Please, help

Clerik · 12-24-2009, 03:18 PM

Running Linux Mint 7 X64 on Toshiba Satellite A115. 4 Gig of ram. 150 Gig HD, AMD Tuion 64 processor. The bloody machine shuts down for no reason. No warning. No message. Just blam. It reboots, but isn't good for the machine. I need guidance, and patience, to help me. Please.

Bryan

MTK358 · 12-24-2009, 03:23 PM

Maybe something's wrong with your hardware?

druuna · 12-24-2009, 03:32 PM

@Clerik: When? Immediately after (during?) booting? After a few minutes or hours?

Overheating could be a reason, but that takes a while depending on how busy the machine is (from a few minutes to 2 hours [last is from personal experience]).

Another thing: DO NOT use "Please help" as subject name. It should reflect what your problem is. "Laptop shuts down for no reason" would have been a lot better.

Me, like others, tend to ignore threads with subject lines like yours (I did look this time, it being christmas eve and all).

jmite · 12-24-2009, 05:17 PM

Only way to find out if it's not booting is to experiment? Will it boot a live-cd? Will it boot a different distro? Will it boot windows? will it boot a 32-version of the OS? Find out what factor is causing the problem, and experiment. could be as simple as a corrupt download, or an error when burning the disk

I'd just try ubuntu or another distro, chances are itll work fine.

wagscat123 · 12-24-2009, 07:31 PM

If this happened under Windows or another distro, then it is a hardware problem. Try reinstalling Linux Mint and see if it gets better. If you have a splash screen(the progress bar at startup and shutdown) you can turn it off by backing out any splash options at startup and put in: splash=0 and you will see kernel messages when the computer starts up and shuts down. Look at them, and bring it back to the LQ forum and we will be able to give you more specific tips and figure out what's wrong.

lorinx8 · 12-24-2009, 11:47 PM

reboot during linux startup or after it ?
check out your CPU fans, may be the CPU overheating...

Clerik · 12-24-2009, 11:57 PM

Thank you all for your fine suggestions. I have an external fan pad which keeps it cool. I realize my wording was a bit vacant. When it shuts down, it simply turns off. I am able to reboot it. I will try the idea about the kernel. I've researched, today, and found it is a common problem with Toshiba laptops. Just as Windows is a virus, apparently Toshiba is a retarded Borg.

Thanks again,
Bryan

AwesomeMachine · 12-25-2009, 12:07 AM

I'd say it's heat.

MTK358 · 12-25-2009, 07:31 AM

We had a Toshiba Satellite laptop a long time ago and after a year or two it was a total piece of junk that failed in just about every way imaginable, it hardly even ran.

pixellany · 12-25-2009, 07:39 AM

Heat---yes

You can check the BIOS setup to see what the settings might be for different temperature measurements.

Does the laptop have CPU frequency scaling?

Clerik · 01-01-2010, 06:20 PM

CPU frequency scaling? Dunno. Been too dumbed down by Windows too long. It's like learning to ride a bike, again. Still getting my balance. Will do more research on Ubuntu and it's flavors. Thank you all for your help. It means that dropping M$ for Linux was the right thing to do.

worm5252 · 01-01-2010, 06:39 PM

Has anyone verified this is a heat problem and not a software issue? What do the logs say?

Clerik · 01-01-2010, 11:10 PM

I've adjusted the fan pad, increased airflow around the machine, and haven't had any issues. Will let you all know if things change. Again, thank you deeply for your guidance and support.

Clerik

smeezekitty · 01-01-2010, 11:19 PM

It has to be overheating, check the airflow.

Quote:

The bloody machine shuts down for no reason

LOL

Clerik · 01-02-2010, 11:42 PM

Moved it out in the open atop a milk crate. It gets all the air it needs... now. Thanks all for your suggestions. I feel rather foolish. Just shows how the simplest things can make monkeys of us all.

Clerik