Alienware 17 crashing

Question

About 2 weeks ago, my laptop installed the latest nvidia driver, then the next day, wouldn't boot (it had done this before when trying to download and install win10 updates). But this time, nothing worked. Did a restore, went back to win7, had to re-download all my stuff, including windows 10 and the nvidia driver. Well, after playing Overwatch, my system just shut down (no blue screen, warning, nothing). I was able to reboot, but this kept happening. For a while, I could game with the power cord unplugged, and generally web browse with the plug in. But now, after buying a new power supply, it shuts off even web browsing. Troubleshooting I have done: * Opened the laptop, cleaned the dust out. * Used 3 types of software to monitor heat (not overheating.. Hottest it got was the GPu at about 75 c. * Tried running with and without power supply, which it initially ran better and cooler unplugged. * Adjusted GPU settings using MSN After burner. * Adjusted graphics settings in the game. * Played non-blizzard games to make sure it wasn't just overwatch. * Used bitedefender and malwarebytes to check for viruses. * Rolled back the nvidia driver to an earlier version. * Ran the Dell diagnostics program on their support page, full system scan, showed everything was fine. * Updated all drivers * Tried a new power supply. * Checked the battery, not overheating, 9%wear, charges nicely. * Defrag and clean disk. * Used the Dell Restore and Recovery program via USB. Any other troubleshooting I haven't tried? After all of that, the system is still shutting off and is getting worse. Help? (warranty is expired) Alienware 17, i7 CPU, geforce 880gtx GPU. Thanks,

Brad L (retired) · Answer

Hi there,

I would try benchmarking the system and looking at CPU temp, if it crashes during bench or shuts down, I would recommend replacing the cooling system and applying fresh thermal paste. Aside from that, it could be other things like it just failing but I am hoping it is something that is fixable.

Best regards,

Brad

Locked Topics – Laptops General

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