Sasquatch Jones wrote:

Man, when one thing goes, everything goes. LOL!!!

I got out a laptop to connect at the Verizon box and check speeds.
The laptop has not been using in 6 months or so - put away in the
case, and no damage.

Today I powered it up, booted fine, then worked for 5 minutes or so,
then went dead, just like I had held the on/off switch in and shut it
down. It didn't feel hot, but I let it sit before restarting, started
it up, same thing.

So much for that idea.

Keys are not sticking, power connection is fine, no other obvious
signs of trouble...

Any idea what might be causing this?

Specifically? No. But some things to check. You running off battery
or A/C? Does the battery hold a charge? Does the laptop only run for 5
minutes or there abouts before powering off? Consistently? Windows is
notorious for changing configurations spontaneously between boots.
Check your Power Saving configuration. Particularly Hibernate. Might
as well check the screensaver settings, too. Is the CPU fan running?
Full time or intermittently? What does Task Manager say about CPU
usage? it should only be a few percent. If it's running over 50% full
time, something is wrong. What software has the high usage?

Other things. Failing power supply. Another part or chip that's
overheating.

I would also get some "canned air" and blow out the interior,
particularly where the CPU fan vents are.

Stef