Laptop shutting down - dying?

Jimmy024

New member
Joined
Jan 24, 2022
Posts
3
Hello,

I have a problem with my laptop related to the shut downs and I am not sure what is the issue, but it seems to be hardware related.

After I turn on laptop normally, it can work for several hours without any issues or it can shut down within minutes (sometimes even before Windows/UBUNTU finishes booting up).
It's always a shut down. Never restarts. After shut down, I can easily turn it back on again as if nothing happened. No BSOD, no minidump, no useful event viewer message, etc.

Thought that it could be heat related issue or power supply, so I got a spare AC adapter to try it and the issue is the same. However, when I try to run it on battery only, it shuts down much faster (within minutes) and after a few tries like that it starts giving 7 beeps after turning on and nothing more. I looked into it and it seems that it could be some sort of processor failure (the BIOS beep message). Despite this, it works just fine with the AC adapter until the random shut downs happen. Can watch videos, play games, etc.

I tried to disconnect some things physically, so ran on each RAM module (8GB each and in different slots), tried without HDD and just ran off USB flash UBUNTU, but same issue.

Cleaned whole laptop except for the bit under the heat sink (cleaned the fan, though). Still no changes at all.

Although, after playing with it around for some reason laptop cannot find its second graphics card (AMD 8730). Did I somehow manage to disconnect it? It has no cable as far as I know, because it is soldered onto the motherboard itself. I am also not entirely sure how does it look like and where is it on the motherboard.

Checked the DC cable. For some reason I couldn't unplug it (was scared to use more force as cables are fragile and can't see how it's so fixed in there). Realized that even if DC cable is somehow faulty, the battery is connected in a different way, so it should be fine, if the battery was good, so bought a new battery just in case, but the result is the same (7 beeps after a while).

Laptop shuts down even when CPU temperature is around 40C, so I am not entirely sure that even if I replaced the whole fan/heat sink area it would fix it.

I am worried that it could be the motherboard and if it is, then CPUs and both graphics cards need to be replaced as well, which might as well be the new laptop unless such a motherboard with all these is cheap.

What would be your suggestions? Any fixes? Should I bring to the technician? Not bother and just look for a new laptop? This laptop works really well aside for the shut downs and if they stopped happening and I somehow sorted out what happened with my second graphics card, then it would be perfect.

Attached pictures of motherboard and whatever else is visible, if that helps.

Dell Inspiron 5521 15R laptop
Intel 4000 HD graphics card
AMD 8730 Graphics card (on motherboard)
Windows 7 Professional SP1/Ubuntu 21.10
 

Attachments

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Last edited:
Hi, @Jimmy024 Welcome to Sysnative!

I'm thinking, take it to a technician.

But let's look at a few things first.

When you tested a spare power supply, it was similar to the original?

Open an elevated command prompt. Hit Start, type cmd, then hit CTRL+SHIFT+ENTER, an elevated prompt should open.

Copy and paste this schtasks /query >c:\tasks.txt > 0 & notepad 0 into the prompt and hit enter.

Notepad will open, copy and paste the contents of the notepad output in your next post.

All this command does is list your PC's scheduled tasks.
 
Yes, similar to the original and also has warranty. The old one (which came with the laptop) also works, I just bought new, because it looked like an easy way to check if that could resolve the problem, considering the battery issue as both batteries have issues somehow (old I get it, but new... could be faulty battery, but exactly the same issue as original).

Regarding any software issues. I doubt there's any related specifically to this case as I tried running with almost no services - I think 17 tasks total, when I counted last time. Which is why I tried installing UBUNTU too and on top of it, getting it into the USB to avoid any HDD issues, but it's same...

Also, I cannot really reproduce the issue except with the battery. That one is always few minutes and then shut down. Soon after a few 1-2 tries 7 beeps and stop booting. On AC adapter, don't know how to force it.

I forgot to mention that I ran built in hardware diagnostics a few times and it showed me no errors or any issues.

Code:
Folder: \
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status         
======================================== ====================== ===============
GoogleUpdateTaskMachineCore              25/01/2022 04:25:20    Ready         
GoogleUpdateTaskMachineUA                24/01/2022 13:25:21    Ready         

Folder: \Microsoft
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status         
======================================== ====================== ===============
INFO: There are no scheduled tasks presently available at your access level.

Folder: \Microsoft\Office
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status         
======================================== ====================== ===============
Office 15 Subscription Heartbeat         25/01/2022 01:04:28    Ready         
OfficeTelemetryAgentFallBack             N/A                    Unknown       
OfficeTelemetryAgentLogOn                N/A                    Unknown       

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status         
======================================== ====================== ===============
INFO: There are no scheduled tasks presently available at your access level.

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\Active Directory Rights Management Services Client
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status         
======================================== ====================== ===============
AD RMS Rights Policy Template Management Disabled                             
AD RMS Rights Policy Template Management N/A                    Ready         

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\AppID
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status         
======================================== ====================== ===============
PolicyConverter                          Disabled                             
VerifiedPublisherCertStoreCheck          Disabled                             

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\Application Experience
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status         
======================================== ====================== ===============
AitAgent                                 25/01/2022 02:30:00    Unknown       
Microsoft Compatibility Appraiser        25/01/2022 03:54:53    Ready         
ProgramDataUpdater                       25/01/2022 01:09:53    Unknown       

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\Autochk
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status         
======================================== ====================== ===============
Proxy                                    N/A                    Unknown       

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\Bluetooth
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status         
======================================== ====================== ===============
UninstallDeviceTask                      N/A                    Ready         

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\CertificateServicesClient
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status         
======================================== ====================== ===============
SystemTask                               N/A                    Ready         
UserTask                                 N/A                    Ready         
UserTask-Roam                            Disabled                             

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\Customer Experience Improvement Program
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status         
======================================== ====================== ===============
Consolidator                             24/01/2022 18:00:00    Could not start
KernelCeipTask                           27/01/2022 03:30:00    Ready         
UsbCeip                                  27/01/2022 01:30:00    Ready         

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\Defrag
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status         
======================================== ====================== ===============
ScheduledDefrag                          26/01/2022 02:33:49    Ready         

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\Diagnosis
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status         
======================================== ====================== ===============
Scheduled                                30/01/2022 01:00:00    Unknown       

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\DiskDiagnostic
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status         
======================================== ====================== ===============
Microsoft-Windows-DiskDiagnosticDataColl Disabled                             
Microsoft-Windows-DiskDiagnosticResolver Disabled                             

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\Location
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status         
======================================== ====================== ===============
Notifications                            N/A                    Ready         

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\Maintenance
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status         
======================================== ====================== ===============
WinSAT                                   30/01/2022 01:00:00    Ready         

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\Media Center
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status         
======================================== ====================== ===============
ActivateWindowsSearch                    N/A                    Ready         
ConfigureInternetTimeService             N/A                    Ready         
DispatchRecoveryTasks                    N/A                    Ready         
ehDRMInit                                N/A                    Ready         
InstallPlayReady                         N/A                    Ready         
mcupdate                                 N/A                    Ready         
MediaCenterRecoveryTask                  N/A                    Ready         
ObjectStoreRecoveryTask                  N/A                    Ready         
OCURActivate                             N/A                    Ready         
OCURDiscovery                            N/A                    Ready         
PBDADiscovery                            N/A                    Ready         
PBDADiscoveryW1                          N/A                    Ready         
PBDADiscoveryW2                          N/A                    Ready         
PeriodicScanRetry                        Disabled                             
PvrRecoveryTask                          N/A                    Ready         
PvrScheduleTask                          N/A                    Ready         
RecordingRestart                         Disabled                             
RegisterSearch                           N/A                    Ready         
ReindexSearchRoot                        N/A                    Ready         
SqlLiteRecoveryTask                      N/A                    Ready         
UpdateRecordPath                         N/A                    Ready         

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\MemoryDiagnostic
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status         
======================================== ====================== ===============
CorruptionDetector                       N/A                    Ready         
DecompressionFailureDetector             N/A                    Ready         

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\MobilePC
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status         
======================================== ====================== ===============
HotStart                                 N/A                    Ready         

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\MUI
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status         
======================================== ====================== ===============
LPRemove                                 N/A                    Unknown       

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\Multimedia
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status         
======================================== ====================== ===============
SystemSoundsService                      N/A                    Running       

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\NetTrace
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status         
======================================== ====================== ===============
GatherNetworkInfo                        N/A                    Ready         

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\Offline Files
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status         
======================================== ====================== ===============
Background Synchronization               Disabled                             
Logon Synchronization                    Disabled                             

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\PerfTrack
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status         
======================================== ====================== ===============
BackgroundConfigSurveyor                 Disabled                             

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\PLA
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status         
======================================== ====================== ===============
INFO: There are no scheduled tasks presently available at your access level.

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\Power Efficiency Diagnostics
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status         
======================================== ====================== ===============
AnalyzeSystem                            25/01/2022 13:12:45    Ready         

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\RAC
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status         
======================================== ====================== ===============
RacTask                                  24/01/2022 13:14:26    Ready         

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\Ras
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status         
======================================== ====================== ===============
MobilityManager                          N/A                    Ready         

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\Registry
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status         
======================================== ====================== ===============
RegIdleBackup                            27/01/2022 00:41:18    Ready         

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\RemoteAssistance
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status         
======================================== ====================== ===============
RemoteAssistanceTask                     N/A                    Ready         

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\Setup
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status         
======================================== ====================== ===============
EOSNotify                                N/A                    Ready         
EOSNotify2                               25/01/2022 12:19:54    Ready         

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\Shell
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status         
======================================== ====================== ===============
WindowsParentalControls                  Disabled                             
WindowsParentalControlsMigration         Disabled                             

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\SideShow
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status         
======================================== ====================== ===============
AutoWake                                 Disabled                             
GadgetManager                            N/A                    Ready         
SessionAgent                             Disabled               Could not start
SystemDataProviders                      Disabled               Could not start

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\SoftwareProtectionPlatform
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status         
======================================== ====================== ===============
SvcRestartTask                           Disabled                             

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\SystemRestore
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status         
======================================== ====================== ===============
SR                                       25/01/2022 00:00:00    Unknown       

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\Task Manager
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status         
======================================== ====================== ===============
Interactive                              N/A                    Ready         

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\Tcpip
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status         
======================================== ====================== ===============
IpAddressConflict1                       N/A                    Ready         
IpAddressConflict2                       N/A                    Ready         

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\TextServicesFramework
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status         
======================================== ====================== ===============
MsCtfMonitor                             N/A                    Running       

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\Time Synchronization
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status         
======================================== ====================== ===============
SynchronizeTime                          30/01/2022 01:00:00    Ready         

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\UPnP
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status         
======================================== ====================== ===============
UPnPHostConfig                           N/A                    Ready         

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\User Profile Service
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status         
======================================== ====================== ===============
HiveUploadTask                           Disabled                             

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\WDI
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status         
======================================== ====================== ===============
ResolutionHost                           N/A                    Ready         

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\Windows Error Reporting
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status         
======================================== ====================== ===============
QueueReporting                           N/A                    Ready         

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\Windows Filtering Platform
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status         
======================================== ====================== ===============
BfeOnServiceStartTypeChange              N/A                    Ready         

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\Windows Media Sharing
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status         
======================================== ====================== ===============
UpdateLibrary                            N/A                    Ready         

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\WindowsBackup
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status         
======================================== ====================== ===============
ConfigNotification                       25/01/2022 10:00:00    Ready         

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\WindowsColorSystem
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status         
======================================== ====================== ===============
Calibration Loader                       Disabled                             

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows\Wininet
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status         
======================================== ====================== ===============
CacheTask                                N/A                    Running       

Folder: \Microsoft\Windows Defender
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status         
======================================== ====================== ===============
MP Scheduled Scan                        25/01/2022 04:06:00    Ready         

Folder: \Mozilla
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status         
======================================== ====================== ===============
Firefox Default Browser Agent 308046B0AF 25/01/2022 09:24:49    Ready         

Folder: \OfficeSoftwareProtectionPlatform
TaskName                                 Next Run Time          Status         
======================================== ====================== ===============
SvcRestartTask                           13/02/2022 12:21:26    Ready
 
The 7 bios beeps and getting stuck on the black screen with no further booting happens only on the battery. All the shut downs happen with AC adapter too. Just seems to be much much worse on the battery. Like pretty much unusable.
 
It sounds like a power supply issue (DC Jack inside the laptop) which for me would be a task for a professional technician.

Check back frequently because others may have more ideas.

Jimmy024 said:
just ran off flash UBUNTU, but same issue

This tells us it's not Windows-related or HDD-related.
 
Last edited:

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