My laptop randomly turns off when I play Everquest
 

When I play everquest my laptop runs fine for a while, then freezes for two or three seconds and then turns off. Why does it do this? Is there anything I can do to prevent it? I have a mayhem g3 with an ATI 9700 graphics card, AMD 3400 processor and 1 gig of ram.

I think it might be from overheating or working too hard but I don't understand because I'm pretty sure I meet the minimum specs. It did this when I played Diablo II, but not until after I had been playing a month or two.

I tried getting new drivers but that didn't fix it. Can anyone help me? Thanks!

How old is it? is there a chance a ton of dust is built up inside causing it to overheat? is there anyway to get one of those compressed air cans and blow it out some? do you use any other programs that will use 100% cpu power for a long time to see if thats what it is? does it take 20 min or so for it to happen? or is it instant? Just from what you said i would assume its overheating. if it is a few years old and hasnt ever been cleaned out i bet it needs it. but.. i have no idea how to go about cleaning out the inside of a laptop. they are so small im not even sure how they keep cool.

Overworking a system won't cause overheating issues unless it's overclocked and/or insufficiently cooled. When using your laptop, make sure you have it resting on a hard surface (no carpets, chairs or bedding) and that it gets proper ventilation.

Also check for dust buildup, as has been mentioned. If you can, crack it open and check the heatsink on the graphics chip directly; in smokers homes or pet-ridden domiciles dust can build up between the fins, turning that big copper heatsink into a giant insulating blanket.

maybe your SO is telling you to stop playing....

See, I was thinking God was trying to get him out of the house more. :)

I just got my laptop a few months ago so I don't think it's dust...and I live in a small room with no pets or smoking. It usually takes between 15 to 30 minutes before it shuts off and shorter times after that. When I unplug it, it doesnt turn off but the game runs slower, so I'm guessing that is because the CPU doesnt run as fast. Is there anyway to set it to run at a middle ground or something?

Oh, and I get out of the house plenty, no worries :)

Just bumping this in case anyone else knows the answer