Laptop shuts down at random times it sometime shut dowm within 5 minutes i use or can stay on allday but now it shuts down within like 20 minutes of use.please help

things that happen to older laptops are that over time there tiny processor power supplies build up with lint from the air that is passed thru them sometimes even making the tiny cooling fans in there stop , then its only a matter of a few minutes and it overheats and shuts off , after several hours cool own it will restart , but wont stay on long , then the cycle repeats . if its caught in time and no power supply parts are ruined sometimes a Pc repair shop can dismantle one and clean it

u want to send it down for me

I had a 1988 dodge Dakota ,and it did the same thing. I fould that the o2 sensor was bad. I am a self employed mechanic

“My Toshiba laptop suddenly shuts down by itself without any warning. Sometimes it works fine for hours, sometimes it shuts down in 10-15 minutes.” This complaint we hear from our customers over and over again. About 15-20% of all Toshiba laptops we get for repair, suffer from an overheating problem. Yep, OVERHEATING!
This is one of the most common problems with Toshiba laptops we deal with.
Indications of laptop overheating problem:

1. The keyboard and the bottom of your laptop are very hot when the laptop is working.
2. The CPU fans are working all the time at maximum rotation speed and operate much louder than before.
3. The laptop suddenly shuts down by itself without warning. When it just started, the laptop was shutting down after 1-2 hours and how it shuts down after 5-10 minutes of operation.
4. The laptop works fine when it runs idle, but shuts down as soon as you start using any memory demanding applications (DVD player, image editing software, video editing software, etc.).

Solution:
If the CPU heatsink is not clogged with dust and lint completely, you can use canned air and just blow it inside the laptop through the openings on the bottom and on the sides. It’s nice as a precaution measure, but it might not work if your laptop already has a problem and the heatsink is completely clogged.

1. Open the laptop case, so you can access the CPU fan and the heatsink. In some cases you can access the heatsink through the latch on the bottom of the laptop. Sometimes (for example Toshiba Satellite A70/A75) you have to open the laptop case all the way down.
2. Carefully disconnect the fan cables on the system board and remove the fan. If the fan makes unusual sound when it spins (grinding sound), I would recommend to replace the fan.
3. Clean the fan and the heatsink with compressed air.
4. I would also recommend removing old thermal grease from the CPU and applying new grease for better heat conductivity.

-try to update the BIOS, its also possible that your notebook is infected with malicious software. If you have a anti-virus system try to run a full scan. You can get the BIOS update from the website http://www.hp.com/, go under support and drivers section. Select the see support and troublshooting information. Type in your product number. So you can get the updates specific for your notebook. Also check your operating system if it is a 32-bit or a 64-bit.

This problem might be occur due to old BIOS version installed on the laptop.
If your system shut down unexpectedly within 10-20 minutes while playing games or scanning the system which takes high cpu usages then the problem is of BIOS and try to install the new BIOS version.
for that visit the site of your laptop company.

I'm sure about this one. Your Charger is faulty, buy a new one, it happened to mine as well, buying new charger solved it.

20 years is too long and the components ternmial might be loose or crack at this time, I'll susgest you look for any dry cold solder on the main board and do resoldering to the components terminal.

I still have that problem. I calle Mfr and also spoke to repair shops recommended by them and they said they estimate a cost of 300-400$ or so approx. I am waiting to buy a new LCD which could be few 100 more but at least dont have to live with the old one and keep spending money...

regards

i have the same problem...laptop randomly shuts down, but its even done it within a minute of turning it on so i don't think its a heat issue. Sometimes it'll run for over an hour with no problem and never shut down, but other times it randomly shuts down sometimes within a minute, sometimes maybe 10 mins, sometimes 30 mins or more ...its maddening! i'd love to find a solution if anyone's found one. Thanks.