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Laptop/Desktop Shutting Down

TruvidiennTruvidienn Member UncommonPosts: 347
edited May 2022 in Hardware
Greetings!

So recently I've come across two issues that I just cannot seem to solve.. My wife's laptop recently has been randomly shutting down whenever she goes to boot any games up. Mostly happens with World of Warcraft which is odd. So we had it taken to a computer shop and the dude said it was overheating so he added more thermal paste for it and we got it a cooling pad and the same issue is occuring..

After getting fed up with it I grabbed my shelved desktop and booted it up last night and behold it's doing the exact same thing. I thought it was maybe a Windows 11 issue but it has Win10 on it so that's not the problem.. So right now I'm at a loss and looking for any help or suggestions before taking it back to the shop and dropping more money on it. 

Thanks! 

The laptop model if it helps is: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CTHLX8C/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

Comments

  • SovrathSovrath Member LegendaryPosts: 32,926
    I would have also said that it was overheating but since both of you are experiencing the same thing on different machines, could it be some sort of computer virus?
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  • keinersonersterkeinersonerster Member UncommonPosts: 33
    Strange.  Did you use the same charger during your tests? Maybe charger is bad.  I know laptops with dedicated gpus pull quite a bit of juice when gaming so maybe it just can't get enough?  I wouldn't think that would be enough to make it shut down but never know.  If you have a multimeter you could check the output.  I would also triple check heat by running stress tests.  It's been my experience that heat or power supply issues are most likely causes of hardware related issues.  See if you can get the same result by doing something other than launching a game.
  • olepiolepi Member EpicPosts: 3,053
    It does sound like overheating. I'd monitor the CPU and GPU heating as you boot the game.

    How long does it run the game before it crashes? Does it do it on all games? If just with WoW, did you change the settings somehow, maybe change the resolution?

    ------------
    2024: 47 years on the Net.


  • TruvidiennTruvidienn Member UncommonPosts: 347
    olepi said:
    It does sound like overheating. I'd monitor the CPU and GPU heating as you boot the game.

    How long does it run the game before it crashes? Does it do it on all games? If just with WoW, did you change the settings somehow, maybe change the resolution?
    It depends on the game. Sometimes Fall Guys will get into a match and within like 20 seconds later it crashes. Dead by Daylight cannot even past the loading screen upon entering the game before it crashes. Wow will either boot up for a couple of seconds or minutes before it randomly shuts off again. Desktop is doing the exact same thing now. 

    I've checked for dust and cleaned both of them out good. 

    @Sovrath - I've ran checks on it and Windows Firewall either hasn't popped up with anything I should be looking into.

    @k@keinersonerster - I've only used the same charger that it came with originally. It does feel really hot after awhile. She can browse the internet sometimes for awhile before it shuts down. I'll try to do some stress tests on it and see what I can come up with. 
  • keinersonersterkeinersonerster Member UncommonPosts: 33
    Looking less like heat issue.  Could still be dirty power or something that is affecting all 3 PCs but starting to seem more software/malware/virus related.
  • olepiolepi Member EpicPosts: 3,053
    Just to rule out heating, I'd check the temperature. You can do this easily by hitting ctrl-alt-delete, task manager, and then clicking on the Performance tab. It will list the GPU heat and CPU percentage of load. You want the GPU heat to be well below 100C.

    If the CPU is constantly pegged at 100%, it probably will overheat too.

    ------------
    2024: 47 years on the Net.


  • TruvidiennTruvidienn Member UncommonPosts: 347
    olepi said:
    Just to rule out heating, I'd check the temperature. You can do this easily by hitting ctrl-alt-delete, task manager, and then clicking on the Performance tab. It will list the GPU heat and CPU percentage of load. You want the GPU heat to be well below 100C.

    If the CPU is constantly pegged at 100%, it probably will overheat too.
    Right now while running Fall Guys on it the GPU temp is at a 68'C and the highest I've seen it was at 75'C but that was when the game first launched. The CPU fluctuates between 40% and 53%
  • olepiolepi Member EpicPosts: 3,053
    edited May 2022
    olepi said:
    Just to rule out heating, I'd check the temperature. You can do this easily by hitting ctrl-alt-delete, task manager, and then clicking on the Performance tab. It will list the GPU heat and CPU percentage of load. You want the GPU heat to be well below 100C.

    If the CPU is constantly pegged at 100%, it probably will overheat too.
    Right now while running Fall Guys on it the GPU temp is at a 68'C and the highest I've seen it was at 75'C but that was when the game first launched. The CPU fluctuates between 40% and 53%

    So probably not heating. Most chips are rated to run at 100C, although I think it's better to stay below that. 75C should have no effect really.

    Now I suspect some kind of power issue. Are the two machines plugged into the same wall socket? I'd try a different one. Try the laptop on battery power only too.

    ------------
    2024: 47 years on the Net.


  • TruvidiennTruvidienn Member UncommonPosts: 347
    edited May 2022
    olepi said:
    olepi said:
    Just to rule out heating, I'd check the temperature. You can do this easily by hitting ctrl-alt-delete, task manager, and then clicking on the Performance tab. It will list the GPU heat and CPU percentage of load. You want the GPU heat to be well below 100C.

    If the CPU is constantly pegged at 100%, it probably will overheat too.
    Right now while running Fall Guys on it the GPU temp is at a 68'C and the highest I've seen it was at 75'C but that was when the game first launched. The CPU fluctuates between 40% and 53%

    So probably not heating. Most chips are rated to run at 100C, although I think it's better to stay below that. 75C should have no effect really.

    Now I suspect some kind of power issue. Are the two machines plugged into the same wall socket? I'd try a different one. Try the laptop on battery power only too.
    Right now they are plugged into the surge protector but not both at the same time. I could switch the plugs around and try a different one.  Upon checking the EventViewer program it's listed as the past five times was "DistributedCom" followed by "EpicOnlineServices"  right now this is for the desktop. 
  • VrikaVrika Member LegendaryPosts: 7,989
    What hardware do both of the computers share?

    I'd recommend charging the laptop battery full. Then disconnecting it from power grid, net, all external devices, and turning it to airplane mode. Then check if it still keeps crashing.
     
  • TruvidiennTruvidienn Member UncommonPosts: 347
    Vrika said:
    What hardware do both of the computers share?

    I'd recommend charging the laptop battery full. Then disconnecting it from power grid, net, all external devices, and turning it to airplane mode. Then check if it still keeps crashing.
    None. Laptop was bought on Amazon and the desktop was something I put together years ago. 
  • maskedweaselmaskedweasel Member LegendaryPosts: 12,195
    Did you check with Acer? 

    A quick search showed that the 300 series has that issue and it may be hardware related. I would suspect any local repair shop wouldn't know about any defect history and would likely just take a few shots in the dark at it. 

     "Unexpected Shut Down Acer Predator Helios 300 — Acer Community" https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/586437/unexpected-shut-down-acer-predator-helios-300

    I would definitely try the troubleshooting steps but there are a lot of posts about helios 300s having problems. 

    If you do plan on taking it back to a shop make sure it's an authorized Acer dealer that is aware of the issue. 

    As for the other pc with the problem, how long has it been since use? I would say clean the desktop out from any dust, check Temps in the bios first, then download something like speedfan or open hardware monitor to check Temps when in windows. See what kind of increase you get on low load. Then higher.  You can also check the system logs to see if it's blue screening and you can get the error off of that if there is one. 

    Could point to the desktop problem.
    Ridelynn



  • DafAtRandomDafAtRandom Member UncommonPosts: 128
    edited May 2022
    Before dropping more money, since it's happening on 2 machines, go ahead and try to open programs/games that do not require internet access.  The 2 machines being different, the only other common denominator would be your network.  I'd check offline applications, and then reboot your entire network before spending valuable money on the problem.  I would also try connecting with Ethernet over Wifi if not already tried.

    If at all possible, bring the laptop to a different network and see if it happens there as well.

    It's possible your ISP pushed an update that blocked/limited the ports typically used for gaming without your knowledge, which could, perhaps, be causing the type of shutdowns you are seeing.

    Definitely worth trying, at least.
  • VrikaVrika Member LegendaryPosts: 7,989
    edited May 2022
    Vrika said:
    What hardware do both of the computers share?

    I'd recommend charging the laptop battery full. Then disconnecting it from power grid, net, all external devices, and turning it to airplane mode. Then check if it still keeps crashing.
    None. Laptop was bought on Amazon and the desktop was something I put together years ago. 
    I meant that as long as you're not on battery they're connected to same power network, and based on what you told us they use same surge protector? When you're connecting to net it likely happens using same router? Do you also use something like same headphones, external mouse, etc?

    Since both machines look like they have same problem, you should disconnect the laptop from everything external. Then see if it still keeps crashing to verify that it's not your power/network/external devices that's causing trouble to both of the computers.
     
  • maskedweaselmaskedweasel Member LegendaryPosts: 12,195
    Vrika said:
    Vrika said:
    What hardware do both of the computers share?

    I'd recommend charging the laptop battery full. Then disconnecting it from power grid, net, all external devices, and turning it to airplane mode. Then check if it still keeps crashing.
    None. Laptop was bought on Amazon and the desktop was something I put together years ago. 
    I meant that as long as you're not on battery they're connected to same power network, and based on what you told us they use same surge protector? When you're connecting to net it likely happens using same router? Do you also use something like same headphones, external mouse, etc?

    Since both machines look like they have same problem, you should disconnect the laptop from everything external. Then see if it still keeps crashing to verify that it's not your power/network/external devices that's causing trouble to both of the computers.
    It might be possible that it's the power strip, but I'm not sure how the network would cause a spontaneous shutdown on multiple computers (outside of a remote shutdown command, and you'd be able to see that happen). 

    Plus the laptop should be able to work on battery, which, if the battery isn't working at all, that would be an indicator that it could be the plug, or electricity supply issue. Trying other outlets may help, BUT if the laptop works on battery and it still happens, it would be unlikely that would be the culprit. 

    Plus laptops and desktops have very different power requirements. Even a high end laptop would be less than half the power consumption of even a moderate desktop. 

    It is strange that they both have the same issue, but it could also be a complete coincidence in this case with two different issues. Still good to do troubleshooting in every case. 
    Ridelynn



  • VrikaVrika Member LegendaryPosts: 7,989
    maskedweasel said:
    Vrika said:
    Vrika said:
    What hardware do both of the computers share?

    I'd recommend charging the laptop battery full. Then disconnecting it from power grid, net, all external devices, and turning it to airplane mode. Then check if it still keeps crashing.
    None. Laptop was bought on Amazon and the desktop was something I put together years ago. 
    I meant that as long as you're not on battery they're connected to same power network, and based on what you told us they use same surge protector? When you're connecting to net it likely happens using same router? Do you also use something like same headphones, external mouse, etc?

    Since both machines look like they have same problem, you should disconnect the laptop from everything external. Then see if it still keeps crashing to verify that it's not your power/network/external devices that's causing trouble to both of the computers.
    It might be possible that it's the power strip, but I'm not sure how the network would cause a spontaneous shutdown on multiple computers (outside of a remote shutdown command, and you'd be able to see that happen). 

    Plus the laptop should be able to work on battery, which, if the battery isn't working at all, that would be an indicator that it could be the plug, or electricity supply issue. Trying other outlets may help, BUT if the laptop works on battery and it still happens, it would be unlikely that would be the culprit. 

    Plus laptops and desktops have very different power requirements. Even a high end laptop would be less than half the power consumption of even a moderate desktop. 

    It is strange that they both have the same issue, but it could also be a complete coincidence in this case with two different issues. Still good to do troubleshooting in every case. 
    I also don't think it's very likely, but it's easy and fast to check.
    maskedweasel
     
  • RidelynnRidelynn Member EpicPosts: 7,383
    edited May 2022
    I don't think it's power - Laptops and Desktops use very different methods of regulating their power; dirty power would hardly trouble a laptop since it has that battery to help buffer everything.

    I also can't imagine it being network related. A faulty wired network might kill a NIC (which would end up being a hardware problem - and even then, they usually just pop up as "disconnected hardware"), but I've never seen a bad network crash a computer in modern days. Especially WiFi. You just have a case of can't connect to the internet.

    I would have guessed over temp at first as well - you ruled out GPU overtemp, but haven't really ruled out CPU overtemp, or just other components not directly monitored getting hot. The laptop cooling pad would help, but if there's a heatsink crammed with cat hair or dust it can only help so much -- I would hope when it got repasted all the sinks got blown out and everything inspected. A more robust monitoring program, like HWMonitor, can show readouts of all the temp sensors your computer has.

    That said, even though you haven't necessarily ruled out the other temps, I would think it's most likely failed hardware now. Laptops run hot, and they tend to have shorter lives because of it. You could have failing VRMs on the motherboard, a failing battery,  failing RAM, or any number of things which heat helps to accelerate wear on. Having everything crammed into a tiny space doesn't do it any favors; it's just something you have to accept as fact when gaming on a laptop.

    Stress testing (I like Prime95 and Furmark for ease of use and free) - a computer should be able to run those two programs indefinitely (even at the same time). If a computer is having hardware issues, it'll often crash almost immediately after starting either, if it's heat related it might be after 3-10 minutes. If a computer can make it 30 minutes I generally will declare it fit for full duty - although you need to look at the output for Prime95, it can throw faults that indicate problems without necessarily BSODing or crashing out, but it will say as such in the logs that results didn't match what was expected. Depending on the results of this I may have other steps to recommend, but this is where I usually start.

    The older computer not working - not sure how much stock I'd put into that as being related. It's old, it's been sitting around, and you don't know for absolute certain that it would be 100% working anyway. It could easily have faulty hardware or a bad BIOS battery or any number of things that could also be causing it to crash but entirely unrelated to the laptop. Troubleshooting that thing is an entirely separate affair I think. First place I would start with the Desktop is a full format and clean installation of Windows from the latest Microsoft ISO - nuke it and start over, that eliminates it being a bad Windows patch or virus or anything software related.

    Also, try running Malwarebytes on the laptop -- it can often catch things that MS Defender will miss. You don't need to pay for it or run it full time, just get the free edition and run a manual scan and see what it comes up with. There is a chance it's malware related, and this is a free and relatively painless step that helps with peace of mind.
    maskedweasel[Deleted User]
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