Unexpected Shutdowns

Yes I am another sufferer of this malaise. My laptop has been doing this for
4 months now, and despite downloading all relevant Vista updates and service
packs, and ATI graphics and CPU chipset updates I still get the problem
whether I have nothing open (Desktop only) or if I am using Internet
Explorer, Word, Excel, Windows Explorer..... The screen goes black, only the
power light is on, and I have to re-boot using the power button. About 1 in
10 times (currently it happens 4-5 times per hour till I give up again in
frustration) I get a message that Windows has detected an 'unexpected
problem' (usually there is no message indicating there is even a problem) and
after looking for the source, says its to do with the display driver. The
Windows help site says not my problem, go to the graphics card (ATI in this
instance) site, they say not my problem, go to the Toshiba site. Toshiba site
offers some driver upgrades, but to date (29/1/08) all updates have been
downloaded and still I get the same random problem. If I could I would
downgrade to XP o/s and Office 2003, but the o/s is hard wired somehow to the
hardware and it simply cannot be done (according to my professional IT friend
- who recommends don't touch Vista under any circumstances, and he runs a
major UN IT department!!!)

Heeeeelp - any 'go to' sites' / suggestions!!!

System details = Toshiba Satellite A200; Part Number - PSAF6A-02H01N; OS
Vista™ Home Premium 6.0.6000; ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2600
version=8.380.0.0; Screen Resolution @ 1280 x 800; Office 2007 programs. Also
run AVG anti-virus.

Re: Unexpected Shutdowns

"DaveF" wrote in message
news:DBB5F02B-9084-4C53-A40D-3FEC26030505@microsoft.com...
> Yes I am another sufferer of this malaise. My laptop has been doing this
> for
> 4 months now, and despite downloading all relevant Vista updates and
> service
> packs, and ATI graphics and CPU chipset updates I still get the problem
> whether I have nothing open (Desktop only) or if I am using Internet
> Explorer, Word, Excel, Windows Explorer..... The screen goes black, only
> the
> power light is on, and I have to re-boot using the power button. About 1
> in
> 10 times (currently it happens 4-5 times per hour till I give up again in
> frustration) I get a message that Windows has detected an 'unexpected
> problem' (usually there is no message indicating there is even a problem)
> and
> after looking for the source, says its to do with the display driver. The
> Windows help site says not my problem, go to the graphics card (ATI in
> this
> instance) site, they say not my problem, go to the Toshiba site. Toshiba
> site
> offers some driver upgrades, but to date (29/1/08) all updates have been
> downloaded and still I get the same random problem. If I could I would
> downgrade to XP o/s and Office 2003, but the o/s is hard wired somehow to
> the
> hardware and it simply cannot be done (according to my professional IT
> friend
> - who recommends don't touch Vista under any circumstances, and he runs a
> major UN IT department!!!)
>
> Heeeeelp - any 'go to' sites' / suggestions!!!
>
> System details = Toshiba Satellite A200; Part Number - PSAF6A-02H01N; OS
> Vista™ Home Premium 6.0.6000; ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2600
> version=8.380.0.0; Screen Resolution @ 1280 x 800; Office 2007 programs.
> Also
> run AVG anti-virus.


Looks like a current model (your Satellite A200)? Is it still under
warranty? Did Toshiba ship it with Vista installed?
If so, contact the vendor, or Toshiba directly, and get the warranty service
you paid for as part of the purchase. Toshiba is 100% responsible for
supporting both the hardware *and* the OEM software they supplied, which
includes Vista. Besides, you may well have a hardware problem.

FWIW, your "professional" friend is all wet about Vista being "hard wired"
to the laptop. The only caution would be to make sure there are Win XP
drivers available for all the hardware *before attempting to install XP.
Again, that is an option you might explore with Toshiba tech support.

Re: Unexpected Shutdowns

Wrong forum

but since this is just about the only question posted here that i can answer
and i asked a few myself so would like to give back to community :)

i have downgraded 4 HP pavilion laptops from vista to xp.
(working on the 4th---need to find a wireless network driver. other 3 are
fine)
I definitely recomend downgrading if you have sub 2gigs of ram

for the last 2 they had a SATA harddrive. Regular XP cd doesnt have drivers
for that so you will have to burn a spcialized windows cd with a sata driver
or you will get a no harddrive found error at instalation in dos email me ar
iamarcin_83@yahoo.com and i will send you a link to that. i lost it if you
go that direction i will find a guide for this again

Of course you will have problems along the way but only with drivers which
is what you seem to be having now. Either fix it in vista or downgrade to xp
and that driver problem might get even worse.

i know costco and bestbuy have a good return policy so you could try to
exchange it
dont pay atention to the 3 month thing go back with receipt and
see what they can do

i sugest you burn a recovery disc. There is a program in the start menu for
that. And then try it.
You might spend hours looking for the right drivers. So before doing so go
to
control pannel --> system --> (tab) hardware --> device manager and find
the devices that you have
the name and model number of your
graphic card
network wired and wireless
sound card
chipset
harddrive
before you do anything else in case you want to go back to what you had.
also try to uninstall the driver and let the laptop chose the best one at
startup instead of installing one.
the driver is saved in your windows/sys32 directory so when you reboot at
worst case you will have the same problem

hope this helps




"DaveF" wrote in message
news:DBB5F02B-9084-4C53-A40D-3FEC26030505@microsoft.com...
> Yes I am another sufferer of this malaise. My laptop has been doing this
> for
> 4 months now, and despite downloading all relevant Vista updates and
> service
> packs, and ATI graphics and CPU chipset updates I still get the problem
> whether I have nothing open (Desktop only) or if I am using Internet
> Explorer, Word, Excel, Windows Explorer..... The screen goes black, only
> the
> power light is on, and I have to re-boot using the power button. About 1
> in
> 10 times (currently it happens 4-5 times per hour till I give up again in
> frustration) I get a message that Windows has detected an 'unexpected
> problem' (usually there is no message indicating there is even a problem)
> and
> after looking for the source, says its to do with the display driver. The
> Windows help site says not my problem, go to the graphics card (ATI in
> this
> instance) site, they say not my problem, go to the Toshiba site. Toshiba
> site
> offers some driver upgrades, but to date (29/1/08) all updates have been
> downloaded and still I get the same random problem. If I could I would
> downgrade to XP o/s and Office 2003, but the o/s is hard wired somehow to
> the
> hardware and it simply cannot be done (according to my professional IT
> friend
> - who recommends don't touch Vista under any circumstances, and he runs a
> major UN IT department!!!)
>
> Heeeeelp - any 'go to' sites' / suggestions!!!
>
> System details = Toshiba Satellite A200; Part Number - PSAF6A-02H01N; OS
> VistaT Home Premium 6.0.6000; ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2600
> version=8.380.0.0; Screen Resolution @ 1280 x 800; Office 2007 programs.
> Also
> run AVG anti-virus.

Re: Unexpected Shutdowns

Hello Marcin & PvdG42 - Really appreciate your responses, so to sum up, it
seems I might have both hardware and driver problems in a <6months old
computer, and that an XP downgrade may be advisable though difficult. The
laptop is under warranty (extended world wide), and I will pursue that as the
next step but it is not that simple....I bought it in Australia and am living
in Switzerland - no problem except that language, warranty centre in a
different part of the country to me, and non-acceptance of different serial
number systems are small barriers (European Toshiba site does not recognise
the Asia-Pacific serial number). Re: the 'hard wired' phrase, I used that
term maybe loosely, as it did ship with Vista pre-installed. It seems strange
that a system that has been around for several years is still the preferred
choice by so many eh? Don't get me started on the much vaunted Office07
programs..... so far my experience is, to coin an Australian phrase, all 'fur
coat and no pants'. Thanks again and if I achieve resolution, I will report
back to ya'll.

"Marcin Wiszowaty" wrote:

> Wrong forum
>
> but since this is just about the only question posted here that i can answer
> and i asked a few myself so would like to give back to community :)
>
> i have downgraded 4 HP pavilion laptops from vista to xp.
> (working on the 4th---need to find a wireless network driver. other 3 are
> fine)
> I definitely recomend downgrading if you have sub 2gigs of ram
>
> for the last 2 they had a SATA harddrive. Regular XP cd doesnt have drivers
> for that so you will have to burn a spcialized windows cd with a sata driver
> or you will get a no harddrive found error at instalation in dos email me ar
> iamarcin_83@yahoo.com and i will send you a link to that. i lost it if you
> go that direction i will find a guide for this again
>
> Of course you will have problems along the way but only with drivers which
> is what you seem to be having now. Either fix it in vista or downgrade to xp
> and that driver problem might get even worse.
>
> i know costco and bestbuy have a good return policy so you could try to
> exchange it
> dont pay atention to the 3 month thing go back with receipt and
> see what they can do
>
> i sugest you burn a recovery disc. There is a program in the start menu for
> that. And then try it.
> You might spend hours looking for the right drivers. So before doing so go
> to
> control pannel --> system --> (tab) hardware --> device manager and find
> the devices that you have
> the name and model number of your
> graphic card
> network wired and wireless
> sound card
> chipset
> harddrive
> before you do anything else in case you want to go back to what you had.
> also try to uninstall the driver and let the laptop chose the best one at
> startup instead of installing one.
> the driver is saved in your windows/sys32 directory so when you reboot at
> worst case you will have the same problem
>
> hope this helps
>
>
>
>
> "DaveF" wrote in message
> news:DBB5F02B-9084-4C53-A40D-3FEC26030505@microsoft.com...
> > Yes I am another sufferer of this malaise. My laptop has been doing this
> > for
> > 4 months now, and despite downloading all relevant Vista updates and
> > service
> > packs, and ATI graphics and CPU chipset updates I still get the problem
> > whether I have nothing open (Desktop only) or if I am using Internet
> > Explorer, Word, Excel, Windows Explorer..... The screen goes black, only
> > the
> > power light is on, and I have to re-boot using the power button. About 1
> > in
> > 10 times (currently it happens 4-5 times per hour till I give up again in
> > frustration) I get a message that Windows has detected an 'unexpected
> > problem' (usually there is no message indicating there is even a problem)
> > and
> > after looking for the source, says its to do with the display driver. The
> > Windows help site says not my problem, go to the graphics card (ATI in
> > this
> > instance) site, they say not my problem, go to the Toshiba site. Toshiba
> > site
> > offers some driver upgrades, but to date (29/1/08) all updates have been
> > downloaded and still I get the same random problem. If I could I would
> > downgrade to XP o/s and Office 2003, but the o/s is hard wired somehow to
> > the
> > hardware and it simply cannot be done (according to my professional IT
> > friend
> > - who recommends don't touch Vista under any circumstances, and he runs a
> > major UN IT department!!!)
> >
> > Heeeeelp - any 'go to' sites' / suggestions!!!
> >
> > System details = Toshiba Satellite A200; Part Number - PSAF6A-02H01N; OS
> > VistaT Home Premium 6.0.6000; ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2600
> > version=8.380.0.0; Screen Resolution @ 1280 x 800; Office 2007 programs.
> > Also
> > run AVG anti-virus.
>
>
>

Re: Unexpected Shutdowns

"DaveF" wrote in message
news:6532DFB0-30C5-420D-9AA0-1819E72B93A6@microsoft.com...
> Hello Marcin & PvdG42 - Really appreciate your responses, so to sum up, it
> seems I might have both hardware and driver problems in a <6months old
> computer, and that an XP downgrade may be advisable though difficult. The
> laptop is under warranty (extended world wide), and I will pursue that as
> the
> next step but it is not that simple....I bought it in Australia and am
> living
> in Switzerland - no problem except that language, warranty centre in a
> different part of the country to me, and non-acceptance of different
> serial
> number systems are small barriers (European Toshiba site does not
> recognise
> the Asia-Pacific serial number). Re: the 'hard wired' phrase, I used that
> term maybe loosely, as it did ship with Vista pre-installed. It seems
> strange
> that a system that has been around for several years is still the
> preferred
> choice by so many eh? Don't get me started on the much vaunted Office07
> programs..... so far my experience is, to coin an Australian phrase, all
> 'fur
> coat and no pants'. Thanks again and if I achieve resolution, I will
> report
> back to ya'll.
>
> "Marcin Wiszowaty" wrote:
>
>> Wrong forum
>>
>> but since this is just about the only question posted here that i can
>> answer
>> and i asked a few myself so would like to give back to community :)
>>
>> i have downgraded 4 HP pavilion laptops from vista to xp.
>> (working on the 4th---need to find a wireless network driver. other 3
>> are
>> fine)
>> I definitely recomend downgrading if you have sub 2gigs of ram
>>
>> for the last 2 they had a SATA harddrive. Regular XP cd doesnt have
>> drivers
>> for that so you will have to burn a spcialized windows cd with a sata
>> driver
>> or you will get a no harddrive found error at instalation in dos email me
>> ar
>> iamarcin_83@yahoo.com and i will send you a link to that. i lost it if
>> you
>> go that direction i will find a guide for this again
>>
>> Of course you will have problems along the way but only with drivers
>> which
>> is what you seem to be having now. Either fix it in vista or downgrade to
>> xp
>> and that driver problem might get even worse.
>>
>> i know costco and bestbuy have a good return policy so you could try to
>> exchange it
>> dont pay atention to the 3 month thing go back with receipt
>> and
>> see what they can do
>>
>> i sugest you burn a recovery disc. There is a program in the start menu
>> for
>> that. And then try it.
>> You might spend hours looking for the right drivers. So before doing so
>> go
>> to
>> control pannel --> system --> (tab) hardware --> device manager and
>> find
>> the devices that you have
>> the name and model number of your
>> graphic card
>> network wired and wireless
>> sound card
>> chipset
>> harddrive
>> before you do anything else in case you want to go back to what you had.
>> also try to uninstall the driver and let the laptop chose the best one at
>> startup instead of installing one.
>> the driver is saved in your windows/sys32 directory so when you reboot
>> at
>> worst case you will have the same problem
>>
>> hope this helps
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> "DaveF" wrote in message
>> news:DBB5F02B-9084-4C53-A40D-3FEC26030505@microsoft.com...
>> > Yes I am another sufferer of this malaise. My laptop has been doing
>> > this
>> > for
>> > 4 months now, and despite downloading all relevant Vista updates and
>> > service
>> > packs, and ATI graphics and CPU chipset updates I still get the problem
>> > whether I have nothing open (Desktop only) or if I am using Internet
>> > Explorer, Word, Excel, Windows Explorer..... The screen goes black,
>> > only
>> > the
>> > power light is on, and I have to re-boot using the power button. About
>> > 1
>> > in
>> > 10 times (currently it happens 4-5 times per hour till I give up again
>> > in
>> > frustration) I get a message that Windows has detected an 'unexpected
>> > problem' (usually there is no message indicating there is even a
>> > problem)
>> > and
>> > after looking for the source, says its to do with the display driver.
>> > The
>> > Windows help site says not my problem, go to the graphics card (ATI in
>> > this
>> > instance) site, they say not my problem, go to the Toshiba site.
>> > Toshiba
>> > site
>> > offers some driver upgrades, but to date (29/1/08) all updates have
>> > been
>> > downloaded and still I get the same random problem. If I could I would
>> > downgrade to XP o/s and Office 2003, but the o/s is hard wired somehow
>> > to
>> > the
>> > hardware and it simply cannot be done (according to my professional IT
>> > friend
>> > - who recommends don't touch Vista under any circumstances, and he runs
>> > a
>> > major UN IT department!!!)
>> >
>> > Heeeeelp - any 'go to' sites' / suggestions!!!
>> >
>> > System details = Toshiba Satellite A200; Part Number - PSAF6A-02H01N;
>> > OS
>> > VistaT Home Premium 6.0.6000; ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2600
>> > version=8.380.0.0; Screen Resolution @ 1280 x 800; Office 2007
>> > programs.
>> > Also
>> > run AVG anti-virus.
>>
>>
>>

Contact Toshiba Headquarters about the warranty issue. I'm sure they can
convince Toshiba Europe to do the right thing (at least, I would hope so).
Good luck!