first of all, sorry if this is not where my topic is supposed to be in, but i can't find a better-named thread to post this on..

moving on to the problem, i am using a laptop, Toshiba Satellite A45, Pentium 4, 2.8GHz, 496mb ram, only 40gb of hard disk, speed is 2790MHz.. no virus or spyware(i think, as i have scanned already with avg, lavasoft ad-aware, and spybot - search & destroy)..

the main problem is that my computer shuts down by itself, no warnings whatsoever.. this usually occurs when i'm using adobe photoshop cs or no$gba(a nintendo ds emulator).. i don't use 2 programs at a time though.. when using photoshop, i can still do minor stuff like coloring or drawing, but when i try to do some other stuff like lasso-ing, the laptop makes sort of a strong hissing sound, and then after a few seconds would shut off.. this doesnt happen though if i quickly turn off photoshop. same thing happens with no$gba, it's still ok when it's not generating 3d graphics, but once it does, the hissing sound starts, and then the laptop shuts down.. also, when the hissing sound starts, my cpu usage is around 90-100, no$gba sometimes takes up 40-98.. and cpu idle process is sometimes around that range too.. very seldomly, it also happens when i'm listening to music or watching videos.. and sometimes also when using macromedia flash 8..

the main thing i can think about is that my computer is overheating, but i dont know why.. cause i used to do a lot of stuff in photoshop less than a year ago.. and this does not happen.. and it only started about 2 months ago..

or do i just have to increase my laptop's configurations(like increase my hard disk space)?

i hope i have stated my problem clearly, thanks for any help that you guys may provide..

PS: oh, and actually it has gotten a bit better in the past week or so, since about 3-4 weeks ago i can't even run an anti-virus software without my laptop shutting down.. it was in that time i tried to have my laptop fixed my my uncle's company's technician, he recommended to increase the disk space.. thanks again for anything that could help.. :D

It sounds like it's overheating. Make sure there is clear airflow around and underneath the laptop. Try blowing out the vents with compressed air. You could also take it apart and clean out any dust, but this can be a little difficult with a laptop. You can have a look at the temperatures with SpeedFan.

thanks for the reply.. i tried it and somehow the help file is not really helping me much.. maybe it's a bit too complicated for me..

what do you mean by "try blowing out the vents with compressed air"?

Most laptops have air intake vents either on the side or underneath. If these get clogged with dust, air flow will be impaired within the case of the computer, which can lead to overheating. Blowing out the vents with compressed air can get rid of some of the dust. Or you could try cleaning any dust out of the vents with a cotton bud or similar.

See this article.

Cleaning A Laptop Computer

ok thanks!

if anyone else has something that could help, pls do post it.. thanks agaiN!

Try checking in the Event Viewer for errors at the times of the shut downs.

How To Use the Event Viewer

i dont really understand the event viewer thing..

well, at least now i'm sure that my laptop is shutting down because of overheating..

i'll just probably have this cleaned up in a computer repair shop.. thanks for the help Budapest! :D

unless your totally useless when it comes to computers you can probably clean it yourself.

ps. if blowing an compressed air dont work, an you really know what your doing open the laptop up an clean it directly. I was cleaning a friends computer an with all i did it was still getting hot. so i opened it up to find there was a big ball of dust inside the fans little case.

depending on your computer there might be multiply guides how do do that

err.. i'm not so confident with my opening-the-laptop-then-cleaning skills.. thanks for replying though.. :D