# [SOLVED] Dell Inspiron N5010 won't stay running



## Kingjim9 (Sep 27, 2012)

Just went to turn on my laptop which is a Dell Inspiron N5010, and it keeps turning off after a minute or so. 

It doesn't matter if I'm just in BIOS, or trying to load windows it'll just stop and shut down. 

I also tried plugging it in to see if the battery was dead but even that didn't help, in fact the battery charging light on the front only stayed on for about 30 seconds and went out. 

Does anybody know what could cause this?

Thanks in advance!

Jim


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## Tomken15 (Dec 7, 2011)

*Re: Dell Inspiron N5010 won't stay running*

Sounds as though you have a really bad case of overheating.

If you can hear the fan working, then giving it a blow out with a can of compressed will help, but in extreme cases, it needs to be opened up and the thermal paste renewed on the processor after thoroughly cleaning off the old paste.

When you're using it, ensure that the underside vent isn't obstructed by using it on a flat surface and until you've checked it out, avoid trying to use it as prolonged overheating will damage the CPU.


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## sarla (May 14, 2010)

*Re: Dell Inspiron N5010 won't stay running*

Have you tried entering in safe mode ?


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## Kingjim9 (Sep 27, 2012)

*Re: Dell Inspiron N5010 won't stay running*

Hey guys, thanks for the responses. 

Could it still be overheating, even if this is the first time it ran today?

Also: safe mode, normal startup, or even in setup (BIOS) it does the same thing, one time it did make it to the welcome screen though.


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## Tomken15 (Dec 7, 2011)

*Re: Dell Inspiron N5010 won't stay running*

Check it out for overheating first as continued use *will* damage your CPU.

Could you hear the fan working ?


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## Kingjim9 (Sep 27, 2012)

*Re: Dell Inspiron N5010 won't stay running*

Yes I can hear and both feel air moving from the fan.


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## Tomken15 (Dec 7, 2011)

*Re: Dell Inspiron N5010 won't stay running*

Normally I would suggest installing Speccy Speccy - System Information - Free Download which will display the temps but that would have been before someone had gotten to the stage that you're at, when it's hitty or missy whether it will boot up for long enough.

If giving it a blow out gives some improvement on running time but still shuts down, then you know you will need to open it up to renew the thermal paste.

You could download Speccy onto the machine you're using now and then you will be able to compare the temps later on the N5010 - you can also download and save it to a flash to copy across, if and when there is sufficient improvement in running time.


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## Kingjim9 (Sep 27, 2012)

*Re: Dell Inspiron N5010 won't stay running*

I have it all opened up right now, I'm going to thoroughly clean it out (it really doesn't appear to be that dirty though!

Do you guys think overheating is my issue even though this is really the first time it got turned on today? Is there anything else that could potentially cause this?


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## Tomken15 (Dec 7, 2011)

*Re: Dell Inspiron N5010 won't stay running*

It could be a failing HDD, but see what it is like after you've cleaned it out and/or renewed the paste.

How old is the laptop ?


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## Kingjim9 (Sep 27, 2012)

*Re: Dell Inspiron N5010 won't stay running*

The laptop will be 2 years old this December, I dont have any paste here in the house so all it's getting tonight is a good cleaning, if it still doesn't run then ill tear it back down and remove the heat sink and CPU and put new paste on it


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## Kingjim9 (Sep 27, 2012)

*Re: Dell Inspiron N5010 won't stay running*

Just tried to start it up, same result. It's been sitting idle mostly all day, and definitely since 7:20 to 11:30 tonight, surely it can't produce enough heat in the 30 seconds during the startup to trigger an overheat and shut down, can it?

So you think this could be a hard drive issue instead of a mother board problem?


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## Kingjim9 (Sep 27, 2012)

*Re: Dell Inspiron N5010 won't stay running*

Update: I removed the hard drive and attempted to boot up the laptop. I immediately went into the system setup, and just waited thinking that if it were a faulty hard drive it would stay running with it removed. 

Well sadly, it still shut down 50 seconds after it was turned on. Do you think this an issue with the motherboard?


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## Tomken15 (Dec 7, 2011)

*Re: Dell Inspiron N5010 won't stay running*

One test of the motherboard would be to boot up with the RAM removed and you should hear the RAM error beeps if the motherboard was okay.

If you get the beeps and you have more than one RAM stick, try booting with just the one in and alternating slots and sticks.

If it was a total RAM failure, then it wouldn't boot up at all and you would have already heard those.

When you have been booting up, have you heard any clicking or other noises other than the fan or the diskplayer initializing ?

These noises would indicate a failing HDD.


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## Kingjim9 (Sep 27, 2012)

*Re: Dell Inspiron N5010 won't stay running*

No, I haven't heard any noises during the process prior to the ram testing I did a little bit ago. 

With both RAM sticks removed it did indeed fail the POST and gave me two beeps. I inserted one stick back to its original spot and the computer still shut down a minute after power on, tried the same stick in the other slot with no luck either. 

I then put the other stick into both the original slot it was in, as well as the other slot, in both cases the laptop still shut down a minute after being turned on.


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## Tomken15 (Dec 7, 2011)

*Re: Dell Inspiron N5010 won't stay running*

Normally there would be tell-tale signs such as the odd click and performance issues leading up to a failed HDD - unless you had knocked it and similarily with overheating, an auto shut down when streaming a video or a large download to shutting down almost immediately when this overheating became critical, due to the fan unable to keep up or if it had stopped working.

On a 2 year old laptop to have reached this stage, there should have been evidence of blocking debris around the fan and CPU when a computer is normally used on a flat surface so that the fan intake was not restricted - as it can be when users take "laptop" litterally and use it resting on their knees or on a soft surface where the intake is restricted.

You could go ahead and renew the paste as it's displaying classic symptoms of overheating, but I'll flag one of the Mods on advice as to whether it's the HDD or CPU that could be the cause.


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## Kingjim9 (Sep 27, 2012)

*Re: Dell Inspiron N5010 won't stay running*

Thanks a lot Tomken, you've been really helpful throughout this and responded very quickly!!

I never did any over clocking or gaming with this, i use it to watch movies and Netflix on it though, but it never once shut down cause of heat, when I watch movies I would always set it on two blocks to help it better cool too. 

The only reason I doubt the HDD is because it did the same thing when I powered it on without the HDD installed.


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## Tomken15 (Dec 7, 2011)

*Re: Dell Inspiron N5010 won't stay running*

Guess that just leaves the CPU and could mean a take it in for repair job, but don't know what this would cost or if it would be viable.

It looks like the Manager that I'd PM'd has gone offline so I'll contact someone else who knows about these things.


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

*Re: Dell Inspiron N5010 won't stay running*

Remove the battery and see if it will run on AC power only.
Boot to the Bios and see if it will stay running.
Try booting from a Linux disc and see if it will run. That will bypass the Hdd.
Your description of the problem does sound like overheating.
Did this happen all of sudden or have you been experiencing problems?


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## Kingjim9 (Sep 27, 2012)

*Re: Dell Inspiron N5010 won't stay running*

Hi Tyree: I've tried AC power w/o the battery installed, and it still shut off one minute later. 

I did boot to bios and it still powered off. I also completely removed the HDD and just turned it on, it prompted me to select a boot option and I just let it sit there, it still resulted in the computer shut off about a minute after I turned it on. 

I don't have a Linux disk to try your third option either.


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## Kingjim9 (Sep 27, 2012)

*Re: Dell Inspiron N5010 won't stay running*

Sorry I forgot to add: this just started happening yesterday out of the blue. There were no prior issues with anything.


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## shawnpb (May 30, 2010)

*Re: Dell Inspiron N5010 won't stay running*

The problem can be due to bad voltage regulators on the motherboard or an over loading power adapter. If you can get a hold of a power adapter much like yours with the same output voltage and milliamps plug it in and try that to rule out your power adapter. 

Read this article Troubleshooting Laptop Power Problems


Update: Also read this I found similar problems that you are experiencing. 

Dell inspiron 1150 will not start | DaniWeb


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## Kingjim9 (Sep 27, 2012)

*Re: Dell Inspiron N5010 won't stay running*

Hey guys, sorry for the massive delay in this posting but I've been waiting for new parts to arrive. I picked up a new motherboard since I figured that would be the only thing causing the PC to just shut off and give no error message. I also picked up a new heat sink and fan while I was at it.

Just put them in the laptop and got her reassembled. It's working great!! Thanks for all the great help you guys provided when I was troubleshooting.

And Tomken, I'll be installing Speccy just to monitor the temps a little bit!!!


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## fexhung (Oct 5, 2012)

*Re: Dell Inspiron N5010 won't stay running*

Have you also run the diagnostics? It will do a quick scan on your hardware for any major issues. It's not detailed but sometimes it can detect things. If you keep pressing F12 a the initial Dell screen it'll pull up a menu where you can select to run the diagnostics.


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## Tomken15 (Dec 7, 2011)

An expensive repair, but glad you got it sorted - and thanks for the update.


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## Mwongera.D (Apr 25, 2016)

Hi,


I have the same dell inspiron n5010 which shuts down immeaditely when powered. doesn't even go past the DELL welcoming screen! All my attempts to clean up the vents/fan and reapplying the thermal paste both on cpu/gpu dint solve the problem neither did resitting the cpu/rams/hdd. Also disconnecting all the mainboard add-ons like hdd, dvd, wifi/Ethernet, sd cards and leaving the mainboard naked dint solve the problem. Conclusion; MOTHERBOARD IS DEAD !! RIP
Technicians will eat your money and some even miraculously make it work but the problem is still there and sure as night will come back! REPLACE THE *** BOARD OR GET NEW!!! 


#NOTBUYINGDELLEVERAGAIN_:banghead:_


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