Laptop Turns Off Suddenly?
It's frustrating. You're in the middle of a game or important work, and *click* - your laptop powers off instantly. No warning, no "Shutting Down" screen. This is a Thermal Safety Cutoff, and it's saving your laptop from burning out. We fix the root cause.
The "PROCHOT" Signal
Every modern laptop processor has a built-in safety wire called "PROCHOT" (Processor Hot). When the temperature hits the critical limit (usually 100°C or 105°C), the CPU sends an emergency signal to the power chip to cut all power instantly.
This is not a software crash. Reinstalling Windows won't help. This is a hardware physics problem. The heat cannot leave the chip fast enough.
Common causes include: failed heatpipes (the vacuum gas inside leaks out), popped screws on the heatsink mount, or a dead fan. We inspect all of these.
Diagnosis Checklist
1. Heatpipe Failure
Heatpipes work by evaporating liquid inside a copper tube. If the tube gets a microscopic crack, the gas escapes, and the pipe becomes a solid copper bar which is terrible at moving heat. Diagnosis: One end is hot, the other is cold.
2. Mounting Pressure Low
The heatsink must be screwed down with specific torque. If a screw housing (standoff) snaps off the motherboard - common on cheap HP laptops - the heatsink lifts up slightly, breaking contact with the CPU.
3. Sensor Malfunction
Rarely, the temperature sensor itself is lying. It might report 100°C when the chip is actually cool. We use infrared cameras to verify the actual board temperature versus the reported sensor data.
Immediate Steps
If your laptop just shut down from heat:
- Stop!: Do not try to turn it back on immediately. Let it cool for 15 minutes. Repeated thermal shocks can crack the BGA solder balls under the GPU.
- Bring it in: Continued use will kill the motherboard. A £50 cleaning service is cheaper than a £400 motherboard.
Stress Testing
We don't guess. We prove it.
- AIDA64: Full system thermal load test.
- FurMark: Extreme GPU stress testing.
- Pass: We only return it if it stays stable for 1hr+.
Shutdown FAQs
Why it goes dark.
Is it the battery?
Usually not. If it shuts down only when doing heavy tasks (gaming, rendering), it's heat. If it shuts down randomly even when cold, it might be battery or motherboard power issues.
Can I raise the temperature limit?
No. The 100°C limit is hard-coded into the silicon by Intel/AMD to prevent physical destruction. You cannot and should not override it.
My heatpipe is broken. Can you fix it?
You cannot repair a heatpipe. You must replace the entire heatsink assembly. We can source these parts for most laptops.