Laptop Suddenly Shutdown (but no problem in Windows 7)

I have used my laptop for 1.5 year, which is Dell Inspiron 1320.

Recently, I just installed Ubuntu 11.04 Desktop to my laptop. However, I'm facing very strange problem that I did not face before.

If the laptop is booted to Ubuntu, it will automatically shutdown after a while ** randomly**. ( I believe the shutdown is not triggered by events)
If the laptop is booted to Windows 7, there is no such problem. Windows 7 runs very stable and good.
If the laptop is booted to BIOS setup menu, the problem is as same as that boot to Ubuntu.

I also tried turning on the laptop without battery but with AC power directly. But the problem still exists. So the battery problem has been eliminated.

I suspected dust blocked my laptop's fan/cooler/head detector... So I cleaned every parts in my laptop yesterday. However the problem still exists.

Anyone has any idea about solving the problem?

Update 18 May 2011

I highly suspect that Ubuntu changed my "Overheat protection" settings in BIOS and Ubuntu did not set it correctly. Why I suspect that? Because I tried that:

Steps

Start Ubuntu and log in to Ubuntu.
Shutdown the laptop in Ubuntu with normal way
Start the laptop and enter BIOS setting menu
wait....
Auto shutdown after a while (maybe 1~2 min)
Start Windows 7 and log in to Windows 7
Shutdown the laptop in Windows 7 with normal way
Start the laptop
During laptop starting, there is a message "System updated" (something like that. I am not sure the exact word, but I can sure the meaning. It just showed up for maybe 0.2 sec)
Enter BIOS setting menu
wait....
The computer does not have problem!!!

Alex Yeung

Posted 2011-05-16T00:11:32.353

Reputation: 121

I'm guessing the system gets overheating - perhaps power management is not kicking-in in Ubuntu – Sathyajith Bhat – 2011-05-16T06:08:45.113

I suspected that too. That's why I cleaned dusts. Moreover I tried to open my laptop so that I can touch my cooler device directly and run Ubuntu. However, after the laptop was automatically shotdown, the cooler device is not that hot. – Alex Yeung – 2011-05-16T06:22:17.627

Answers

Should be able to boot into Dell's Hardware Diagnostics by hitting F12 at the bios screen. From there you can run all sorts of hardware tests. If you spits out an error with one of the tests and your laptop is still under warrenty, should be able to call Dell and get it replaced.

More info

Nixphoe

Posted 2011-05-16T00:11:32.353

Reputation: 566

Thanks for your answer. I will try tonight because my laptop is at home. – Alex Yeung – 2011-05-16T06:19:51.387

@Nixphoe: I run the test yesterday. But I cannot complete the test because my computer is auto shutdown. I tried the test for few times. – Alex Yeung – 2011-05-17T23:33:52.853

I would put my money down that it's a hardware issue. Grab your Dell Service tag. Should be able to check here to find out if your warrenty is still good. Call Dell if it still is and let them know what the issue is and what you've already done. http://support.dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/my_systems_info/details?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs&~tab=2&~ck=anavml

– Nixphoe – 2011-05-17T23:58:03.807

I don't believe that is a hardware issue. Because it works fine under Windows 7. – Alex Yeung – 2011-05-18T04:05:41.920

I have a feeling that it is more of a fluke that it is working under Windows 7. If it is rebooting when only running a hardware check, Dell will tell you that it is hardware. I've been through that a few times with them on workstations. – Nixphoe – 2011-05-18T14:52:59.963

Thanks Nixphoe. I passed all hardware checks actually. So I still cannot figure out the problem. However, please see my own answer of this post. It works in my laptop. – Alex Yeung – 2011-06-07T00:09:11.493

An Ubuntu install is not going to change any thermal variables in your BIOS... if you think that it's something in the BIOS settings... restore to default and test things out.

I would suspect that you have an issue with the cooling system, either a fan is out or the thermal compound needs to be re-applied.

If you're sitting in the BIOS, your CPU isn't really doing much and may not shutdown after 1-2 minutes...

Dustin G.

Posted 2011-05-16T00:11:32.353

Reputation: 2 025

Hi, thanks you for your response. I am not sure if ubuntu change my BIOS setting or not. But last night, i tried openSUSE, it works fine as well. – Alex Yeung – 2011-05-21T02:44:08.350

Sorry all. I did not update this post for a while. My problem has been gone and now ubuntu run quite good.

What I did is

Open the laptop case
Use a strong fan to cool down all hardware although it is not hot
Connect to the internet and install the display driver
And install all other drivers.

After that, Ubuntu would become stable. So if some face the same problem, you can try. I cannot sure those steps could solve the problem. But at least it works in my laptop.

Alex Yeung

Posted 2011-05-16T00:11:32.353

Reputation: 121

-2

Ubuntu 11.04 Desktop is still BETAWARE. Wait a wee or two, & the debugged version should be released.

Very few of the Ubuntu derivatives dare use Ubuntu 11.04 yet. Pinguy has ... but I've yet to install it. Generally I use Super OS, which tries to prompt me to 'upgrade' to the buggy 11.04. I did try the UNITY stuff on 10.10 - not impressed. Also COMPRIZ (?) and other GPU demanding stuff won't work with my notebook's Intel I3 CPU.

In Win7-32 bit, so very happy. Unbuntu is for bypassing Win7 faults (crashes, undeletable files, folders), removing anti-virus or malware stuff.

user37991

Posted 2011-05-16T00:11:32.353

Reputation: 183

Betaware? But it is not mentioned in Ubuntu web site, isn't it? – Alex Yeung – 2011-05-16T04:33:25.047

11.04 is now released, and has been for a bit – Simon Sheehan – 2011-05-17T23:44:56.253