Asdlfj, Does it seem to be a constant thing after a certain number of minutes? Apart from power settings, it could be internal. I have only seen that in a desktop. It turned out that the chip was overheating. It could also be the powersupply inside overheating.
Tim is right Laptops have a thermal shutdown protection circut also. And is the most comman reason for this.
Make sure that all the vent holes on the bottom and side are clean and not filled with dust.
Don't use your laptop in bed or sitting on blankets or any thing eles that will block or "hold" the heat that its trying to push out.
Try the laptop sitting on a nice flat surface. a Tv dinner stand works well normaly, and is cost effective to the most taxed budget.
There is also commericaly produced stands and pads that have built in fans to reduce the heat even more. normaly around 20.00-40.00 USD.
If the heat is not your cause it gets a bit ruff to fig out next step would be saving all your important data and preforming a clean install of windows.
hi my compaq laptop just started doing this too i took it to pc repair shop and they said it was motherboard as this is what boots it up and charges battery,my battery not charging up,and as this the problem i may as well buy new laptop as it,d cost me about £200/£250 to fix,im going to take it to another shop for 2nd opinion
I have the same problem with my laptop but it all started happening when i accidently snapped the usb port by inserting a USB drive in the wrong way. my laptop instantly shutdown and from that moment onward its continuously turned itself off. Do i need a new laptop?
So you broke the USB input off the motherboard? Yeah, you probably need a new motherboard if it's causing the computer to shut down as you might have damaged neighboring circuits (such as the PSU). Depending on the age of the laptop, you might be able to get a good deal on a new motherboard on ebay. But...it's going to be an expensive repair if you don't do it yourself. I'm guessing you'd have to have a technician do it for you (and they charge a mint for mobo replacement since it basically means taking EVERYTHING apart from the laptop).
Normally laptops shutting down randomly have to do with overheating, as Tim mentioned. But it's not always because you're laying in bed with your laptop etc. Typically, the fan might go bad or get clogged with dust/hair/debris (it's gross, I know, but I've seen it). Also, there is a gooey substance on the processor that transfers heat to the heatsink (copper tubing that runs to the fun and helps cool the processor), and the gooey substance can dry out/crack, or sometimes the manufacturer just doesn't put enough on and this can also cause problems. So fix? Get a can of airspray, and spray out the fan (make sure you hold the fan down from moving or you'll burn the motor out), and/or put new heatsink compound on the processor. If this doesn't work, then yes, it typically means you need a new mobo.
However, Matt, since your laptop's shutting-off problem is related to the USB breaking off, I'm quite certain it needs a new mobo.