laptop shuts off during vista installation please help

[jonnyt]

so today I tried to do a clean vista install on my Gateway M6862 laptop, and after booting off the cd, the "windows is loading files" fill up bar appears and after it fills up it shuts off (and this is with the power cable plugged in). and it does this everytime I turn it on (even when booting off hdd) until I remove the battery and put it back on, then it gives me the option of starting in safe mode etc. I always choose to start as normal. I also tried installing ubuntu and it shuts off after I select boot from disc. I don't want to be stuck on vista forever and I really want to do a clean install of vista or linux, so any suggestions are appreciated.
thanks in advance

[jonnyt]

UPDATE
So I tried it again today, and I managed to clear my hardrive and create a new partition but it turned off again during the installation, then I tried ubuntu again and I got as far as filling in my info before shutting off again. It's frustating
what do you guys suggest I should try next?
thanks

[Panama Red]

Shutting down like that is quite uncommon. A cpu fan that isn't running will typically prevent the machine from even attempting to start, but it may start and shut down like yours does. A heatsink area that is clogged with dust/dirt will cause a quick overheating and may also cause shutdown. A failing hard drive may also cause a shut down. Here's what I'd do.

1- Check closely in the fan area for dust/dirt. If you see any, use compressed air to clean it out. Hold the fan with something to prevent it from moving while blowing air on it. You may need to partially disassemble the laptop to expose the fan and heatsink and fully remove all the dirt.

2-Replace the fan if it isn't running at startup.

3-Run diagnostics on your hard drive using the Ultimate Bood CD.

[jonnyt]

thanks a lot bro
so I opened it up and it turned out it was a problem with the fan or so I believe, the fan wouldn't start up right away and only run from time to time, so I Opted to turn my laptop sideways with the cpu bay open and a fan blowing on it while I installed Vista, and it installed just fine, but the fan still stops once in a while (is it suppose to be running all the time?) then i put the cpu cover back on and it seems to be working fine now. I'm still going to buy some canned air and clean it out
thanks again
your help is appreciated

[KilluminatiStyle]

It doesn't have to run all the time but if turning it on it's side helped then I bet you've got a lot of gunk built up inside the heat sink. You would be surprised at that amount of dust and hair that can hide in such a small heat sink.

If the CPU heat sink is easily accessible then I'd suggest that you get at that bad boy and clean it out. Canned air should do the trick but make sure that you can see through the fins on the heat sink when you are finished.

**EDIT**

I just finished reading your post and realized that you had already taken the cpu cover off and planned on getting some canned air. Good call.