Hi homesick Rae
I travel a lot to regions of the world where the quality of the electrical supply can be a bit below par added to that cheap electrical power points and extension cables often throw up challenges.
I encountered two problems with my HP Pavilion notebook.
The first was that the cooling fan gave out after less than two years and I had to replace it, not an easy job on an HP as it's buried deep inside and requires removal of the entired keyboard and casing! I now supplement the HP's internal cooling with an external AKASA cooling pad with double high performance fans and extra USB connections which are very useful.
The other problem was that the HP kept shutting down without warning and I often couldn't even get the thing to power up. I employed a process of elimination begining with the power cable, lucky I did as that is all it was! I had to replace the first section of the power cable the bit with the three pin plug on it the second section the bit with the step down voltage transformer was OK. I now always carry a spare of each with me plus a two pin first section for good measure.
Try checking out the power cable you never know your luck that may be all you need to change
PS. What's the story behind the graphic below your name, are you from the land of the BraveHeart?