ok, ty, i didn't think about that. I just popped the hatch off my laptop to reveal the innards to if it was clogged with dust. wasn't bad on the inside, but the fan had a few thick chunks in it. dumass me forgot to clean it out periodically, so hopefully that solved the problem. might just've been overheating, but only time will tell. If this does happen again, I'll definitely try to grab a snapshot of it.