Dying (?) Laptop

officerripley

officerripley

Well-known Member
Location
Porlock, Calif
Okay, so my 3-year old Dell laptop might be dying. It keeps shutting down unexpectedly and saying it's because the "Intel Dynamic Tuner stopped working." So my techy guy is out of town on vacation. (Hey they deserve vacations too, lol. :ROFLMAO:) So he can't look at it 'till next Thursday, so I tried researching it and supposedly it means that it's overheating, even though one time it shut down it was in the morning about 15 min. after I turned it on, so okay whatever.

So I'm thinking if he can't get it fixed and I have to get a new one, I'm not gonna cheap out this time, I'm gonna get a really good quality, top-of-the line laptop next time. So I googled something like "long-lasting laptops that don't overheat" and the one at the top of the list: same model I got now, sigh. Anyway, wish me luck.
 

My refurbished Toshiba laptop is about 3 years old. For the past couple weeks I have been typing out messages and when I look up ( I can't type without looking at the keyboard ) I have missed a lot of letters that I thought for sure I typed. I thought for awhile that I was having some kind of dementia
attack. :) So I finally plugged a usb keyboard in and sure enough my laptop keyboard is going out! I am so glad that I am not going bonkers. :)
 
Call and talk to Dell. You don't have to buy online, you can talk to real people. Ask about business class laptops and "rugged" laptops. If you have a big bank account then Panasonic Toughbook is the first class option.
 

In the meantime, if you are having heat issues you might want to get a can of compressed air and clean out the fan. That is often the cause of overheating issues. I'm guessing though that since you do have a tech guy that he has told you this before in the past. Just a thought if he hasn't .
 
Laptops can be quite susceptible to overheating. Their small size, and limited airflow from a small fan increases the likelihood of heat problems, especially if used flat on a table/desk top. Most have small "legs" that can prop up the back side to allow better airflow. It's probably a good idea to remove as much of the bottom plates as possible, and blow out any dust accumulation about once a year.
 
Thanks for all the good advice. My laptop doesn't have legs but I've got 4 small, 1-1/2 inch Tupperware lids underneath the laptop which at least helps to get a little air flowing underneath. And thanks, Lawrence, I'm definitely going to check out the Panasonic Toughbook; I'm pretty much on the laptop from about 5 a.m. 'till about 9 pm every day so I'm thinking it might be time to go that route. Thanks again, yall.
 
I was just talking to my friend who produces music and music videos last night. She has different computers for different projects, including a Mac. She said Dell was the best computer for producing the music videos. That means it has a lot of processing power. I think she has a desktop though, not laptop. I'll have to ask her. I hope you're able to resolve this ASAP and inexpensively Officer. And if you do have to get another one, you have the right idea about getting a really good one.
 
officerripley said:
Okay, so my 3-year old Dell laptop might be dying. It keeps shutting down unexpectedly and saying it's because the "Intel Dynamic Tuner stopped working." So my techy guy is out of town on vacation. (Hey they deserve vacations too, lol. :ROFLMAO:) So he can't look at it 'till next Thursday, so I tried researching it and supposedly it means that it's overheating, even though one time it shut down it was in the morning about 15 min. after I turned it on, so okay whatever.

So I'm thinking if he can't get it fixed and I have to get a new one, I'm not gonna cheap out this time, I'm gonna get a really good quality, top-of-the line laptop next time. So I googled something like "long-lasting laptops that don't overheat" and the one at the top of the list: same model I got now, sigh. Anyway, wish me luck.
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Have you checked the Dell website for updates for your laptop? If not try that. Drive and BIOS updates.
 
Laptops will over heat if they are constantly turned off and on too often. If you want to use it again later in the day it is better to put it on sleep or whatever your power options are, just don't turn it off and on too frequently, that applies to a desktop to.
 
Bellbird said:
Laptops will over heat if they are constantly turned off and on too often. If you want to use it again later in the day it is better to put it on sleep or whatever your power options are, just don't turn it off and on too frequently, that applies to a desktop to.
Click to expand...
I turn mine on early in the morning (usually about 5:00) and then off about 8 or 9 p.m. Maybe I should just leave it on always like I do my laptop? :unsure:
 
officerripley said:
Okay, so my 3-year old Dell laptop might be dying. It keeps shutting down unexpectedly and saying it's because the "Intel Dynamic Tuner stopped working." So my techy guy is out of town on vacation. (Hey they deserve vacations too, lol. :ROFLMAO:) So he can't look at it 'till next Thursday, so I tried researching it and supposedly it means that it's overheating, even though one time it shut down it was in the morning about 15 min. after I turned it on, so okay whatever.

So I'm thinking if he can't get it fixed and I have to get a new one, I'm not gonna cheap out this time, I'm gonna get a really good quality, top-of-the line laptop next time. So I googled something like "long-lasting laptops that don't overheat" and the one at the top of the list: same model I got now, sigh. Anyway, wish me luck.
Click to expand...
As others have mentioned: blow out any dust bunnies that might be clogging the vents. The Intel Dynamic Tuner is a software driver, Dell is offering a download in order to fix some error message. Dell Intel Dynamic Tuning driver.
 
Thanks, Nathan! I tried searching for it on both the Dell and Intel sites but what I kept pulling up said wouldn't work for my laptop model but this one you posted is different. I'm going to try it, thanks again!
 
officerripley said:
I turn mine on early in the morning (usually about 5:00) and then off about 8 or 9 p.m. Maybe I should just leave it on always like I do my laptop? :unsure:
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Good morning Officerripley, I Understood that it was your laptop,
that is giving you problems, as you stated on your opening post!

If it is your desktop, then that is easier, take the cover off and clean
the fan and ventilation holes, after unplugging it.

Mike.
 
Nathan said:
As others have mentioned: blow out any dust bunnies that might be clogging the vents. The Intel Dynamic Tuner is a software driver, Dell is offering a download in order to fix some error message. Dell Intel Dynamic Tuning driver.
Click to expand...
Thanks for that link, Nathan but it turned out to be for the wrong model; when I put my model in, it says I've got the latest driver. Oh, well; since I'm not good at reinstalling most things, I'll wait for my tech guy, he's worth every penny.

Mike said:
Good morning Officerripley, I Understood that it was your laptop,
that is giving you problems, as you stated on your opening post!

If it is your desktop, then that is easier, take the cover off and clean
the fan and ventilation holes, after unplugging it.

Mike.
Click to expand...
Thanks, Mike, I did, using the compressed air type computer duster, carefully blow out all the vents and the ports but since I don't have a screwdriver small enough to take the cover off (we're talking about the size of the head of a pin!), I'll let my techy guy do that too.
 
officerripley said:
Thanks for that link, Nathan but it turned out to be for the wrong model; when I put my model in, it says I've got the latest driver. Oh, well; since I'm not good at reinstalling most things, I'll wait for my tech guy, he's worth every penny.


Thanks, Mike, I did, using the compressed air type computer duster, carefully blow out all the vents and the ports but since I don't have a screwdriver small enough to take the cover off (we're talking about the size of the head of a pin!), I'll let my techy guy do that too.
Click to expand...
How did this turn out for you? My laptop just crashed. Did you get yours fixed? Buy a new/used one? Inquiring minds want to know. :)
 
Paco Dennis said:
How did this turn out for you? My laptop just crashed. Did you get yours fixed? Buy a new/used one? Inquiring minds want to know. :)
Click to expand...
Oh, no, sorry about your laptop. My techy guy got here early. He said mine had a virus--I run a virus check daily but I guess they can get in anyway sometimes--and he updated a graphics driver, not the Dynamic Tuner one that stopped working, a different one. So far seems like he really got it fixed. Oh, and he also removed the anti-virus program I was using (Avast) and put Avira on. So I'm hoping for the best. Hope you can get yours fixed, good luck.
 

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