Windows 10 HP Turns off at Random

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around a user experiencing random shutdowns of their Windows 10 HP laptop during standard usage. Participants explore potential causes and solutions, including hardware issues and environmental factors, without reaching a consensus on the root cause.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant suggests that the laptop may be overheating and recommends improving air circulation.
  • Another participant mentions the importance of checking the Event Viewer for relevant logs, while agreeing with the overheating hypothesis.
  • Concerns about the CPU fan and motherboard beeping are raised as potential indicators of hardware issues.
  • Dust accumulation is proposed as a possible cause for both overheating and connectivity issues, based on a personal experience shared by a participant.
  • One participant raises the possibility of faulty RAM as a reason for the intermittent shutdowns, suggesting checks and replacements as potential solutions.
  • Another suggests cleaning RAM contacts by unplugging and replugging them to remove oxidation.
  • Running built-in memory tests is mentioned as a diagnostic step for RAM issues.
  • A failing power supply is also noted as a potential cause of spontaneous shutdowns.
  • A participant shares a specific event from the Event Viewer that they believe may be related to the shutdown issue.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants present multiple competing views on the potential causes of the shutdowns, including overheating, dust, RAM issues, and power supply failure. No consensus is reached on a singular cause.

Contextual Notes

Participants express uncertainty about the exact cause of the shutdowns, and the discussion includes various hypotheses that depend on different hardware conditions and environmental factors.

WWGD
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Hi All,
I was using my Win10 HP for standard surfing ; nothing that would require intensive processing and it just turned off at random, for no apparent reason. I was unable to turn it on for a few minutes ( no response when pressing the power switch) , after which it turned on , did the POST and everything went down to normal. This happened 3 times in a period of some 2 hours. Any ideas? I don't know enough to go through the thousands of options in event viewer. I do have a copy of MSInfo32, attached.Any Ideas? Will go to sleep soon, and will followup tomorrow morning. Thanks for any suggestions.
 

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Sounds like your computer is overheating. Try raising it up from the surface it's on to get more air circulation for the heat dump (my HP laptop has no fan so I'm assuming yours also may not)
 
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WWGD said:
I don't know enough to go through the thousands of options in event viewer.
You can tell the Event Viewer to sort by date and time (I think that is the default), that makes it (relatively) easy to find what happened.

@phinds suggestion seems the most likely though.
 
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Check cpu fan? Although some have a warning alarm. Did the motherboard make an beeps?
 
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Besides heat buildup, the root cause may be dust in your case. A couple of years ago my computer kept kicking itself off of my network even though I was hardwired. Culprit was dust (seems I was remodeling my house and the dust and dirt from that was shorting out my network card). Worth a can of air to see...
 
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Good point. Dust can also be the cause of heat buildup.
 
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Thanks all again. Computer seems to be back to normal without my having done anything. Will keep you posted if anything special happens.
 
In my experience, faults that come and go for no apparent reason are usually due to a faulty RAM (die fault, connector fault etc.).

First line check: Try pushing hard down on the RAMs to make sure they are seated properly.
Second line try: Buy a new RAM set and exchange.
 
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Or just unplug and replug the RAM a few times; cleans oxidation and contamination off the contacts.
 
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  • #11
Spontaneous shutdowns can also be a symptom of a failing power supply.
 
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