4760 unexpectedly switching off

I just received my 4760, without an OS, and I started to install Win2k.

Shortly after starting the install (before partitioning the hard drive) I got "cold feet" (really, i wanted to research how to get Fat32 on instead of NTFS... eventually I found that I would have to partition it smaller than 32GB/Fat32 partition)

Anyway, I stopped the install, and restarted the computer, but as it went through POST, it Turned off. I thought it might have had something to do with the install terminating, so I turned it back on, .... Part way through POST, it turned off. It did this about 4 times (each at a different spot, apparently).

Finally, I let it sit off for about 5 minutes and turned it on, and all went well: Installed Win2k, and all the drivers from Sager, etc.

Then, I sat down to watch a movie using the provided WinDVD: Half way through the movie... It just blip--- Turned Off without warning!

It seems like an overheating problem, though I don't know what it is that executes the "turn off" (either a protection circuit or a bad contact).

I've used it now for several hours on the next day, installing stuff, but haven't had any similar problem. I"m not sure if it's defective, or if it was just an overheating symptom of the first charge on the battery.

Just to post an update: This is definitely an overheat problem, and is predictable. I try to never let it happen, but it's just impossible to avoid sometimes. Certain applications (especially with alot of video rendering) use the 'full' capability of the CPU, and you can observe the fan switch on, then the power supply fan switches on, then the notebook fan switches to high, then in a couple minutes, the whole computer just turns off.

I've taken to propping the back edge of the notebook up on the ferrite core of the power cord, and blowing a small fan at the back of the computer to keep fresh air circulating to the fan openings.

I have been unsuccessful in finding any program that can monitor the CPU temperature... I saw some that seemed pretty flexible (and claimed to be able to throw NOOP's in to let the CPU rest if it was getting hot), but they never showed a temperature reading for my computer.

If anyone has a temperature monitor program that works with the 4760 (I've determined that the CPU System Chip is either SiS 645DX or SiS 962 ) I'd be very gratefull!!

Thanks, jchanc04: Mobile Meter does work very well.. it reports the current CPU frequency (speed), CPU temperature, and HDD temperature. It also can report the battery Charge rate, but that doesn't seem to work with my notebook.

And, even better: With the help of Mobile Meter, (japanese page: http://www.geocities.co.jp/SiliconValley-Oakland/8259/ English mirror: http://dssc3031.ece.cmu.edu/~tamaru/...erreadme-e.htm ) I was able to see that my processor speed was hovering between 3.06GHz and 3.10GHz... never going below. After researching the windows Power Management Platform SDK looking for API's to tell the CPU to throttle (which, it turns out, isn't overly simple to do), I found that the API already has different "roles" (power schemes) defined, and that my notebook was set to "Always On".

So, I changed that setting (though Control Panel, Power Options (this is Win2k server OS )), to "Max Battery", and instantly I saw MObile Meter reduce the CPU Freq to 2.47GHz... then I tried "Portable/Laptop", and Mobile Meter shows the CPU usually at 3.06GHz, during heavy processing it goes up to 3.10GHz, and when it gets over 75 deg C, the CPU is throttled to 2.47GHz. Bingo!

Since none of the throttling settings are shown or even mentioned on the "Power Options" control panel dialog, I wasn't expecting them to be involved in the scheme... but obviously (though the Mob.Meter feedback and the API (for anyone who's interested, see MSDN docs for ReadPwrScheme, WritePwrScheme, PROCESSOR_POWER_POLICY, and ADMINISTRATOR_POWER_POLICY... this last one is the only policy the user can change through Control Panel)), it is.

(I know this was long-winded, but I mention it all for the benefit of anyone else with the same problem, or anyone who would like to write an interface to let us lowly users actually change the processor-power-policy!!)

I finally solved my unexpected shutdowns by using a vacuum to clean out the airway. It's worked great for a 2 years now... until today (which is what brought me back to this forum)... but now I'm having a different problem (other post).