PCs running windows 7 may have an issue where they overheat in sleep mode. This can cause components to melt, which is never good. Not saying that has happened yet.

What I did was just shut down a few times instead of setting it to sleep. after that, I went back to the usual way and have not had any problems.

I might have to try this. It seems like one of those weird solutions that fix Windows but you don't know why.

Run Malwarebytes! Like, asap!

I performed both a quick and full scan, and they both came up with 0 results. I'm glad, but I was hoping it would have solved this.

This.

Overheating can cause internal damage. Also the untrusted network thing is probably because the date and time is/was out of wack.
You can buy this cheap handy fan thingy to set your laptop on as well. And if there was a power problem the "shutdown" error message would fit as stated.

I actually have one and I've been using it on another laptop that is notorious for overheating. No reason not to use it on this one however.

You haven't been spooning with another laptop behind it's back have you? That's always a bad idea, as she always finds out and then cuts your nuts off.

On a more serious note, grab a table, some screw drives, a cup "to keep screws inside so you don't lose any", and open her up. Check for any loose parts or dust bunnies. I had a 1/2 inch partly burned dust bunny in my old laptop which I removed and then it stop overheating.

That's actually a good idea. I hadn't thought of that, and there's a good chance of that being the case, especially after my apartment burned down.

I used to use my laptop when I was younger on the bed and/or couch. It started to overheat while I was playing WoW and I'm 99.9999999999999% sure parts melted internally and caused it to be the brick that it still is today. Gateway was also not a great brand towards its end. Bleck.

Well I certainly don't want that to happen. How can I tell if it's already in the melting process?


Anyway, here's my current situation: I did most all of these things (except LordVolcanon's; that's my next project) last night. I ran Malwarebytes, and it came up resultless. Afterwards I made sure to put the laptop on a cooling pad, so ventilation (hopefully) wasn't an issue anymore. Then I ran a checkdisk, but I fell asleep around the end of part 4 out of 5, so I have no idea what the results of that were. I woke up and I was at the login screen as expected, but when I logged in, it said it was 6:39 AM on 1/1/2009! I left this thing on a cooling pad the whole time and I'm still having the same problems. I'm beginning to worry that it might be too late and I've already damaged something hardware-related.

[Saffith]

It's possible, but I'd expect mostly slower performance and blue screens from overheating damage. The time being reset is just weird.
You could check the event log - that's under administrative tools in the control panel. Also, maybe try running a Linux live CD one night. If that also has issues, it's almost certainly a hardware problem.

[Omega]

"I actually have one and I've been using it on another laptop that is notorious for overheating. No reason not to use it on this one however."

That should keep it safer on the bed. The one we've got is raised a bit and has plenty of holes for hot heat. You should shut it down normally with the time in sync, then leave it off for a bit and boot back up. You can also try "last known good configuration" from the boot menu. Also try removing the battery for 20 seconds then throw it back in, set date/time and test more.

[Nicholas Steel]

You may want to run a scan for Rootkits. The nastier version of a virus.

[Hergiswi]

Well guys, I'm almost positive now that it's a hardware problem. I rebooted the laptop this morning to install Windows Updates, and now it won't turn on. It powered up for a second and the screen remained black, then it just turned off and repeated the process. Hardware is not my specialty (plus I hate fucking removing laptop keyboards) so I'm pretty worried. I've removed the battery and the hard drive just so nothing further gets damaged in this process.

[Magi_Hero]

Does the BiOS even load?