“My Toshiba laptop suddenly shuts down by itself without any warning. Sometimes it works fine for hours, sometimes it shuts down in 10-15 minutes.” This complaint we hear from our customers over and over again. About 15-20% of all Toshiba laptops we get for repair, suffer from an overheating problem. Yep, OVERHEATING!
This is one of the most common problems with Toshiba laptops we deal with.
Indications of laptop overheating problem:
- The keyboard and the bottom of your laptop are very hot when the laptop is working.
- The CPU fans are working all the time at maximum rotation speed and operate much louder than before.
- The laptop suddenly shuts down by itself without warning. When it just started, the laptop was shutting down after 1-2 hours and how it shuts down after 5-10 minutes of operation.
- The laptop works fine when it runs idle, but shuts down as soon as you start using any memory demanding applications (DVD player, image editing software, video editing software, etc.).
Solution:
If the CPU heatsink is not clogged with dust and lint completely, you can use canned air and just blow it inside the laptop through the openings on the bottom and on the sides. It’s nice as a precaution measure, but it might not work if your laptop already has a problem and the heatsink is completely clogged.
- Open the laptop case, so you can access the CPU fan and the heatsink. In some cases you can access the heatsink through the latch on the bottom of the laptop. Sometimes (for example Toshiba Satellite A70/A75) you have to open the laptop case all the way down.
- Carefully disconnect the fan cables on the system board and remove the fan. If the fan makes unusual sound when it spins (grinding sound), I would recommend to replace the fan.
- Clean the fan and the heatsink with compressed air.
- I would also recommend removing old thermal grease from the CPU and applying new grease for better heat conductivity.
UPDATE: I just received a nice tip from MC N’Colorado. I think it could be useful for all of you with guys:
I decided to use a shop vac to suck the dust out and it worked. I tested it by letting the machine run all night and it worked. It’s been a couple of weeks now and I’m glad I did it. I was ready to take the machine apart, now I’m glad I didn’t. I’d suggest you use a heavy duty shop vac to clean out the fan and heat sinks first.
I agree. Try to fix the problem without taking the laptop apart first but I would recommend using a powerful air compressor instead of a vacuum cleaner.
If your laptop is still under warranty, you can take it to any Toshiba Authorize Service Provider and fix the problem at no charge to you.
Toshiba laptop disassembly guides with pictures and instructions.
Toshiba Satellite A15 Clogged Heatsink
Toshiba Satellite A35 Clogged Heatsink
Toshiba Satellite P15 Clogged Heatsink. Absolute champion!
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May 22nd, 2013 at 1:58 pm
My Toshiba has been shutting down and restarting on its own. This has been happening for some months. I ran a virus scan and checked for over heating, even checked the hard drive. What could be causing this problem and how do I fix it?
May 19th, 2013 at 11:10 am
@ Dayal,
Please provide a better description of the problem. Your description is confusing. It’s possible that your laptop has more than one problem.
May 19th, 2013 at 6:45 am
HI I have Toshiba satellite L745, after 1 year. It’s very hard to shut down actually not shut down. some times it’s get off & start again ( not restart ). some time not charging ( even power cable plug in )
May 17th, 2013 at 1:13 am
Toshiba laptops are notorious for overheating. I run my own computer services business, and whenever a client reports an overheating laptop I ask straight off: ‘Is it a Toshiba?’ The answer is almost invariably yes.
The best thing you can do to prevent this problem is to be careful of where you place the laptop when in use. Avoid putting it on the couch, on bedding (lots of users like to take their laptops to bed), or on your knees. Anything made of material traps dust and your laptop will suck it up through the air inlet in the underside of the case as effectively as a vacuum cleaner. It’s inevitable that the machine will collect a certain amount over time, and it helps to periodically remove it from the heatsink. Dismantling the laptop will reveal a thin carpet of solid dust on its inner face. With a little care this can be removed in one piece using tweezers. Use a can of air duster to clear the fins of smaller particles. While you’re inside the computer you can clean the fan blades as an extra.
I have a Toshiba Satellite L300D-11V, and go through this process about every six months. When used on a flat surface like a table it’s fine; however, put it on something soft that will cover the underside air-inlet vent and it shuts down within minutes. It’s just part of living with a Toshiba, I’m afraid.
April 15th, 2013 at 9:45 pm
Hey !! I have a Toshiba Satellite P 745 which is 1 year old. This laptop works fine and suddenly shutdown automatically ( the screen goes dark like when it is hibernating) and when I try to turn it on again it instantly turns off. Its like the laptop times out and it cannot be turned on for some time. This has been happening for the past 5-6 months. Now the case is much worse, it happens all the time and I cant turn it on hours and when I try to turn it on it instantly turns off like somebody pulled the plug out. This also happens when I put the this onto sleep or hibernate mode. I serviced but it didn’t fix the problem and even sent it for repairs but it works perfectly at that time. Please I need a solution.
March 24th, 2013 at 9:27 am
It definitely needs a cleaning. I’ll bet you $30 that you can go to Best Buy, they’ll clean it for $30 in about an hour and it won’t do that any more.
February 19th, 2013 at 9:29 am
i just removed the clog and it works like a charm.. tnx
February 4th, 2013 at 6:10 am
@ Shander,
I would check the cooling fan. Does it spin at all? It’s possible the cooling fan failed and the laptop shuts down because of overheating.
February 4th, 2013 at 4:50 am
@ raj,
I would test the laptop with another AC adapter. It’s possible your AC adapter not putting out correct power and the laptop shuts down because of that.
I don’t think this is heat related issue but just in case clean up the cooling module to make sure it’s not clogged with dust.
February 4th, 2013 at 4:35 am
@ mark,
So, it was a heat relates issue?
By the way, you don’t have to pay $650 to replace the keyboard and hard drive. You can do it yourself for much less.
A new 500GB 7200RPM 2.5″ SATA hard drive will cost you about $80.
A new keyboard will cost you about $20-30 (from eBay or Amazon).
Toshiba laptop disassembly guides located here: http://www.irisvista.com/tech/