Why my Toshiba laptop suddenly shuts down by itself without warning?
“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.).
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!
Entry Filed under: Toshiba Laptop Problems
785 Responses to “Why my Toshiba laptop suddenly shuts down by itself without warning?”
Pages: [79] 78 77 76 75 74 73 72 71 70 69 … 1 » Show All
Pages: [79] 78 77 76 75 74 73 72 71 70 69 … 1 » Show All
June 29th, 2008 at 7:19 pm
More….When the laptop shuts down, I have to un plug it, and take the battery out,, this happens at least twice - three times a day. what kind of problems can this cause?
June 29th, 2008 at 7:15 pm
I also have problems with my computer shutting down. I have lost infomation because of this problem. I took it to the dealer and nothing happened, they just said, it’s probably a virus, I’ve only had this laptop for two months and I have an anti virus program,, this is obvioulsly not a virus problem when there are so many complaints.
June 26th, 2008 at 10:10 pm
Oleh Kusyy,
I noticed that on a Toshiba Satellite M45 some very strange problems could be related to the 6-button switch board on the left side from the keyboard. Here’s the part number V000050380, google it. Also, take a look at the ribbon cable witch connects this 6-button board with the motherboard, make sure the cable is not damaged. Here’s the part number for the cable V000917790.
If it’s not that board, then most likely your problem is related to the motherboard.
This is just a guess.
June 26th, 2008 at 12:13 am
I have also a Toshiba Satellite M45 and the pretty same problem. It could turn itself off right after Windows XP screen appears or at the user login prompt screen or later, no logic at all. I tried different memory and hdds, no success. It is definitely not overheating!!! Fan runs and heat sink is clear.
If anyone knows what is the cause, please, write me.
June 25th, 2008 at 4:56 am
Hi, I have a Toshiba Satellite M45-S265. It shuts down every time. I investigated and I followed almost all steps. They said that is over heating problems. I cleaned the fan and the heatsink, also I removed old thermal grease from the CPU and applying new grease for better heat conductivity, but the problem still there. I installed Its original recovery software just in case and i changed the fan because I saw It did not working so offen, but the problem still there. I see that in safe mode the laptop works, It doesn’t shut down. Is It has any relationship?