Dell Vostrol 1500 laptop shutting down during gaming

I've had my Dell Vostro for a while, and it's been fine.

However recently it's started shutting down whilst playing games (cod4/c&c3).

What's strange is that the fans aren't on, then the fan will come on loudly but then 2 seconds later the system shuts down.

It seems to me that the laptop is overheating but the fans aren't coming on in time, so it shuts down. I tried a reformat+reinstall but same problems.

Any ideas?

 

Is there any software i can use to force the fan on?

 

i8kfangui (but you'll probably have to calibrate the temperatures to make them accurate.)
Riva Tuner
Speedfan

 

Since you said you had it for awhile, clean out your vents and fan area with compressed air. Also, make sure you have bios A05 which I believe tweaked the thermal tables and adjusted when the fan comes on.

 

I upgraded the bios, and downloaded i8kfangui.

Using i8kfangui, I forced the main fan to go on full speed.

I then played cod4 and the laptop shutdown within 20 minutes.

What could be the problem of this?

 

overheating... is the likely suspect.

what are the GPU temps during the gameplay?

here is my post for overheating:
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If you are overheating... usually any temp over 90C degrees is bad.

when was the last time that you cleaned out the fans and vents thoroughly...?

if never, then thats why.

1) remove battery
2) remove/unscrew the panels on the bottom of the notebook to get to fans and vents
3) use flashlight to look through vents for the dust (if you cant see the light on the other end, then the vents are clogged up)
4) go outside, get some compressed air (cans or compressor @ 50 PSI) and give the vents a good airing out all directions (concentrating on the vents)
.... you might want to brace the fan blade(s) when airing it out (with a toothpick or paperclip to prevent it from spinning out too much)
.... or use short bursts (1-2 secs) of air instead of bracing the fans.
5) go get some Q-tips and swab the fan blades and the area around it
6) then go do a second airing with compressed air (all directions again focusing on the fans and vents) to push out the dust that was dislodged from the Q-tips

7*) Now go use the flashlight again and look through the vents (shine the flashlight from the fan, you look through the other end) for anymore dust clogs.

8) Then start up the notebook... and let the fans cycle up (use the Fan Toggle at max speed if your system has it) to push out any other dust that might have been stuck.

If all goes well you should be able to close up the notebook and...

you're done.

*repeat this step until its cleaned out.

Thats pretty much it.

Just make sure to do this every two-three months... it should take about 15-20min per cleaning if you want to be thorough.

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Gaming notebooks are a new thing, you must realize that you have to take some extra care of them over typical use notebooks:

1) Battery: to maintain the longevity of any rechargeable battery
- you must NEVER overcharge it [especially for long durations of time] by keeping it plugged into AC
- when it reaches 100% you should unplug it and let it discharge to 5-15%, then plug it back to power
- OR you can just charge it to 50%+ and remove the battery and store in cool place.. not the fridge [remember to use it occasionally 3-4 time a year to charge and discharge it].

2.) Heat: to prevent a healthy notebook from overheating
- ALWAYS use the notebook on a clean, hard & flat surface
- RECOMMENDED to be used on a notebook cooler... namely the Zalman ZM-NC1000 or ZM-NC2000
- check your fans underneath occasionally (at least once a month or two) for any dust clogs [clean them out with Q-tips and air cans/compressors]
- ALWAYS monitor the temps (CPU, GPU, HDD, etc..) to watch for fluctuations, which would indicate overheating by dust usually
(for Clevo notebooks) use the Fan Toggle to switch all fans to Max Speed when gaming and such.

By doing these simple things, your entire system will easily last for more than 3 years.