Macbook Pro random shutoff?

I have the 2008 model and just started noticing as of yesterday that my laptop would randomly turn off, even while plugged in. I immediately suspected the battery, so I took it out but the problem continued.

Interestingly enough, there would be times where the laptop would immediately shut off just one second or so after turning it on, even before the apple screen appears. I did drop the laptop from about 2 feet but that was weeks ago. Anyone have a similar problem?

does your cpu ever run hot?

It used to run hot, almost 100C actually at times, but when these shutoffs occurred, the temperature was definitely below 60-70.

I've now made this much more deterministic...

It shuts off when I elevate the unit. Basically, if I elevate the rear of the laptop (usually when moving it from one location to another), it seems to shut off with almost 100% certainty.

when you dropped the unit you could have damaged your fans, resulting in the cpu overheating and requiring an emergency shut down.

i would monitor your fans and cpu temp with something like istat pro. this way we can see if there are any abnormalities with the way your laptop is operating.

it could also be a problem with the power supply, battery, or logic board.

Fans still turn on when the unit gets hot. Even if the unit is cold, once I elevate it, it shuts off.

well my hunch is power supply or logic board then. have you ever spilt any liquid on it?

No liquid that I'm aware of. Came close a couple of times, but nothing recently. The power cord remains illuminated green, but you're thinking it's possibly the internal power supply?

Is the recommended approach going to the Apple store? Never had a hardware problem with a laptop before.

it doesn't matter if it was a recent spill or not, a spill is a spill and can manifest problems over time.

i cant say for sure what the problem is, im speculating as to possible faults.

you could try a hardware test by booting from the OSX install CD, see if that sheds some light on things.

Will do, thanks!

I'm just gonna guess that I'll have to get this repaired at some point. Is the Apple Store the best place to go?

i'd trust the apple store with it yes. if you wanna save some money there are other computer repair shops about, but as to whether theyll fix the problem/even identify it is questionable.