Random shutdowns on G55VW

[zltippett]

I recently purchased the G55VW-DH71 and have had mostly good experiences with the games I've played. The problem I'm running in to is random shutdowns. In the first week I've had the laptop it has shutdown randomly 3 times so far. I felt like something is not right so I've already submitted a replacement request through Amazon. They're sending out a new one so no big deal.

It just concerns me because the shutdowns are completely random and I'm worried that this will cause some disk corruption and I'll start loosing data. I've already started backing up my data just in case. The laptop has shutdown while playing a game, reading news through a Windows 8 app, and another time just browsing the web.

My question is, how common is this, or did I just get a bad laptop? I just want to make sure I'm not returning it for the wrong reason. Meaning, I hope I'm not overlooking something simple.

Thanks!

[Apexing]

could you go into windows log and see if there is an error in system or program tab in there.
it might make it easier to help you that way.

[zltippett]

Apexing wrote:
could you go into windows log and see if there is an error in system or program tab in there.
it might make it easier to help you that way.

I checked the system error log and found where it lists every shutdown that occurred. Here's what I get.

1. The previous system shutdown at 9:31:43 PM on ‎2/‎27/‎2013 was unexpected.

2. The system has rebooted without cleanly shutting down first. This error could be caused if the system stopped responding, crashed, or lost power unexpectedly.

Before error 2 is always this error.

File System Filter 'npsvctrig' (6.2, ‎2012‎-‎07‎-‎25T21:27:33.000000000Z) has successfully loaded and registered with Filter Manager.

I'm thinking that's not a problem as I looked up what npsvctrig is and it seems to be a Windows service that's required.

What specifically should I be looking for besides the two errors I've posted? I checked the thread on Random restarts, but that's a little different than what I'm seeing since I'm not using Hibernate, only standby.

Thanks!

Edit: The application error log doesn't seem to have any errors that match up with the power down errors in the system log.

[Pitcher1]

are you trying restore os? is it happen again?

[Apexing]

okay, then it does not seem to be an error in windows.
does it randomly shut down on both only when running battery, or only running from ac ?

[zltippett]

Apexing wrote:
okay, then it does not seem to be an error in windows.
does it randomly shut down on both only when running battery, or only running from ac ?

I never actually used it much off AC, so always on AC. I actually just got the replacement from Amazon, so we'll see how this goes. Hopefully it was just a faulty laptop and all will be OK.

Thanks anyways!

[dstrakele]

A defective power adapter, bad battery, or even a poor source of electrical power can result in unexpected shutdowns. Since you report the problem occurs when plugged in, a defective power adapter could be the most likely cause.

Alternatively, if the shutdown occurs while on battery, it could be a battery calibration problem where the battery monitor in Windows believes the charge remaining in the battery is more than actually exists. As a result, the battery runs out of power while Windows hasn't even warned of a low battery. Battery Calibration can resolve this type of issue.

Overheating is another common cause of unexpected shutdowns, particularly in this forum, where gaming stresses the GPU and raises its temperature to the point where the laptop shuts down to prevent damage. This is caused by insufficient cooling due to poor application of thermal paste, old thermal paste, fan issues, and/or dust clogging fan intakes or exhausts.

Since your issue occurred during browsing and you didn't report elevated fan speeds, I believe it more likely to be a power issue.

[zltippett]

Thanks for your reply. I will keep those things in mind while I try out the new replacement. It's unfortunate that I may not ever know what the problem may have been, unless it occurs again. But, I figured since I haven't had the laptop more than two weeks, it was a good idea to return it to Amazon for now.

Thanks again!

dstrakele wrote:
A defective power adapter, bad battery, or even a poor source of electrical power can result in unexpected shutdowns. Since you report the problem occurs when plugged in, a defective power adapter could be the most likely cause.

Alternatively, if the shutdown occurs while on battery, it could be a battery calibration problem where the battery monitor in Windows believes the charge remaining in the battery is more than actually exists. As a result, the battery runs out of power while Windows hasn't even warned of a low battery. Battery Calibration can resolve this type of issue.

Overheating is another common cause of unexpected shutdowns, particularly in this forum, where gaming stresses the GPU and raises its temperature to the point where the laptop shuts down to prevent damage. This is caused by insufficient cooling due to poor application of thermal paste, old thermal paste, fan issues, and/or dust clogging fan intakes or exhausts.

Since your issue occurred during browsing and you didn't report elevated fan speeds, I believe it more likely to be a power issue.

[dstrakele]

zltippett wrote:
But, I figured since I haven't had the laptop more than two weeks, it was a good idea to return it to Amazon for now.

I think you figured right...

[zltippett]

Ok, looks like this is happening on the replacement laptop as well. I'm starting to think this may be some software issue as I can't believe I'd get two defective laptops with the exact same problem.

Here's what I've done so far. Yesterday I installed some software updates for the Audio, Video, Bluetooth, WiFi and BIOS. I'm guessing the problems may not be related to the software drivers so my first guess was BIOS. I went from the pre-installed BIOS level of 213, to the latest 217. I've done this on other Asus laptops with no issues, so I figured it would be safe.

I think this problem started happening after the flash to 217. I used these instructions on how to get back to the recovery BIOS. It worked without any problems so I'm back to the pre-installed BIOS of 213.

Hopefully that will fix my problem, otherwise I'm really not sure what else to try.