this can't be good

[BrandiDup]

Speaking of operating systems I think something is very wrong with mine. For the last half hour or so, my computer has been randomly shutting down and freezing by itself, then when I restart it says "Operating system not found" and it's just a black screen. After two or three attempts, it will start, but then it freezes up again once I get online to do something.

What's even weirder is when I do get back in, my icons on my desk top are all rearranged. They are all still there but they are moved around to different spots and scattered about on the desktop.

I JUST got this computer about two months ago, I have no idea what is going on already. I've been having issues with vista being slow but this shutting off and not being able to boot back up is new.

Does this sound like a virus or is it something else? I did a virus scan and didn't come up with anything. I don't know what else would cause my computer to act so weird though besides some sort of hardware failure maybe?

[Michael Biddle]

That is actually a custom computer. you should sell it on ebay for A LOT!

[BrandiDup]

Originally Posted by whitemike

That is actually a custom computer. you should sell it on ebay for A LOT!

It seems fine now. I shut it down normally and restarted normally and seems okay. I'm worried something is wrong with it though. It can't be normal to be shutting off randomly and saying it can't find operating system.

Guess it's a good thing that I got the extended warranty on it.

[Wayne Luke]

Randomly shutting down is usually a symptom of overheating. If it is only 60 days old, you should contact Sony before the 90 day warranty is up and have them look at the machine. They have certified repair shops throughout Southern California.

[BrandiDup]

It does get very hot if it's on for more than 6 or 8 hours at a time, but I thought that was pretty typical of laptops. I'm regretting the decision to get this laptop. I never even take it anywhere anyhow. Shoulda just gone with a desk top. Ah well, hindsight I guess...

Thank you for the suggestion.

[calorie]

In the meantime you might want to prop it up, something like this, to let air get underneath:

-------  <- laptop
^     ^  <- props

[Wayne Luke]

Or get something like: http://reviews.pricegrabber.com/lapt...ies/m/1754767/

[Brandon Sheley]

I'd check the power supply, do you use higher res then 800x600 ? If the pc is rebooting itself, it may revert to 800x600 res, that would cause your icons to get all jumbled up.

but I'd check out the power supply before you do anything drastic, a bad power supply will cause the pc to shut down, and show a black screen.

You can pick up a new power supply for 9$

oh, it's a laptop ?
I'd take it back if you can.

[BrandiDup]

Our puppy chewed the power cord a few days ago but only part of the wire was exposed and I wrapped it with electrical tape since it didn't appear to be too serious. It really didn't look like he did much damage to it, but he may have just loosened some of the wires on the inside that I couldn't see. I'll try going to get a new power cord before calling Sony. Hopefully it's just the power supply. My battery is a piece of junk anyway. It came with the laptop and I only get about an hour of time out of it, if I'm lucky. I need to invest in a better one, so I guess this gives me an excuse

[Freesteyelz]

Check your hard drive. It may be a sign of failing.