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Question

Dell Vostro 200 Auto Shut Down When Idle

Aug 21, 2011 2:38AM PDT

I have a Dell Vostro 220 and the system works fine when in use but when idle for 10 minutes or more, the system shuts down on its own. I'm guessing it has something to do with the graphics card I have installed. I'm using an ATI Radeon HD 4350 graphics card and am running 2 Dell LCD flatscreen monitors, an E1909W and an E1910. I've checked the power settings and made sure that it is set to never go to sleep, turn off the power, the display, etc. I would like the computer to simply stay on all the time and not have to boot up every single time I would like to use it. Any help that can be provided would be appreciated.

Discussion is locked

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Answer
Setting
Aug 21, 2011 3:16AM PDT

You should time this, get a clock watch and see if it actually goes off at 10min.. Is yes, then you do have some timer or hibernate/sleep mode active, to to include the bios area, check it all out. I just don't see an actual pgm. doing this outside of business needs, so I conclude its some bios or power mgt. setting, review those again, check and uncheck them then save the setting to be sure it is active.

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Answer
Vostro 200
Feb 6, 2013 12:42AM PST

This is more than likely an overheating problem. Defect in the design. Look for any gaps or areas to where dust can get trapped and use an air duster real good to keep the inside clean.