I have an old laptop I haven't used for a long time because I couldn't find my power supply for it.
But recently I found a power supply that matched my laptop, but my laptop requires 19v 4.74 Ampere - and my new power supply has a output of 19v 2.37 Ampere.
Is that the reason why my laptop shuts downs when too hot or when I'm trying to launch some software?
Till the laptop is using power from battery ,it is not a problem.But when battery is emptied and laptop is now only on charger supply and it needed more power at some point,the charger will be unable and laptop will shutdown.Also when battery is fully charged,it can make issues. Otherwise,A low amperage will only slow down the charging of laptop battery.The problem can be by anything else also.I use my original charger came with laptop but it was showing the issue in past.
Yes. 19 volts times 2.37 amps equals 45 watts. Even if the laptop is 50% power-efficient, if in steady state it's as hot as a mere 22 watt lightbulb (in a box of the same size as the laptop), then its power supply can no longer keep up.
The burst of extra power consumption needed when launching software would also overwhelm the power supply.
As Broly answered, this is less of a concern if the laptop's battery is charged. But as you haven't used it for a long time, the battery is probably empty and may now have difficulty charging.
PSU's are cheap - Get another. More importantly buy a can of compressed air and use it where the heatsink is and all the other vents. The switching off is a thermal switch which may be faulty or be getting too hot.
A system rebuild & a heatsink re-pasting if it's still switching off after that.
