# [SOLVED] Acer Aspire 5720 randomly shutting down.



## SilentFate (Mar 24, 2010)

My Acer Aspire 5720 has been randomly shutting down at more frequent intervals then usual. 

The laptop is approximately 3 years old so it may be just a problem of cleaning the laptop with compressed air but being im at school i can't check that right now.

It used to be extremely rare, i could go months without it randomly shutting off. Seeing that it was not too important i did not bother investigating it. Now however, i can barely watch anything without it doing this. a huge inconvinience at college where i have 3 hour breaks.

I've only seen this problem while either running a video (specifically an anime) or playing an emulator, as the game will start to lag and then the labtop shuts down. it happens MUCH more often with an anime though.

For the video the same thing happens' today just now i finished watching 2 episodes of an anime and at the third one, right when the opening started it started to lag so the voices were past what was being shown on the screen and then without warning it shut off.

If its of any note, sometimes the charge indicator appears orange right after it shuts off, after unplugging the charger it just goes away.

upon rebooting it, it only lasted 5 minutes and i just left it on. I checked to see if the bottom was heating up or not but i cant tell whats a "normal" temperature in comparison to a dangerous one

Any help is appreciated, im using windows vista ultimate. If im on the internet or even just watching a youtube video the problem never occurs. The laptop might just be slowly dying but I'd like to confirm it since its extremely essential for school.

Ill definitely see if cleaning it does anything and when i get home tonight ill watch a few anime episodes to see if it shuts off.

Computer specs are:

intel core 2 duo processor T5250
1.5 Ghz, 667 Mhz FSB, 2mB l2 cache)
2GB DDR2
120G HD
358MB Mobile Intel graphics

if any more information is needed just ask, thanks for the help.


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## tallin (Apr 26, 2008)

*Re: Acer Aspire 5720 randomly shutting down.*

 to *TSF*,

The cleaning you propose to do would be a major factor I would think.

Have you got sufficient air circulating around your Laptop - In other works please do not use it on your lap or on a blanket while you are in bed.........

What house keeping for your Laptop do you do? meaning Cleaning Temporary internet files, Anti-Spyware, and Anti-Malware software installed.

Computers are like your house, they need continual maintenance to work at top speed.

Let me know if the above assists you.

kind regards,


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## windwispers (Mar 24, 2010)

*Re: Acer Aspire 5720 randomly shutting down.*

I agree with tallin . You do need good ventalation for your laptop. Never place anything close to the vent on your laptop. I always use a fan when playing games as they tend to get pretty warm to the touch and shut off.. And never put your laptop on pillows bedding etc. It blocks the circulation and causes it to over heat ....


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## SilentFate (Mar 24, 2010)

*Re: Acer Aspire 5720 randomly shutting down.*

Thanks for the welcome.

Im also hoping the cleaning will help, I have class in 19 minutes so i will only be able to find out at around 4.30 but I'll post back to see if anything changes. (its 2.14 now) 

I use my laptop on my desk so its a flat surface. I usually have it sort of elevated with 2 eraser's on the sides. i dont know if this would change anything. Just before when i was using it at school it was on a flat surface as well. actually it hardly ever shuts off at home, it usually happens at school. I havent watched an anime at home in a while so when i get home i will clean it then proceed to watch one.

Im using Microsoft security essentials, CCleaner everytime the computer turns on, should i have anything else?. The actual speed of the laptop is very fast when on the internet, i can usually have multiple tabs open with no problems. video's usually cause it to shutoff. but excluding youtube, the laptop is pretty good being 3 - 3 1/2 years old.

Thanks for the help, i appreciate it.


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## SilentFate (Mar 24, 2010)

*Re: Acer Aspire 5720 randomly shutting down.*



windwispers said:


> I agree with tallin . You do need good ventalation for your laptop. Never place anything close to the vent on your laptop. I always use a fan when playing games as they tend to get pretty warm to the touch and shut off.. And never put your laptop on pillows bedding etc. It blocks the circulation and causes it to over heat ....


I have my Ps3 on the same desk as my laptop. would that cause any issues? I think im gonna dust my entire room when i get home <_<. I have a feeling its to do with dust, well im HOPING thats all it is.


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## tallin (Apr 26, 2008)

*Re: Acer Aspire 5720 randomly shutting down.*



> should i have anything else?.


Have you installed Malwarbytes? The link is in my last post to you - very important to run it regularly in my opinion.

What Backup have you got?


> I have my Ps3 on the same desk as my laptop. would that cause any issues?


I would say the answer is no, not a problem.

By the way, compliments on your first post with all the information you gave. Good post making it easy for us to assist you. ray:

Hope too it is only dust.

kind regards,


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## geosnooker2000 (Mar 22, 2010)

*Re: Acer Aspire 5720 randomly shutting down.*



SilentFate said:


> I have my Ps3 on the same desk as my laptop. would that cause any issues? I think im gonna dust my entire room when i get home <_<. I have a feeling its to do with dust, well im HOPING thats all it is.


You may find that when you disassemble your laptop, you need to clean off, and then re-thermal paste your heat sink to your processor. I'm just saying that because it's 3 1/2 years old. That could be a cause of overheating, along with dust clogging up the fins on you heat sink radiator. Need a toothpick for the radiator.


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## SilentFate (Mar 24, 2010)

*Re: Acer Aspire 5720 randomly shutting down.*

The problem has got quite a bit worse unfortunately..:sigh:

I got home today and what i did was dust around the laptop and also clean it. I put the compressed air in one of the side fans and some dust came out, nothing too major.

I did not take it apart, i figured a tho-rough cleaning would be fine but it seems i might have to do that after what happened just now.

I got home, cleaned it a bit, turned the laptop on. it had been approximately 4 hours since it had shut off at school randomly. ccleaner ran, things looked good. I decided to open the anime episode.

No more then 4 minutes in and it shut off. Worse though is that i cannot even turn the laptop on for a tiny bit of time. my dad just got in and hes pretty good with computers he says it might be a hardware failure but being i cant even turn it on for longer than like a minute.. cant exactly confirm anything.

it unfortunately looks like i might have to purchase a new one, but until i try whatever solutions i can do i wont resort to that. i think me and my dad might take it apart.

Thanks for the help.


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## tallin (Apr 26, 2008)

*Re: Acer Aspire 5720 randomly shutting down.*

Near to where you live, I would take it to a reputable IT shop, tell your story as you have here, ask them to test the HD as they have the equipment to do tests that we cannot help you with here.

I feel you need the hands on approach now, a HD test, a professional clean inside and out. Certainly cheaper than:


> it unfortunately looks like i might have to purchase a new one,


That would be my advice to you under the circumstances.

Good luck,

Best regards,


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## SilentFate (Mar 24, 2010)

*Re: Acer Aspire 5720 randomly shutting down.*

Well there are a few things me and my dad are going to try.

Installing a new Bios didn't work at all, the laptop kept turning on and off at an interval of 4 seconds or so.

However, when we got to the actual desktop. it runs perfectly fine, so it looks like it only shuts off when watching a video.

So i am going to try to transfer the video to a DVD first so it plays off the DVD and thus does not overheat (if thats the issue) the laptop.

Im gonna test this tommorow along with opening it up and cleaning it. Honestly i dont know a single IT shop here (Quebec) but i figure if its ONLY a problem with running video, that does not exactly merit buying a new laptop. if the DVD trick does not work, i will test streaming. I've never played games on this laptop aside from emulators, and that would be my next test tommorow to see if it shuts off while the ps1 emulator is running. Im crossing my fingers that either streaming/putting them on the DVD gets rid of the problem, since internet and etc work great. 

Very much appreciated for the help. Thank you!
Great forums. ray:


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## tallin (Apr 26, 2008)

*Re: Acer Aspire 5720 randomly shutting down.*

Okay, but keep me updated on your progress......Ask around for a recommendation regarding a trustworthy IT shop.........It is always good to have one up your sleeve if we cannot help you.

Good luck tomorrow,

best regards, :wave:


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## macaronnik (Mar 25, 2010)

*Re: Acer Aspire 5720 randomly shutting down.*

Check your notebook for spyware 
Use nod32 or something like this


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## Darknothing (Mar 20, 2010)

*Re: Acer Aspire 5720 randomly shutting down.*

my acer use to shut down, 1yr old, opened it up found cooling system clogged up. simple clean.

check for viruses also.


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## SilentFate (Mar 24, 2010)

*Re: Acer Aspire 5720 randomly shutting down.*

Update: After taking it apart, cleaning the fan and getting alot of dust out. after turning on the laptop it now runs at a good 35-38c instead of 74 before. so the problem is solved.
it peaks to about 50 on games but it does not shut off anymore.
So the thread can be closed

I would like to thank everyone for the help!


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## tallin (Apr 26, 2008)

*Re: Acer Aspire 5720 randomly shutting down.*

Well done to you and your Dad.ray: So pleased you are up and running again. Make sure you keep your system clean from now on as heat is the bane of all electronics.

If you are happy with the service you received here, would you to go *Thread Tools *at the top of your first post and scroll down to *SOLVED* thanks.

Come and see us again if you need, 

best regards, :wave:


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## SilentFate (Mar 24, 2010)

Done 

I'll be back definitely if anything goes wrong 

:wave:


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