lately, many people have been complaining that there computer has been shutting down on it’s own. Now I don’t know if it has to do with Vista but I thought it could be related since Vista takes up a large amount of memory. A laptop that overheats will shut itself off to prevent damage and injury of the user. Another culprit of this problem may also be with your hardware but that’s another story and requires a deeper analysis of your laptop.

The Symptom’s of Your Computer

If you notice that your laptop is shutting off on its own, you might have to think about the vents and cooling components of your computer. Also, if you use your computer on your lap, it is more likely to overheat because it is harder for vents to work against your legs and pants. On a hard surface, there is more ventilation. When your laptop does shut down is it very warm? This is a sign that overheating is the problem in your situation.

Solving the Problem

It is not 100% certain that overheating is your laptops problem but if it is, your in luck. To fix this problem you can pay someone else or you can do it yourself with a can of compressed air. The following are instructions to clean a laptop vent in 3 simple steps:

1) Unscrew each of the screws on the underside of your laptop. Then remove the cover.

2) Now, remove dust and other debris from the vents, fan, and heatsinks. You can also use a toothpick for harder to reach places. make sure not to puncture anything or damage any of the circuitry during the process. Also, refrain from using your fingers because you will leave oils that attract dirt.

3) Take the can of compressed air and shoot it into the vents. One important tip is to place that toothpick you used earlier to keep the fan from spinning by lodging it in between two of the blades. This will prevent them from being damaged while gusts of air push through.

Now, when you turn on your laptop you should see the difference immediately. If your computer continues to shut down, overheating may not have been a problem. For this you must figure some other failure occurred.