Dell 1721 laptop turns off soon after

Do you have a bootable CD or USB drive you can test?

If not - you can make yourself one. A LiveCD with a complete OS. Doesn't require the HDD or Windows to run.

Ubuntu Desktop

Turns off or restarts?

If it turns off then it sounds like a overheat issue or a hardware failure, Could be power related.
For over heating make sure you can feel air coming out of the vents on the laptop when it is on, keep it on a hard flat surface.
can you hear the fan going? they are only little and depending on the age they tend to wear out.


if it restarts then it could be a BSOD (driver conflict or memory address issue)