Laptop shutsdown when I, myself, go to sleep. Turns back on asking me to start in safe mode etc

The laptop is connected to the wall plug, with the battery removed. I just leave the laptop on, go to sleep, and when I wake up, sometimes I'll find it already shut down (as opposed to the screen being turned off)

Sometimes 'whocrashed' will notice it, sometimes it will not.

A report from such a crash (not long after I had gone to sleep -- I must have left my computer sometime after 6 am):

On Fri 14-Aug-15 06:41:06 GMT your computer crashed crash dump file: C:\Windows\Minidump\081415-23571-01.dmp This was probably caused by the following module: nvlddmkm.sys (nvlddmkm+0x36E0B3) Bugcheck code: 0x1000007E (0xFFFFFFFFC0000005, 0xFFFFF88004C570B3, 0xFFFFF880033BDC98, 0xFFFFF880033BD4F0) Error: SYSTEM_THREAD_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED_M file path: C:\Windows\system32\drivers\nvlddmkm.sys product: NVIDIA Windows Kernel Mode Driver, Version 355.60 company: NVIDIA Corporation description: NVIDIA Windows Kernel Mode Driver, Version 355.60 Bug check description: This indicates that a system thread generated an exception which the error handler did not catch. This appears to be a typical software driver bug and is not likely to be caused by a hardware problem. A third party driver was identified as the probable root cause of this system error. It is suggested you look for an update for the following driver: nvlddmkm.sys (NVIDIA Windows Kernel Mode Driver, Version 355.60 , NVIDIA Corporation). Google query: NVIDIA Corporation SYSTEM_THREAD_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED_M

Previously it was version 347.somethingsomething.

I do not think the issue is easily reproducible, so I doubt the service will even take it seriously. I feel they'll just unnecessarily reformat my system and hand it back to me.

I'll bet you are in need of some better ventilation, a re-pasting/re-stickering of your heat sink in your laptop, or possibly a new processor fan. Run a stress test, and see if your laptop shuts down unexpectedly after an hour or two. If so, pursue the paste/sticker. At minimum, the fan could be dirty and in need of a dusting. But if it does not spin effortlessly, replace it.