Laptop shuts down during virus scan

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I have a Toshiba Satellite and it also has been shutting down during the virus scans. Oddly, if it just sits at the logon screen, it won't shut down. It only happens during the Norton scan. Well I read this forum to see what all I could try. I read the advice from Neuro about vaccuuming the dust out of the fan area. So I used a pressurized air duster and sure enough, a glob of dust came out. And amazingly, my computer doesn't shut down anymore. I just did a complete virus scan. I can't than you guys enough, especially Neuro, for all the advice. If any of you are still experiencing this problem, give this a try. It certainly can't hurt and most likely will solve the problem.

Tx,
Bowriter
 
HP Pavillion Restart

I, like the myriad of people who responded, have the same problem with the computer restarting after initiating a norton virus scan. What is wierd with mine(An HP pavillion zv5000) is that when I try to do live update the only thing that fails is the virus definitions. It also says that my intrusion detection is off. When I try to reset it, a message appears saying "Failed to save setting. Please make sure your windows account is not restricted." If I have a virus I need to get rid of it. If anyone knows anything I would be glad to take your advice into serious consideration.

Thanks,
Colin Kvasnicka
 
So... I too have a laptop with the unexpected shut down problem, which usually would happen after the fans in the computer sounded like they were throttling full speed for a while. This usually coincided with processor intensive tasks such as MP3 or MPEG encoding, anti-virus scanning, running EndNote and Word, etc...

It turns out that my motherboard temperature was reaching extreme temperatures. I opened the laptop and one of the fans and specially the heat radiator were covered with dark dust. The radiator was actually clogged with this. After cleaning it, the problem was solved. I guess this will have to be part of routine maintenance.

A good program to monitor your system's temperature is SpeedFan (google it).

I suggest you ran this while the software that is causing the problem is running. Most likely you'll see your processor load going up to 100% and the temperature shooting up. My system would shut off when it reached 75 deg Celsius. The amazing thing is that Windows XP is totally unaware of what happened: there is no message after rebooting saying that there was an abnormal shutdown of the system.

So... get a torx screwdriver if you need one, an air spray, a vacuum cleaner and clean the dust out of your fans and radiators. You'll be amazed at how much crap accumulates there and how much lower your temperature readings will be after cleaning.

There is unfortunately another problem with some of the Compaq laptops (I learned while I was searching for an answer for my problem). In some models, the system holding the heatsink in place comes off and you need some repair kit with new screws. Check the hp website: it's buried in one of their discussion groups.

Happy cleaning!
 
I am having the same problem. My Toshiba is a little over a year old. It shuts down during the Nortons virus scan. It will scan about 70-80000 files and than shuts the computer down. Have you tried contactin Toshiba?

I am having the same problems with my Toshiba laptop and Nortons virus scan. It scan about 70-8000 files then all of a sudeen it shuts down. Have you contacted Toshiba about this?
 
The asnwer to computer shutting dwon during virus scan

I was having the same problem with my Toshiba. After calling Toshiba thay made me aware that service pack 2 offered by windows xp has already a firewall. Nortons also has a firewall. You have to shut one firewall down. You cannot run bothe firewalls. That is why the computer shuts down. I did what they told me and do not have this problem anymore.undefined
 
Compaq laptop shuts off--need help troubleshooting!

This thread is very helpful to me.
Laptop: Compaq Presario 2700. Owned for almost 4 years.

Problem: For some months now, my laptop will shut down when I try to save in a big program, burn to a CD, run streaming media from the web, etc. It got so bad that now the fan will speed up real fast and the laptop will shut down.
Sometimes I can close programs to make the fan slow down, othertimes I can't.
The CPU usually reads at 100% for a few seconds before it shuts down. A few other times, it won't be so high but will still shut down. I don't now how to read my laptop's temp setting.

Troubleshooting: Since finding this thread, I ordered a Vantec laptop cooler and started using yesterday. I still have the problem.
I sprayed my vent openings with air, but seemed pretty clean anyway.
I tried opening the whole bottom of it but it wouldn't come off. I took out components like the DVD, floppy, hd, but it looked clean.
I ordered a new HD, mainly because I only have 2GB left on my hd, and I was hoping maybe that was the problem. I installed, ran the Compaq CD's it came with, as they were running, the laptop shut down.
Tried putting my old HD back, now my laptop won't boot at all! :hotbounce

I'm worried because I have a programing project due in a week and haven't been able to work on it!

I'm stuck and don't know what I should do. Any other suggestions?
 
sweetyb said:
This thread is very helpful to me.
Laptop: Compaq Presario 2700. Owned for almost 4 years.

Problem: For some months now, my laptop will shut down when I try to save in a big program, burn to a CD, run streaming media from the web, etc. It got so bad that now the fan will speed up real fast and the laptop will shut down.
Sometimes I can close programs to make the fan slow down, othertimes I can't.
The CPU usually reads at 100% for a few seconds before it shuts down. A few other times, it won't be so high but will still shut down. I don't now how to read my laptop's temp setting.

Troubleshooting: Since finding this thread, I ordered a Vantec laptop cooler and started using yesterday. I still have the problem.
I sprayed my vent openings with air, but seemed pretty clean anyway.
I tried opening the whole bottom of it but it wouldn't come off. I took out components like the DVD, floppy, hd, but it looked clean.
I ordered a new HD, mainly because I only have 2GB left on my hd, and I was hoping maybe that was the problem. I installed, ran the Compaq CD's it came with, as they were running, the laptop shut down.
Tried putting my old HD back, now my laptop won't boot at all! :hotbounce

I'm worried because I have a programing project due in a week and haven't been able to work on it!

I'm stuck and don't know what I should do. Any other suggestions?
Click to expand...


I was having the same problem with my Toshiba. After calling Toshiba thay made me aware that service pack 2 offered by windows xp has already a firewall. Nortons also has a firewall. You have to shut one firewall down. You cannot run bothe firewalls. That is why the computer shuts down. I did what they told me and do not have this problem anymore.undefined
 
Compaq shuts down--found problem

I eventually found this website: http://www.freewebs.com/compaqstandoffs
that explains what the Compaq 2700 has a problem with, which is the heatsink.

I had the unfortunate pleasure of just now finding out that this is my problem--the heatsink came of of the motherboard and needs to be glued back on. But I'm so GLAD I figured out what the problem was! Thanks to whoever posted the link about the Compaq problem :)

Has anyone here ever used EPOXY glue? The one recommended was J-B WELD, but I only saw one by GC ELECTRONICS at the store. I'm hoping this will work!
 
[ :angel: ] Well I also own a Toshiba Satellite Laptop. I bought mine in October 2004. I haven't had any problems at all running McAfee Virus Scan(MVS) until today! In the middle of running the virus scan my computer shut down. **poof** in an instant....nothing! I started my computer again and it booted up without an invalid shut down response! This made me think even more that I had a virus. How strange? After reading this forum I wonder if this is a Toshiba issue. After starting my computer again I was able to run my virus scan all the way through. There were a couple of places that my screen "flashed". What in the world was that? Any ideas? By the way, I there were no viruses detected. This really scares me! You hear all these horror stories about Norton AND McAfee not catching a virus and a worm eats someones computer so they can never use it again. I ask myself, what did they do wrong? Do they not update their protection and maybe think that they have? Is there another reason for this other than Norton or McAfee just can't catch all the viruses? Besides the obvious, it's a new virus that they don't have in their program yet.
Okay, this is way longer than what I wanted it to be. I simply wanted to let you know that I've had the same problem. I don't know what to do about it. I was running other programs when it shut down and when I tried again, I only ran MAV. No problems.
This is very interesting. I hope that is the only problem that I have with my laptop. I also wish everyone the best with theirs. If anyone has any ideas let me know.
Thank You
ButterFly333
 
Problem Solved ;)

Sorry I forgot to update you all: I fixed the problem :) It was rather easy to fix, following the instructions on that website. My laptop hasn't shut down since. I just mixed the epoxy glues together, weighed down my standoffs so the glue could seal for about 6-8hrs, and my laptop has been quiet ever since :) I was so happy! I have a laptop cooler that I'm using though, just incase. Other than that, problem solved.
 
pseudotechfeeb said:
I have (had) EXACTLY the same problem with my Toshiba Satellite.
Today it finally dawned on me to google the problem -- I came across this site.

Man, I love the internet!!!

On advice of a couple posts, I decided to vacuum.
Vacuum. Vacuum. Vacuum.
Problem solved! -- fan is quiet, and I ran my first complete virus scan in months (all 67K files).
Thanks to all!
Click to expand...

The only danger/drawback to this is that vacuums produce large amounts of static which could wind up damaging components...

patio. :cool:
 
Awesome place to get answers not readily available from the manufacturers. I have a Toshiba Satelite 1900 which was shutting down during any type of scan or while multitasking with several large programs. Acting upon the suggestion that their could be dust collected on the certain internal parts, I simply vaccumed the dust from the intake and exhaust vents. This totally cleared up the shutdown problem. I don't know what the temperature was before but it remains at a consistant 38 degrees celcius now.

Thanks folks, you're are the best.

DSS900
 
You guys ROCK!!

:giddy:

Okay, my laptop (dell insprion 5100) has been shutting down during Norton's antivirus scan for months. Never any other time. I have tried EVERYTHING, thinking it's some kind of technical problem. Finally I google "laptop shuts down during virus scan" and get here to this thread. I had previously googled "laptop shutting down" and several other phrases but it was including "during virus scan" that finally brought me here. I read through and found that most of you with this problem just vacuumed your laptop and it was fixed. I was thinking it was too good to be true. I used a can of condensed air, sprayed it all out, booted it up, ran Norton's and VOILA, it completed the whole scan, no problem.

I couldn't believe it could be something as simple as cleaning the fan so the laptop stays cooler would solve my problem, how untechnical. Boy do I feel stupid. lol

Anyway, THANK YOU SO MUCH, I swear it was driving me nuts.

All fixed now.

Doodlefan
 
My Dell SmartStep Pentium 4 started doing the shutdown thing. Could not complete full virus scan (120K files). also shutdown other random times. Downloaded a CPU temperature monitor. CPU was heating up during hard work but it did not seem excessive. Dell helpdesk said to check power settings which were all OK. Found Techspot forum with a Google search and saw the suggestion to vacuum out "all the orifaces". Voila!!! No more problems.
So I promply joined Techspot.
Dust in laptops is obviously a common problem across a wide range of machines, will cause overheating, and will shut the mach :chef: ine down with no warning.
 
Additional measures for shut-down problems

I haven't tried vacuuming yet. I am excited just to read that anyone has found a problem to this nuisance.

As I read about the heating problem, it occured to me that during a virus scan, it might be a good idea to unplug any unused USB devices as well as PC Cards. These generate a lot of heat; especially the PC Cards which are power traps even when not hooked to a device. Moreover, it should help the scan go faster, especially if you unplug yourself from the internet.
 
Never thought I'd love vacuuming

Just a footnote to my post above. Vacuuming worked.

I used the hold extension against one air vent and sprayed one of those cleaning dusters into another vent.

If you try this yourself, remember that the air rapidly drops below freezing, so limit your sprays -- you don't want to damage any chips!
 
Thank you very much for your help, I also have a acer aspire 5610 it have been shutting down during virus scanning since two months time, you know some time i felt to smash it on the floor.
But fortunately following your tips I thought its due to over heating.
I have opened up back cover for the cooling fan, there were full of dust ,I cleaned it and boxed it up, Ran virus scan after that every thing was ok.

Thank you again, welld one guys!
 
Same problem.I use ACER VISTA KASPERSKY CONVERTER XtoDVD.It shuts down.
Vakuum Vakuum Vakuum the dust and keep it cool.CPU must not be to hot or it will shut down to protect him self.It worked for me.100% WORKING.Thank you for the help!!!
 
i'm not trying to post a reply - i don't know how i found myself doing this...ANYWAY - my msg should come up on the same board for all to see: i have an asus, windows vista laptop that is shutting down during virus scanning, it has also become slower and slower lately as i've used different applications via the internet - never anything illegal though, nothing that should have given me a virus...i see many others have this same problem...WHAT IS WRONG WITH OUR COMPUTERS??? mine's DEFINITELY not temperature, i have a guage. does ANYONE know the answer to these problems???
ANY help would be GLADLY appreciated - i've no hair left from tearing it out in frustration!!! cheers.
 
Toshiba Laptop random shut down

Im new to this so I hope Im doing this right.....I just purchased my new Toshiba Satellite 3 days ago..I downloaded AVG from the recommendation of a friend last night. I did my first virus scan today and 2 viruses were found but the viruses were from Norton that already came on the computer. So I guess AVG thought Norton was a virus and then a bunch of cookies things popped up. The scan was already an hour into it when my computer just shut off completely. I tried to turn it back on and a black screen came on giving me options on how I should restart the computer. Before I could even choose an option the computer just shut down. Once I got it back up I tried to scan again and it shut off about 5 min. into it. This computer is only 3 days old! Why is the computer doing this?
 
I've had this problem before. Turns out the Hard Drive had bad sectors so when the scan tried to access that segment of the disk it crashes. (Oh and the CPU was f*cked...but the bad sectors was definately a primary cause)...

If you can spare 144Mb of bandwith Download The Ultimate Boot CD (UBCD) 4.1.1.
Burn it off, boot into it:

Hard Drive Tools> Diagnostic Tools> Seatools>

'Y' to agree to the EULA and 'L' to do an in depth scan on the HDD...

A pretty useful tool, but unfortunately it doesn't pick up problems with the MBR. If it comes back with bad sectors I'd get a new HDD, clone the data to the new drive and go from there...

Note: For those with 2 HDDs in the machine, I believe if you push 'D' it toggles which drive to scan...but it's all there and pretty much strait forward.
 
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