Acer Aspire 4736G constantly shutdown by itself without warning

[cyrilhubert]

I have a 6 years old laptop that is constantly shutting down by itself without warning during startup.

This happened after I downloaded an ebook.

The shut down occurred more during starting up the laptop about 6 times before reaching the logon screen.
It normally shuts down a few times in normal use like surfing the web, downloading, or even when I was running hardware tests or HDD error checking.

At first, I thought the Toshiba HDD was nearing it lifespan. I did a test on the HDD. Please read http://www.sevenforums.com/hardware...cant-boot-due-sysconfig-changed-disk-err.html. The constant shutdowns that occurred, damaged the Toshiba HDD severely especially the MBR.

I already performed Windows MemTest.
All OK, normal bootup without any problems.A pop sound!.Shutdown again after 25 minutes of use.

In safe mode, no shutdown yet in a minute or two. I did not keep the Acer power on in Safe Mode for more than 5 minutes.So the test is inconclusive.

Then I did a re-installation of windows 7 on a new Western Digital HDD. Please read http://www.sevenforums.com/installa...lly-blank-installation-windows-7-new-hdd.html.

After re-installation of windows 7 on a new WD HDD. The new WD HDD will auto shutdown every time during startup or bootup even before reaching the logon screen or after I logged in or when I was installing the drivers 10 to 20 minutes after startup or bootup .

I am now using the old Toshiba HDD to access the WWW.

Did search using google, next going to clean the fan.
Maybe BIOS,RAM or mobo problem?

Any ideas?
Thank you again for your replies.

 

[TVeblen]

Sounds like a power problem.

Can you get your hands on another power supply to test with?
Do you have a multimeter you can use?

Could also be an overheating or a CPU fan problem.
Check that the CPU fan header is plugged in properly, then watch the fan at startup for any hiccups.

You can also boot directly into the BIOS settings and go to the monitoring section (different on every MB) and check your temps and voltages, at start - in 15 min - at 1 hour. See if there is any notable changes.

 

[cyrilhubert]

Thank you TVeblen for your reply.

The good news is that the 2 RAM sticks are fine but the bad news is the Acer laptop is totally unusable as both the old Toshiba HDD and newly installed WD HDD both cannot bootup at all.

Once the booting is on its way, pop, the system shuts down.The old Toshiba HDD MBR can be construed as damaged by the constant auto shutdown but not the newly installed WD HDD.

So it is a hardware problem.

Which hardware is defective, I really don't know?.


The BIOS is Insyde2.0.I am not sure if I spelled it right.The main page of the BIOS don't show any temperature at all.
No changes can be made.That's odd.
The BIOS cannot save the changes I made after many attempts using the F10 key.

Can BIOS be infected or corrupted by malware?

I am proceeding to disassemble the Acer 4736G laptop to clean the fan.

 

[TVeblen]

Ah. Please be aware that your "My System Specs" say it is a desktop. You should change that.

 

[TVeblen]

Yes, laptops have very limited BIOS settings. There will be no monitoring section there.

Theoretically a BIOS can be infected with malware - it has been demonstrated at shows - but all I know of require human interaction (a guy at your PC with an USB stick). Never heard of an infection in the wild.

What BIOS settings are you trying to change that will not take?

Have you tested the laptop with the battery removed? Remove the battery and use the power supply/charger only. See if that changes anything.

 

[cyrilhubert]

Ah. Please be aware that your "My System Specs" say it is a desktop. You should change that.

Thank you for telling me.I am so listless.

 

[cyrilhubert]

Sounds like a power problem.

Can you get your hands on another power supply to test with?
Do you have a multimeter you can use?

Could also be an overheating or a CPU fan problem.
Check that the CPU fan header is plugged in properly, then watch the fan at startup for any hiccups.

You can also boot directly into the BIOS settings and go to the monitoring section (different on every MB) and check your temps and voltages, at start - in 15 min - at 1 hour. See if there is any notable changes.

Well the PSU adapter is in pretty good shape.
I used another PSU adapter, still the same problem.

It could be the fan or overheating.

 

[cyrilhubert]

Yes, laptops have very limited BIOS settings. There will be no monitoring section there.

Theoretically a BIOS can be infected with malware - it has been demonstrated at shows - but all I know of require human interaction (a guy at your PC with an USB stick). Never heard of an infection in the wild.

What BIOS settings are you trying to change that will not take?

Have you tested the laptop with the battery removed? Remove the battery and use the power supply/charger only. See if that changes anything.

The laptop totally cannot be started since Wednesday with the old or new HDD. I am using my father's laptop to access the web.

'I am now using the old Toshiba HDD to access the WWW'

no longer holds.

The pop is unbelievable!
Once I powered on, popped! off it went.

"What BIOS settings are you trying to change that will not take place when the laptop was still working?"

The boot sequence changed from booting HDD first to DVD first cannot be saved at all. I was trying to use the repair disc.

Have you tested the laptop with the battery removed? Remove the battery and use the power supply/charger only. See if that changes anything.

Done that, the laptop still went off immediately.

Hitting rough patches along the way. In disassembling the laptop, a screw cannot be loosened. I am stuck right now.

Thank you for your concern and replies.
Very much appreciated and grateful.

 

[TVeblen]

The pop is unbelievable!
Once I powered on, popped! off it went.

What does this mean? Did you hear an actual popping sound?

 

[cyrilhubert]

I am sorry for my late reply as I have problem accessing the WWW.
Yes, I hear a popping sound every time before the laptop shutdown without a warning.

 

[TVeblen]

Does this sound come through the speakers? To be sure you should test using the headphones jack.

Are you running any Linux programs on this laptop?

 

[TVeblen]

I suggest doing a long test in safe mode. That will narrow down all the possible causes considerably. Leave it on in Safe Mode for at least a couple of hours or overnight.

 

[cyrilhubert]

Does this sound come through the speakers? To be sure you should test using the headphones jack.

Are you running any Linux programs on this laptop?

The sound is coming from the speaker. I am not running any Linux except when I run Peppermint LIVECD using the DVD.
For the time being , I am stuck as I cannot get a screw loosened in the keyboard as I need to take the laptop apart to clean the fan.

I damaged the screw head thread and it has no more thread for me to drive the screwdriver into. I am thinking using the power tool to loosen the screw in anti clockwise.

 

[cyrilhubert]

I suggest doing a long test in safe mode. That will narrow down all the possible causes considerably. Leave it on in Safe Mode for at least a couple of hours or overnight.

I will do that when I can take it all apart and clean the fan first. Sorry to give you so much trouble.

 

[TVeblen]

No trouble here. More trouble there!

You can drill out the screw head but you must be very careful. Circuit boards are brittle and one false move and you will be in a world of hurt.

 

[cyrilhubert]

Thank you again.
I am taking it slowly. My reply will be slow too.

 

[cyrilhubert]

You can drill out the screw head but you must be very careful. Circuit boards are brittle and one false move and you will be in a world of hurt.

Yeap, another old PC (a desktop) of mine was totally damaged when the PCB was destroyed by a so called professional PC technician.