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Dell Inspiron 546 Random Shutdowns
I've had this computer for a few years but a problem has come up in the last year or so that I'm unsure how to fix. So far it's only happened when I play certain games. I load the game and can play for say 5-10 minutes, when suddenly the monitor goes black and the computer just stops responding. It stays powered on but I have to force shut it down.
A friend of mine helped me clean a lot of dust out of the inside of it which seemed to work for a little, but then it went right back to it. I don't know what I could possibly do now. Is it because the computer is getting old? It's only around 4-5 years old and it's never had a problem before this.
I have already updated my video card drivers and my BIOS. I have uninstalled and reinstalled my video card and that worked for a short time, but then it stopped working.
Also, I'm not sure it matters, but the games that these shutdowns occur on are run on Steam. For instance, I can play Spore for as long as I want because I'm not using Steam to play it. On the other hand, I tried playing Skyrim last night using Steam and sure enough the computer shut down not long after.
ANY help is appreciated!
DELL-Shrikanth G
618 Posts
0
April 24th, 2014 02:00
Hi NickMcNack,
I suggest you to run diagnostics http://bit.ly/11rpNTs to check for any hardware issues. Is your system heating up than normal? Check if your system works fine in safe mode. Reply with your findings.
NickMcNack
15 Posts
0
April 24th, 2014 12:00
My system isn't heating up any more than normal. When I looked at the video on how to run the diagnostics, my computer doesn't show the Dell symbol or give me the option to run diagnostics. It just skips to the Windows symbol and says starting windows. I logged on using safe mode, and the system started up, but I couldn't play any game to test if the computer would shut down.
NickMcNack
15 Posts
0
April 24th, 2014 19:00
?
NickMcNack
15 Posts
0
April 26th, 2014 12:00
bump
DELL-Shrikanth G
618 Posts
0
April 29th, 2014 06:00
Hi NickMcNack,
Sorry for the delayed response. Try running online diagnostics on hardware and symptom test on performance http://dell.to/1cBhbMw see what happens
NickMcNack
15 Posts
0
May 1st, 2014 11:00
I ran a complete diagnostic and it said I need Critical Hardware Maintenance. It said I'd have to replace my hard drive. Luckily it cost less than I thought it would, but I haven't bought it just yet. Is it difficult to replace it? Do I have to backup anything so I don't lose stuff on my computer?
DELL-Shrikanth G
618 Posts
0
May 4th, 2014 07:00
Hi NickMcNack,
If you are able to boot into your laptop you can transfer inportant data to another harddrive. This link will give you access to service manual with the help of which you can install the harddrive http://dell.to/1g0pKSA