Why is my laptop being dumb?

Why does my Dell Inspiron 1545 laptop keep shutting down unexpectedly?

• I have a Dell Inspiron 1545 laptop with a Windows Vista operating system. I've had this laptop for almost 3 years and its had a lot of problems but this has been the worst. I've always had problems with the battery and charging (which i know a lot of people have with this laptop). I've replaced both the battery and the charger because my charger used to not charge correctly. Because of this, I've always left my laptop plugged in. I've heard that this can ruin the battery, but i read on the dell website that this charger and battery are designed to stop using the charge once it is fully charged so it doesn't ruin the battery. Is that true? At first, once in a blue moon, the laptop would just shut off and i assumed it was because of overheating. I'm on my third laptop fan right now and even this one only works sometimes and doesn't keep the entire laptop cool. However, even if i'm not using the laptop cooler, i still rest my laptop on top of it so it isn't suffocated by sitting on my bed. In the last two days my laptop has started shutting off at random times frequently. i thought maybe it needed cleaned or there was dust stuck somewhere, but i cleaned every crevasse with compressed air and the problem still persists. Then i thought maybe it was the charger or battery. So i tried turning it on with only the charger and the without the battery connected. It still shut off. So i tried it with just the battery and not the charger...still shut off. Then i thought maybe it was Wild Tangent, which came installed onto my laptop. Every time i play a game on Wild Tangent it seems to shut off after about 10 minutes (give or take). But apparently i was wrong because it shut off today when i wasn't playing a game on there. So i'm not sure what could be the problem. could i have a virus? should i have someone look at it? Is there something else i should try? Please help! Thank you in advance.

• Answer:

  My mother's computer has the same issue. The touchpad overheats, then the laptop goes really slow, and finally shuts down. I am very curious as to if it is a virus or not. I will be researching this.