Dell Precision 7710 Mysterious Thermal Event Shutdown

Hello,

I have a mysterious problem with my laptop and I was wondering if somebody might be able to help me?

I recently bought a second hand Dell Precision 7710 Laptop, which shuts down due to thermal event, but only from Windows 10 with AC adaptor and all the latest drivers installed. The reason I said 'latest drivers' is because when I do a fresh install of Windows 10 without any updates, the machine runs fine on AC. I've stress tested the device under several conditions:

ePSA diagnostics and AC power - Machine is OK, no detected issues.
Prime95 (pre boot stress test) and AC power - machine is OK, no Thermal event
Windows 10 Battery power only and Dell SupportAssist Test - machine is OK, no issues.

Windows 10 with AC power - Machine turns itself off when processor is running on high load.

Yesterday I dismantled the machine, cleaned it inside and refreshed the heatsink paste. I think the laptop sounds quieter but it hasn't improved the problem.

The AC charger which came with the laptop is an after-market replacement, so it's not official Dell, perhaps that is causing the problem?

I was wondering if anyone else has had the same issue or something similar.

My first question is - if my laptop is running a stress test on battery power, would it not stress the components as much as when the device is on AC power or does it not make any difference at all?

My second question is - if this problem is caused by a bad charger, how is that possible? Can a bad charger 'overcharge' a laptop and make it overheat?

Any help would be greatly received, thank you very much in advance!

James

 

The system can only draw 100W from the battery so you cannot fully stress it on battery power.
I would recommend getting hold of an official Dell power adapter and trying that out first. Shouldn't be too expensive. Search eBay for "genuine new PA-9E" for a starting point.

 

I'll have a look, thank you.