My laptop turns itself off sometimes for no apparent reason ( not low battery power- does it when cable plugged in). Any ideas why?
What do you mean by “turns itself off” … do you mean it powers down properly, or it just suddenly goes off ?
It switches itself off completely!
I think what Mark is trying to establish if the laptop is going through a normal shut down routine or just literally looses power.
Cannot be losing power as it is pligged into the mains. No worries, thanks, I can live with it. Gotta do my dinner and got an essay to write.
That’s not what I mean … (as SeZo suggests) what I mean is, does it
a) just IMMEDIATELY go OFF (as though someone flipped a switch)
or
b) shut down properly … ie, tell you it’s shutting down.
It just shuts down- it’s very quick, think there is a very brief message on the black screen saying it is shutting down, anyway gotta fly need to cook dinner- will come back tomorrow, cheers Mark.
OK, if it’s shutting down properly, I’m going to guess the battery is kaput and when it falls below 10% charge the xfce4-power-manager is powering down the PC.
go to:-
menu > Preferences > Power Manager
when that starts, in the left column, select “On Battery”
in the right pane, change:-
When battery power is critical: Nothing
Click “Close”.
A bit worrying if OP said it was plugged into the mains though…
Could it be overheating? You could find out with lm_sensors, but I’m not expert on how that works!!
Shutdown from overheating is usually immediate (no proper shutdown).
I’m wondering if the battery is that screwed that it only holds around 10% charge, and the power manager is set to power down at 10% … then when the system is under load it tips the balance enough to draw off some battery … bingo, shutdown.
Maybe the power supply isn’t the correct rating.
Ah, I get you, sounds reasonable
OP - how old is your laptop?
Those settings in the preferences were already set to those specifications. It shit itself down again just before. It does it wheter the the charger is plugged on or not- makes no diff. The battery lasts a very short time. i think I need a new battery.
Melissa … easiest way to test my theory…
Remove the battery, and run entirely from the power supply … now see if it still switches itself off 
I don’t know how to remove the battery Mark- don’t worry, when I got the cash I will take it to the PC repair man and get another battery from him. I will have to take the Dell netbook to him anyway to have the new HD put in.
If you’re brave enough, you could DIY it using the guides here: http://www.tim.id.au/blog/tims-laptop-service-manuals/
Hopefully this guy won’t charge you too much though, especially on a 10 year old laptop
Ah no, he is very honest and charges less than most people- that’s why I go to him.
This is a laptop right ?
What make/model ?
Yes, it’s the old HP laptop that was Microsh*t XP that you helped me Peppermint a few weeks ago- remember that?
Anyway there must have been something wrong with the battery as you suspected, as last night the laptop fell off its cooling mat ( only gently not far to the floor) and its battery fell out! So now I don’t have to worry for the time being about trying to take out a battery. It hasn’t shut itself off since. I am using it on mains right now and will see the PC man when got time/money.
If it’s always going to be plugged in, you don’t need to replace the battery at all.