Laptop turning off by itself & Short Drive Self-Test Failure

[Leannz0r]

Hi.. I have been having problems for a while with my laptop just turning off by itself.. It just completely shuts off, doesn't do the shut down process and doesn't restart.

I restored windows to see if that would solve the issue but for some reason that failed at the end, so then I had no operating system installed.. I reinstalled a clean copy of windows and got back up and running again but it is still doing the same thing.

(I lef the computer on for long periods of time when windows wasn't installed and it never shut down once, don't know if that means anything..)

I also seemed to only turn off when I left it alone for a few minutes, it rarely turned off while I was busy doing things.

I did think it might of been the power lead-adapter because it was only happening when plugged in, but the last couple of days it has been doing it more often and wether it is plugged in or not.

I just ran a quick test in Hardware Diagnositcs..

'Short Drive Self-Test failed - U0DXJ4-75799E-XD7WMF-60R813

HP Notebook-15-ac153sa (ENERGY STAR)

Serial number:  [edted] Product number: P0U73EA Hard Disk 1 Quick Test Failer  Sorry for the really long post! Any help would be greatly appreciated! 

[ieee488]

Failing hard drive.

Back  up your data!

.

[Paul_Tikkanen]

That means the hard drive has failed or is about to fail and needs to be replaced.

If you can still get into windows, copy any files you want to a portable hard drive.

Below is the link to the service manual for your notebook.  The hard drive R & R procedures can be found in chapter 6.

I am assuming this manual will also work for your model since that is the one shows under the user guides section of your notebook's support page.

http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c04653884

To reinstall windows...

To reinstall W10...Use the Media Creation Tool.  Make the 64 bit installation media.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

You can make a W10 USB flash drive installer using an 8 GB flash drive using another Windows PC, since your PC is not working.

W10 will work with the product key in the BIOS, install and automatically activate once you are connected to the internet.

Here are the steps to create the W10 USB flash drive installer...

1. Select Download tool now, and select Run.
2. If you agree to the license terms, select Accept.
3. On the What do you want to do? page, select Create installation media for another PC, and then select Next.

4. Select the language, edition, and architecture (64-bit or 32-bit) for Windows 10. You want 64 bit.

5. Select which media you want to use:
6. USB flash drive.  Plug in a blank USB flash drive with at least 8GB of space. Any content on the flash drive will be deleted.

Then you can install the drivers and available software from the PC's support page.

https://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers/selfservice/hp-15-ac100-notebook-pc-series/8499326/model/909363...

[Leannz0r]

Thank very much for your quick reply!

Is the failing hard drive the cause of the laptop turning off?

Sorry if I sound stupid now, but where is the best place to get a new hard drive and are they all pretty standard or do I need a specific type?

Also, I'm not confident in taking my laptop apart to replace, I would be worried incase I cause more problems, would I be better off taking it to a repair shop or would that be a huge waste of money?

Thank you again!

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You're very welcome.

I am not a PC repair tech by trade or training, so I can't say exactly why the notebook is just randomly shutting down.

It could be due to the failing hard drive, or it could be due to something else such as a bad battery cell.

The battery will work fine to a point, and when it hits the bad cell, the noteboo just shuts off without warning (unless the notebook is plugged in).

If the notebook is plugged in and it shuts down, then it is probably not the battery.

Review the hard drive R & R procedures in the service manual.  it does appear moderately difficult to do.

The product specs for your notebook indicate that it came with a 2 TB hybrid hard drive.

If you need that large of a drive, you can replace it with one just like it, but they are rather expensive--probably around 100 pounds.

If you don't need that large of a drive, I would just replace it with a standard 2.5" 480 GB Solid State Drive (SSD).

It will perform better than the one you have in there now.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/SanDisk-PLUS-Sata-Inch-Internal/dp/B01F9G46Q8/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1...

Unfortunately, I don't know how much it would cost to install a hard drive in your PC, but it probably would be fairly expensive.  Cheaper if you give them the hard drive and you do the windows reinstallation yourself.

[Leannz0r]

Thank you so much again for your help!

I've tried the laptop without the battery in and it does the same, so it can't be that.

I have had the laptop apart and believe I can fit it myself if I can just get the right hard drive.

I know you suggested an SSD, and I would love an SSD instead, but I would prefere a larger size and 1tb+ gets really expensive and I need to keep my costs under £100

Could you tell me if this hard drive would fit in my laptop and in your opinion is it any good? I think I have picked right but just would to make sure before I order..

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-Toshiba-2-5-2Tb-Sata3-L200-Hard-Drive-5400Rpm-128Mb-Cache-9-5Mm/40160...

Sorry for all the questions!

Leanne

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Glad to be of assistance, Leanne.

That drive should work just fine.

The performance may not be quite as good as the original one because the drive you selected does not have a SSD cache, but it should not be a drastic decline.

But the 2 TB drives with the SSD cache are going to be a lot more expensive than 80 pounds + postage.

Another alternative would be the seagate.  They are as good or better than the Toshiba drives.

It would save you about 30 pounds, but it will take a while to ship from China.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-2TB-Seagate-ST2000LM003-2TB-2-5-SATA3-Notebook-Hard-Drive-32MB-6Gb-s/...

[Leannz0r]

Thank you again, Paul. You've been extremely helpful.

Once I decide what I am going to order and it's fitted I will update you on how it went and if it solved the shutting down problem or not 🙂

Leanne

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You're very welcome, Leanne.

Fingers crossed.

[Leannz0r]

Hi Paul.

I ordered a new hard drive and have fitted it, I have installed windows fine but unfortunately my laptop is still randomally turning off.

I was really hoping replacing the hard drive would solve the issue as it was expensive for me, so I am a bit frustrated now and not sure what else to do.

Leanne