Black Screen Shutdown

[norton]

I own an IBM (now Leveno) ThinkPad Type 2886-5TU laptop that I purchased in Nov 2004.  It is running Windows XP Pro Version 2002 Service Pack 3.  It is located on a desk in the same location since I purchased it.  I clean it every 6 weeks including vacuuming all intake and exhaust ports.  The battery is at the end of its life, since when I run it on battery power alone it quickly discharges.  Over the past two months the computer will go to black screen with no warning.  The only way I can get it back up is to hit the power button.  When I start it up right away, it tends to repeat the black screen scenario, which leads me to believe that it is overheating.  The fan seems to be running the same as always.  I do not hear any unusual noises.  When I get the computer running again, it will run for days/weeks before the problem reoccurs.  Questions:  Is there any other problem other than overheating that could be causing this problem?  Is there any way to check to see if it is overheating?  What is the computer doing when it goes to black screen?  Is it going into "hibernation"?  I have read about this but am not sure what it is.  Is it possible that the battery is causing the problem?  If the problem is overheating is the solution only to replace the fan?

Thank you in advance for your help.

[richiehughes]

Well one thing to check is to go into Control Panel and open Power Options. Click on the Hibernate tab and check if hibernation is enabled and if enabled, when its set to go into hibernation.

Have you tried checking the Event Viewer? Some times problems like the one you are having are logged in the event viewer with either a yellow or red icon. Check the event viewer by going into the control panel, administrative tools and event viewer. Check for any entries which have yellow or red icons. If you remember roughly the time and date of when you last had this problem then look for any errors which occurred around that time. You can double click on these entries to get more information. If you find an entire which you think could be the reported error for your problem then you can google search the error number which it gives you when you double click on its entry.

[norton]

Thank you very much for the information.

I checked the hibernation tab which indicates that it is enabled and what it does.  It does not tell me when it is implemented.  Would it happen without notice and if so, under what circumstances?  Is powering on the way you are supposed to get a laptop out of hibernation?

I looked at the event viewer.  This looks like a great tool.  Since I do not  remember when this last happened I could not correlate the events with the problem.  I will be sure to check this the next time I have the problem.

Again, thank you.

[richiehughes]

Your welcome 

If hibernation is enabled, then hibernation normally occurs when the laptop is about to run out of battery power when the power cord is not plugged in, after 10 minutes of the screen saver, closing the lid over. You can change these settings by going into control panel and power options and in the Power Schemes tab, at the bottom there is System hibernates. You can change these settings for when the laptops plugged in or running on batteries. You can also change hibernate settings in the Advanced tab. For example, When I close the lid of my portable computer: Hibernate. If you don't want hibernation then you can disable it completely by clicking the Hibernate tab and un check the Enable hibernate box then click on Apply, OK.

Hope this helps!