“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!
January 27th, 2006 at 10:17 pm
very good web page, found it informative, will be taking toshiba to an authorized repair dealer, still under warrenty. Thank You
February 3rd, 2006 at 9:31 pm
this site hits the nail on the head, very good details and instructions. Thank you!
February 4th, 2006 at 6:25 pm
I was resigning myself to a laptop repair He…., before I found your very informative site. Thanks!
February 6th, 2006 at 5:11 pm
Thanks for your help! Decided my 2003 Toshiba A35 needed a cleaning since it would heat up in just a couple of minutes. Found your info thru Google. Took out a strip of “felt” a quater inch think running the length of the heatsink!!! You cannot see this stuff by just looking thru the fan grids…that always looked clean to me!!
So I put everything back together…carefully. But now it won’t start! I push the button, I hear the fan turn on for 3 seconds, then turn off. Nothing comes up on the screen. This happens using just the battery or with it plugged in.
What did I do? Is this thing now a boat anchor?
February 6th, 2006 at 5:20 pm
BTW, I am not blaming you, I hope you realize that. I have backups and all that. I just had had it with this computer, and it was either try to fix it on my own or trash it. The cost to fix it (out of warranty) would be half the cost of getting a new one (something other than Toshiba!).
My excitement after pulling out that junk from the heatsink came crashing down after failing to re-boot. So, it again is either going to be a simple fix or thrown away.
Got any ideas?
February 6th, 2006 at 7:59 pm
Hi Mike,
I think it should be something simple. If your laptop worked fine before you disassembled it and you were very careful during disassembly, then it should work fine. Cleaning a CPU fan in Toshiba Satellite A35 laptop is very simple and it shouldn’t cause any problems. When you removed the heatsink did the CPU came with it or it stayed in the socket? My guess is that your CPU is not seated properly and you pulled it from the socket. In this case it should be reseated. To reseat the CPU, remove the heatsink, open CPU lock (the screw) and reseat the CPU (I hope you didn’t damage pins during disassembly). When you place the CPU back in the socket you do not have to push it inside. Most of the time CPU just falls inside the socket by itself, sometimes you have to wiggle it a little bit to sit properly, but NEVER force it inside the socket because you can damage the pins. The CPU and the socked are keyed and there is only one correct position. I hope it will help you to start the laptop.
February 7th, 2006 at 11:35 am
AWSOME! thanks man. that helped me soo much. I have a random question though. since the computer is a socket 478, could i replace my celeron 2.53 with a pentium? they come in this same computer up to a 3.06 i think. thanks!!
February 7th, 2006 at 12:01 pm
I’m not sure. I’ve never done it before myself. If you give me your laptop model and configuration code (for example Toshiba Satellite 1800-S274 PS183U-00JR579 it’s on the bottom of your laptop) I can look up Toshiba website and find out what CPUs are listed for your system board.
February 8th, 2006 at 4:32 am
Hi, looking for advice… my toshiba satellite 3000×4 is overheating. Its been a while(days) since I’ve heard the cooling fan operating. This causes the machine to crash regularly when its under any load(eg. heavy programmes in use). any suggestions on repair, sourcing fan, is it d.i.y.’able etc.
February 8th, 2006 at 10:16 am
I do not have a guide for this unit yet. You say it’s Toshiba Satellite 3000×4, and I’m not sure what x4 is. I guess it’s similar to Toshiba Satellite 3000. In this case you can try to replace the CPU fan without disassembling the entire unit. You mentioned that it’s not spinning and I assume the fan is bad itself. All you have to do: remove the keyboard securing strip (be careful because it’s connected to a control board, do not pull too hard), remove the keyboard (4 screws). Under the keyboard on the right top corner you’ll see a hatch for the CPU fan. Remove the hatch and replace the fan. Before you buy a new CPU fan, try if you can access it in your laptop.
February 9th, 2006 at 6:04 am
you are gentleman no one in this f*** world teach you for free i realy appreciate what you doing man thank you again.
February 10th, 2006 at 5:59 am
Have to agree with Mallek, after two deeply unsatisfying adventures with Toshiba service during the warranty period (and then having to replace the power adapter two weeks after the period expired!) was resigning myself to another expensive trip to the repairers. Really appreciate your very generous guide, just sorry that your excellent instructions may cost you 20% of your Toshiba laptop business! Many thanks again.
February 10th, 2006 at 10:11 pm
Thanks for the info, you are a godsend! My A75 is only 6 months old and will shut down in full power mode, after surfing the net I was relieved to find your detailed process for disassemly. Since I still have warranty I’ll get it serviced but it seems like a devil of a design to completely strip down just to clean out the dust. When I spoke to the Toshiba rep he indicated the problem was with the motherboard but all the symptoms point to overheating though it could be a faulty SMBIOS on the board. We shall see! Thanks again for your great site and wealth of info!!!
February 12th, 2006 at 11:35 am
Thanks to the people who help… And I need much help
So I have a Satellite A30 laptop and I wanted to clean it, I had the same problem of overheating..
I followed the advices, and when I removed the heatsink, I didnt unlock the CPU lock, I could remove it easily.. I don t know if it s the CPU but the pins came with the heatsink. No problem..
I cleaned and I replaced it and I had the same problem as Mike. It just can t start.
So what can I try to do?? The pins are all here, do I have to unlock this screw, replace the heatsink and relock it? I tried all the ways but always had the same black screen. Please…
February 12th, 2006 at 12:46 pm
When you remove the heatsink from Toshiba Satellite A30 / A35 laptop it usually comes out with the CPU on it. You have to carefully separate the CPU from the heatsink and clean it up from the old thermal grease (be careful not to bend CPU pins). Then you have to open the CPU lock (screw on the CPU socket), insert the CPU (do not use any pressure) into the socket and lock it. After the CPU is in place, you can apply new grease on it and install the heatsink.
You can also read this thread; the guy explains how he fixed the same problem with his Toshiba Satellite A35 laptop.
February 13th, 2006 at 1:47 am
Ok thanks very much… Another question
the CPU comes with the heatsink but it seems to be pasted on this heatsink, I don t know if I can remove it, there is something white (like a whtie glue) between the CPU and the heatsink.. And I didn t see any thermal grease, or is it this white thing??? Thanks so much for your help!
February 13th, 2006 at 6:07 am
Yes! I found it! So here my explanation for this kind of trouble (blank screen after replacing heatsink on a A35 laptop)
The problem is to put the CPU at the right place.. I didn t have to separate the CPU from the heatsink, just open the lock and place the whole piece carefully, turn the locking screw.. Only this. I had to do this several times before having a normal starting (maybe 30-40 times), just take the time to find the right position.. and good luck for the people who need! Special thanks to cj2600, what you do is very nice!
February 13th, 2006 at 6:21 am
The white thing between the CPU and the heatsink is thermal grease. If I you want to separate the CPU from the heatsink, you can insert a flat head screwdriver between the heatsink and the CPU and rotate it a little bit to lift up the CPU on one end. After that you have to insert the CPU back into the socket and lock the socket. Make sure to unlock the socket before you insert the CPU. The lock screw on the socket should be marked “Lock” and “Open”, turn the screw into “Open” position. The CPU and the socket are keyed, so there is only one correct way to insert the CPU. Be careful with the CPU pins, do not bend them. After the CPU is in place, you can clean old thermal compound on the CPU and the heatsink with an alcohol wipe and apply some new compound on the CPU. Here are some instructions how to apply Artic Silver thermal compound, you can use the instructions for any compound you can find. You can buy thermal compound online or in your local computer store.
February 13th, 2006 at 2:30 pm
For anyone who has taken-apart a Toshiba Satellite A75 series (mine is an A75-S229), can you tell me what kind of motherboard is in it…Brand, part #, etc? Thank you for your help!
February 13th, 2006 at 2:38 pm
Hey Justin,
If you can give me the model-part number from the bottom of your laptop (for example: PS183U-00JRS7B) I can find the system board part number for your lappy.
February 13th, 2006 at 7:13 pm
I would appreciate that very much. The Part # is PSA70U-00E00G. I have downloaded a program called “SpeedFan” and am attempting to use it to cause my fan to run more often…hopefully keeping the temperature inside slightly lower. Have you, or has anyone, tried this program or know if it works at all?
Thank you again for any information!
February 13th, 2006 at 8:08 pm
There is only one system board listed for this laptop. Toshiba part number is K000016360. I have no idea who makes this system board. I haven’t tried “SpeedFan” yet, and I’m not sure if it’s possible at all to make a laptop CPU fan run more often with this software. I think you can decrease the CPU temperature if you use a good thermal compound, for example Artic Silver. Also you can try a laptop cooler.
February 14th, 2006 at 6:21 am
Thank you for the info on the motherboard. I am trying to decide whether to take apart the computer myself to replace the thermal compound and do some major dust removal, or to take it in at the tail-end of my warranty and be without a computer for 2-4 weeks while they do the same thing.
As for a laptop cooler–I have tried one of these and it actually caused my computer to shut down more quickly than without. The problem, I think, is that the cooler was sucking the air directly away from the intake fan on the bottom of my poorly designed Toshiba, thereby negating the effects of the computer cooling system.
So, regarding the clean it myself vs. take it in to be cleaned…can I take apart the laptop myself and somehow not void the warranty?
Thanks again for your help!
February 14th, 2006 at 9:09 am
If the laptop is still under warranty, I wouldn’t recommend taking it apart yourself. To replace thermal compound on Toshiba Satellite A75 you have to take apart laptop completely and it will void the warranty. Just take it to a repair shop and let them fix it. It shouldn’t take more than 3-5 days. Also you can ask them to replace the CPU fan. On this model fans are not very reliable. Ask them to check if the top cover assembly on your laptop was modified to avoid a static electricity issue (your laptop locks up when you touch around the speaker area). The top cover replacement is covered under warranty.
February 18th, 2006 at 10:54 pm
Hi, This is an excellent site for all the infomations on the Toshbia laptops. Keep up the good works!! Do you guys service Toshiba Laptops out of warranty? Thanks ,
February 18th, 2006 at 11:00 pm
Thank you George,
About 90% of all Toshiba laptops we repair are covered under warranty.
February 19th, 2006 at 7:10 pm
Thank you,your site has helped me as well as saved me time an money.
February 23rd, 2006 at 4:46 am
A cheap temporary fix: With an overheating Satellite 1905 S303 in Athens, afraid of the fragile pins and with no tools to open the heat sink cover, I simply held my household vacuum cleaner nozzle over the fan intake for three minutes. Gradually it sucked some nasty fuzz up against the grate, which I could then pull out. For the first time in a year, laptop now runs without the fan permanently blasting away…
Hope I haven’t doomed myself some other way…
February 24th, 2006 at 11:32 pm
Is there anyone to clean the heatsink for an A70 without having to completely dismantle it?
February 24th, 2006 at 11:42 pm
Sometimes, when the heatsink is not clogged completely, I clean it with a compressed air. Blow it inside the fan opening on the bottom of the laptop, so the dust goes away through the opening on the laptop side.
February 24th, 2006 at 11:57 pm
OK, I’ll try that once I get a can of it, since blowing at it normally doesn’t seem to be clearing anything. If it’s working right, will air still just come out the fans, or will I also get air out of the heatsink?
February 25th, 2006 at 12:05 am
The dust is collected between the fan and the heatsink. When you blow compressed air inside the fans opening on the bottom, it will go through the heatsink and should clean it.
February 28th, 2006 at 6:43 am
Quick question for my 9-month old Toshiba Satellite M45-S331– I haven’t seen too much about fan or overheating problems in a few quick searches online, but that’s gotta be what’s going on with mine.
Symptoms: if it will even get to the point where it loads windows (about one in every 10 “power-on” attempts, the computer generally freezes up completely as I attempt to run the very first application.
Strangely, I’ve been able to get it to run perfectly fine in “Safe Mode” and even in “Debugging Mode” a couple times, during which I upgraded the BIOS (no help), removed programs from loading on startup in msconfig (no help), even did a virus scan in hopes that it might be virus-related (no help).
I took it apart and cleaned the heatsink. Iit had a tiny bit of lint, but really not very much lint in there — certainly not enough to completely cover the grating anywhere. So that didn’t seem to make any difference. (Thank you so much for the helpful photos and charts, by the way). There was lots of the white thermal greese in there, but do you think putting new stuff in there would make a difference?
I’m kinda at a loss right now.
Still under warranty (assuming I didn’t somehow void it by cleaning out the heatsink), but I’m a little bit afraid that if I make the nine-hour trip to the nearest authorized toshiba repair place (I moved from the U.S. to China last Auguat) that they won’t be able to help me. Would I be better served just wiping the hard drive clean and hoping that the computer will somehow run long enough to let me reinstall Windows? Any other suggestions?
February 28th, 2006 at 1:01 pm
It is very possible that you have a software problem, as you were able to run Windows in safe mode but not in normal mode.
I am not sure what knowledge you have about computers and I hope it will not sound very complicated for you.
You can download Knoppix Linux live CD in ISO format and burn it on a CD. After that you can try to boot you laptop from this CD. It will boot to a Linux GUI environment, very similar to Windows. Knoppix uses drivers from the CD and by booting to it you will bypass Windows OS. If you laptop works fine in Linux then most likely your problem is a corrupted Windows OS or the hard drive itself. You can test the hard drive with Hitachi DFT drive diagnostic tool . I do it all the time when I am not sure if a corrupted Windows OS is causing problems.
I would also remove any extra parts from the laptop (DVD drive, battery, wireless card, modem card) to minimize the system and see if it will fix the problem. Try to start the laptop after each part removed. If it will start working properly, the last remove part could be defective. Sometimes bad wireless card can prevent a laptop from booting normally.
I would definitely tested the memory modules with Memtest 86+ utility. If you have 2 memory sticks installed, you can remove them one by one and start the laptop to see if it makes any difference.
Your laptop is not old and I think you can use the same thermal grease if you do not have a new one.
If you do not have any important data on the hard drive try to run a restore CD, I guess you have nothing to loose and the laptop does not work properly anyway.
March 1st, 2006 at 1:52 pm
Hi There - great site. I have a S5100-603 (european model I think) that crashed every day when I used ISDN -every time I logged on it would soon crash - but has been fine for months since I got broadband. Anyway, the big issue is that the screen has flickering pink-ish vertical lines, very hard to read but I manage by changing to lower colour settings where the lines get wider - about 1/4 inch wide or so. Once or twice the way i pressed on the body of the laptop made the lines disappear but I could not recreate this effect and it only lasted a few minutes. The screen is bad on a projector too so its not the LCD thats at fault. I could buy a new laptop for the money I’m quoted for a new video card (telephone diagnosis of the problem) which I’m told needs a new motherboard. I’m wondering if you have any ideas - do I need a new mortherboard? If so can I upgrade from the broken nvidia 440go? Can the video card be replaced without replacing the motherboard? Where can I buy a motherboard? I have searched the net for a long time now.
Incidentally my brothers Toshiba shuts down too till he got it cleaned.
On another note, I need a second laptop for work and the new Quosmio AV600 looks great - especially the speakers. Any ideas will this be crap for overheating too?
Many thanks for your help,
Steve
March 1st, 2006 at 10:31 pm
Hi Steve,
Unfortunately I am not familiar with this laptop model; I repair mostly laptops sold in the USA. I assume that you laptop is similar to Toshiba Satellite 5105 and it has a dedicated video card (not integrated on the system board).
I think that it is a good sign that you were able to get rid of the lines on the screen by flexing the laptop case. It is possible that you can fix the video just by reseating the video card on the system board. Very often the video problem may occur because of a faulty connection between the video card and the system board. You can try to remove the keyboard and push on the video card to see if it will change the video output. If your model is similar to Toshiba Satellite 5105 than you can use my disassembly guide: how to remove the VGA board from Toshiba Satellite 5105 laptop . A new “refurbished” video card is very expensive. Last week I had to troubleshoot a similar laptop, and I quoted to my customer over $200 – he declined the repair. It might be more expensive to fix your laptop than to buy a new one.
You can look for a new video card on eBay. It is risky but sometimes you can get buy stuff very cheap.
I haven’t work on Qosmio G35-AV600 yet and cannot give you any advice. This model is pretty new and very expensive. I guess I will not see this model in our shop in the near future. When you buy a new laptop do not forget to buy an extended warranty, it will pay off.
March 3rd, 2006 at 7:46 pm
Toshiba P30-100.
Having problems with it starting. As soon as it gets to desktop it shuts down. I don’t think it is an overheating problem as it doesn’t start long enough to even get warm. Any ideas would be great.
Thanks in advance
March 3rd, 2006 at 9:49 pm
The CPU in Toshiba P30 is getting hot very fast. It is still possible that you have an overheating problem, even if the laptop runs only for a minute. Check if the CPU fans work properly. Also try to start the laptop in Safe Mode to load only basic Windows files. It is possible that your laptop is infected with a virus. If the laptop works fine in a Safe Mode, than most likely you have a software problem.
One of the best ways to bypass Windows OS files and exclude the software problem is to boot the laptop with Knoppix CD (Comment 34). If you still have the same problem after you booted with Knoppix, the software is not your problem. If your laptop work fine in Knoppix then I would try to reload Windows OS (backup all important data and run a restore CD).
March 4th, 2006 at 1:23 pm
Hi i have a Toshiba M35X laptop and it shus down by iself. I used the coprssedair on the outside of the model next to the fan. I’m scared of opening the laptop but anyway my laptop shuts off in 15min on a good day and 50sec. on a bad one. I tried the old vaccum trick and hat didn’t work. I don’t know what to do because im not a computer wiz and im short on cash.
March 5th, 2006 at 1:56 pm
Great Site! I have a Toshiba A35 that overheats and Im about toopen it up to clean it. Having read about others CPU problems during reassembly, Id rather not pull the heat sink off. Is there a way to remove the “lint/felt” without pulling the heat sink out once tyhe back is off? ( I havent looked inside yet)
March 5th, 2006 at 3:37 pm
Hi Bruce,
You can clean up your Toshiba Satellite A30/A35 heatisnk without pulling it out. You have to remove the heatsink cover and blew the dust out with a canned air. The dust collects between the heatsink and the CPU fan, so clean it properly. After that you can check your job with a flashlight. If you can see the CPU fan through the heatsink it should be good enough to fix the overheating problem. You have to remove the heatsink if you want apply a new thermal compound on the CPU (Artic Silver thermal compound is a good one).
March 5th, 2006 at 6:18 pm
Thanks for the great site! You are a lifesaver for those of us out here with out of warranty Toshiba laptops. I have a A75-S229 with the common overheating problem. Sent it in for “motherboard replacement” while under warranty and I am having problems again now that the warranty has expired. Do you know if it is possible to change processors in this model? If I switched to a Celeron processor would that reduce the heat production? Is this even a possibility? Do you know if Toshiba is doing anything to make this right? I have tried to find out information from the company but they are not very forthcoming. I love this model with the exception of it overheating all the time. Thanks for any help you can offer.
March 5th, 2006 at 6:47 pm
You would be surprised Meg, but Toshiba Satellite A75 laptops with a Celeron CPU inside experience the same overheating problem as laptops with Pentium CPUs. You can prevent the common overheating problem with this model if you buy a can of compressed air and clean the heatsink 2-3 times a month. Just make a few shots inside the fan opening on the bottom of your laptop. If you have some dust inside the heatsink, it will go away through the openings on the side. Also do not use the LAPTOP on your LAPs
, use it on a flat surface.
March 11th, 2006 at 2:38 pm
Thanks for all the information. This is by far the best site. I have a A75 - S229 with had an overheat problem. So I followed the intstructions found herein and i seem to have fixed it. While I had the computer dismantled, I also applied the Artic Silver five but I am not sure I applied it on the right place. I did not place it directly on the CPU but the place that covers the CPU where it makes contact with the heat sink - it is a square plate. Is this the right place or do I have remove the plate to put the Silver on the CPU itself?
March 11th, 2006 at 3:20 pm
Hey Michael,
You have to apply a new thermal compound directly on the CPU. The laptop CPU is pictured on step 25 in Toshiba Satellite A75 disassembly guide . After you apply the thermal compound you have to attach the heatsink and secure it using 4 silver screws.
March 13th, 2006 at 8:40 am
Hi Cj,
Many thanks for the fast reply. Will let you know how I get on.
Best regards,
Steve
March 13th, 2006 at 11:44 am
Ok I tried the Video card removal, cleaning and reseating but it didnt work unfortunately. Was worth a try though. At least I managed to put it all back together and its working - which proves your instructions are top notch cause Ive never looked inside a laptop before! So people its not that hard, just take care and label each screw you take out!
The model numbers seem to match 5105 = US, 5100 = europe. So at least Ive more options now to look for a new video card, and I know I’ll be able to put it in if I get one. Took the opportunity to give the insides a good cleaning anyway.
Thanks again for the advice.
Steve
March 13th, 2006 at 8:37 pm
Hey, I just followed your disassembly guide, absolutly flawless. I cleaned my fan and heatsink, which had a 1/4 inch thick piece of the “felt” dust on it. Couldn’t believe that. What I am wondering now, is how I should go about replacing my chargin plug, which is also damaged. In order to get it to charge I have to apply downward pressure to the plug, and make sure it doesn’t move. If you know of any tutorials on how to fix this, or if you’ve written one, that would be great. Thank’s so much.
March 13th, 2006 at 9:07 pm
Hey Brendan,
To fix the DC jack you have to remove the system board from the laptop. I guess you’ve done it once already. You can find more information in these posts:
Toshiba Satellite 1900. Laptop loses power and shuts down without warning.
Toshiba Satellite M35X and Satellite A75 power jack and battery charge problem.
March 13th, 2006 at 9:10 pm
Thank you so much for your quick reply! I read the two posts and it is obvious that my laptop is suffering from the broken solder connection. I have soldered things before, but never a motherboard. How much do I have to worry about heating up the board? I don’t want to heat it up too much, but that it causing the solder to ball up and not stick to the board. Thanks again.
March 14th, 2006 at 3:45 am
My Eisystem notebook turns off suddenly without warning. can you help?
March 15th, 2006 at 7:36 am
Hey Brendan,
The DC jack stays away from other components, so you have enough time to heat it up. I do not solder myself a lot and it takes me some time to fix DC jack on the system board, but I haven’t had any problem so far.
March 15th, 2006 at 7:37 am
Hey Ryan,
Sorry cannot help with this one. I’m not familiar with this model.
March 15th, 2006 at 10:25 am
Dear CJ,
Just bought a Toshiba M55-S3314 3 wks ago. Works great at the moment; but reading about the overheating and dc-plug issues scares me a bit (yeah, it’s under warranty, but I don’t want to have to go there if I can prevent it). Two questions:
1. Do the M55’s tend to get clogged and overheat? If I use compressed air blown through the side, maybe with a vacuum cleaner sucking underneath, say, once a week starting now, should that keep it under control?
2. The DC jack is kinda flimsy, looking at it from the outside. I don’t know if it’s on a pigtail or on the board. Is there a way to secure it (like, maybe, epoxy) around the edges where the jack sticks through the case or something like that? Something preventative? Or is this a non-issue.
Sorry for it being so long, I’m just trying to protect my investment…an ounce of medicine is worth a pound of cure, you know…
Thanks so much,
Dan
March 15th, 2006 at 12:51 pm
Hi Dan,
Here is disassembly guide for Toshiba Satellite M55 laptop. On step 27 you can see the laptop system board. The DC jack is on a pigtail and you shouldn’t experience any problem with cutting power. Just leave it as is.
If you are going to use compressed air to clean the heatsink may be 2-3 times a month, it would be under your control.
BTW, it is always a good idea to buy an extra 3-4 years warranty to protect your investment. I can fix laptops myself, but I always buy an extra warranty. Laptop hardware is so expensive!
March 17th, 2006 at 7:44 pm
CAN CLEANING IT REALLY HELPS OR ITS JUST A GENUINE PROBLEM WITH ALL TOSHIBA?
March 18th, 2006 at 8:23 pm
[...] Overheating problem. The laptop will shut down by itself without any reason. To fix the overheating problem you have to take the laptop apart and clean up the heatsink. [...]
March 19th, 2006 at 9:38 am
been having overheating problems with my toshiba 35 found the guide in how to clean the fans out but dont have the star key to unlock the 2 screws to get to the heatsink…can i buy one ?where do i get one?
March 20th, 2006 at 1:39 am
Hey, very nice job for doing this Page for all of us that need some manuals to fix the overheating problems, My father bought an A75 and after 1 year and a half working great he started to have some problems, so he took it to a repair center and it work great just for 3 weeks, so I found this page and I followed the instructions and applied some Arctic Silver 5 and is working great for now, hope it stays like this.
Now I have two questions:
1.- Is there any web like this to dismantle a Acer Ferrari 4005? I have one, I don’t have any problems but I want to put it Arctic Silver 5 hehehe.
2.- Is there any Software like MobileMeter to see the temperature of the A75?
Thank you a lot and great job.
March 20th, 2006 at 11:59 pm
Thank you so much, especially for the instruction for dismantling A75.
I had this problem for so long, I tried to dismantle it, but never figured out how.
I’ll try this now,
Thank you so much
March 21st, 2006 at 10:21 am
Hi Alex,
I do not work with Acer laptops myself, but I found one interesting website with Acer laptop service manuals. It might be helpful for you.
I do not know any software like MobileMeter for Toshiba Satellite A75, I never needed one.
March 27th, 2006 at 12:01 am
I was just looking through this lot. I just purchased an Advent laptop. I know it’s a differnet make but It’s showing the same signs as the Toshiba and appears to be more or less the same kind of set-up. I only got the laptop 3 days ago and lastnight I tried to watch a DVD, 3 times in a row the laptop overheated and shut down. Is this unusual considering it’s new? The laptop was on the entire day before this happened though.
March 27th, 2006 at 12:16 am
Hey Sydo73,
It is very unusual for a new laptop to overheat. When you watched a DVD last night, did you keep your laptop on a flat surface? Even though this computer is called LAPTOP, it is not a very good idea to use it on your laps. A laptop can easily get overheated if you close the fan opening on the bottom.
BTW, you bought it just 3 days ago. Can you take it back and exchange for a new one?
April 2nd, 2006 at 7:54 pm
Hello
I hope that you might help with an unusual problem with my Toshiba Satellite P35-S605, only 6 months old.
When I remove the power adapter cable from the back of the laptop, the laptop still thinks that it is running on AC power. In other words, even when it is running on battery it still thinks that it is plugged into the wall and it runs at full power. The laptop simply does not know that it is running on battery power, it always thinks that it is running on AC power.
I reinstalled the Windows operating system and there was no change - it always thinks that it is running on AC power. If I shut it down in hibernation mode while running on battery the battery recharge lights on the front of the computer stay on as if the battery is being recharged from the AC adapter, even when the adapter is not plugged into the wall or attached to the computer.
On the upside, it will still charge the battery, will still run on battery - always thinking that it is running on AC power.
Thanks
April 3rd, 2006 at 5:50 am
Thanks a lot :)… great job you guys are doing, really appreciate it… keep it up!
April 3rd, 2006 at 9:27 pm
Hi Sonja,
First of all, if your laptop is only 6 months old it should be still under warranty. Take it to a Toshiba service center and let them to fix your problem.
In this model the battery connects directly to the main board. Some circuits on the main board control charging and discharging the battery and switching between the AC power mode and the battery mode. If after reinstalling the operating system you still experience the same problem, then I can only blame the system board. Take your laptop to a repair shop and they will replace the main board.
April 4th, 2006 at 7:19 pm
cj2600,
I am following your incredibly clear instructions about how to disassemble a Toshiba Satellite M35X in order to clean my heatsink. I am stuck on Step 13 — removing the top cover assembly. I don’t have a guitar pick, but I have used a thin metal barette and a tiny flathead screwdriver to attempt to pry the top cover off. It is not separating at the back left and right corners. I can lift up the sides and the front (where the speakers are), but I can’t get those back corners to budge. Any suggestions? THANKS!
April 4th, 2006 at 7:23 pm
Oops! I must have missed the photo with those corner screws. I feel so dumb.
April 4th, 2006 at 7:26 pm
Actually. they don’t seem to be circled in the step 2 photo.
Sorry to triple post.
April 4th, 2006 at 7:44 pm
Hey Whitney,
Thank you for your help. I forgot to mark those screws on the picture in Step2. Fixed!
Also, I would recommend not to use a screwdriver when you separate the top cover assembly from the base, because you can leave scratches. Use any piece of plastic if you do not have a guitar pick.
April 4th, 2006 at 9:09 pm
I don’t care about scratching this piece of junk, but thanks for the warning! I have owned the M35X for 13 months and have already gotten my motherboard replaced twice by Toshiba repair centers. I had the power jack problem before and all of a sudden the shutdown problem started yesterday. My heatsink was clean when I took it apart just now.
I finished putting it back together and unfortunately must have missed a detail. When I power on, it beeps a few times (a beep I’ve never heard before). The blue power light goes on and all the LED lights are on, but nothing happens. Any clues?
Thanks again for this amazing resource.
April 4th, 2006 at 9:18 pm
Check if the memory is seated properly. Check if all cables are properly connected. I think it is something simple as a bad connection. If you removed the CPU make sure it it’s seated properly and locked.
April 6th, 2006 at 5:28 am
Thanks for your great instructions. I too suffer from a Toshiba laptop overheating problem, but after a quick clean (well its an a70 so really a complete disassembly) all is working great.
May good fortune follow you wherever you go.
.fri
April 7th, 2006 at 2:18 pm
I have just bought a refurbished A70. Should I regularly blow both fans. Also if I do this would you reccomend a routine dissmantle? Say annually, to clean the sink and fans? Finally you may know this. Where are the internal mikes on the A70, I can get the external working but not the internal?? Any Ideas? Thanks Jules
April 7th, 2006 at 8:24 pm
Hi Jules,
If you blow off both fans regularly, let’s say 2-3 times a months, it is not necessary to dismantle the laptop for a routine cleaning. Just keep fans and heatsink clean all the time.
April 8th, 2006 at 1:21 am
Thanks! I wish I’d found this site a year ago when my Toshiba first had this problem. It was under warrenty then and I could have told them to replace the fan for good measure. Now it’s too late.
I’m planning to do the do it yourself way - however - is it terrible if I’m unable to remove the old grease and put new stuff on? I’m in Japan and have no idea where i’d buy CPU grease. Can I get away without it?
April 8th, 2006 at 1:39 am
PS - sorry just noticed this - when I plugged the AC cord in the fan immedietly went into high (and loud) mode. Was quiet and subdued when I was on battery power - but my battery doesn’t last too long.
Is this usual - or is there more to my overheating problem than I assumed.
April 8th, 2006 at 5:57 am
any idea on internal mikes and how to et them working?
April 8th, 2006 at 12:17 pm
Hi Rachel,
Try to clean the heatsink and the fan without laptop disassembly first. Buy a can of compressed air and blow inside the openings on the bottom of the laptop case and then inside the openings on the sides. If after that your laptop still overheats, it might be necessary to take it apart to clean the heatsink and apply new thermal grease on the CPU. You can find thermal grease and canned air in any local computer store.
In some Toshiba models fans have few rotation speeds. The rotation speed is higher when the CPU is hotter. In Toshiba Satellite A75 for example, when you turn on the laptop the fan start spinning very fast and then it slows down. If the heatsink is clogged then the fan rotation speed might stay on high all the time.
Try to eliminate the overheating problem first and you’ll see if your laptop has any other issues.
April 8th, 2006 at 12:37 pm
Hi Jules,
I have no idea where internal microphone is located on Toshiba Satellite A70 and if there is a microphone at all. I think I repaired over a hundred A70 and A75 laptops but cannot memorize where it could be located. I never had a customer who complained about it; probably that’s why I do not know. I just went through the part list for Toshiba Satellite A70 notebook and didn’t find any.
April 10th, 2006 at 1:00 pm
Thanks, the memory was in wrong. The heatsink was clean and yet I’m still having the shut down problem. In the past two days my AC connection has begun flickering and going off. The motherboard on my M35X has already been replaced twice–first right after I bought it and again 6 weeks ago.
IMPORTANT NEWS for everyone: I called Toshiba and they put me through to a customer service rep who told me that there is a big lawsuit against these models due to a grounding problem. They said that I will be contacted and compensated when it is over. In the meantime, all repairs will be free if I take the computer to an authorized repair center.
To all fellow Toshiba sufferers, make sure that Toshiba has your contact information by calling their warranty department at 800-240-7100.
April 10th, 2006 at 1:48 pm
Thank you very much for this very helpful and informative website. I tried to find answer how to solve the problem with my Toshiba Satellite 1415-S173 notebook. WINDOWS MEDIA PLAYER PLAYS CHOPPY VIDEOS.
I did clean reinstall of Windows XP and did not get any positive result. My computer works slowly and CPU usage is mostly 100%.
Is there the solution to above problems?
Thank you in advance for help.
Sincerely,
Peter
April 12th, 2006 at 12:04 am
Hey Peter,
That is very strange that a fresh Windows XP load uses 100% of the CPU. Are you using an original Toshiba restore CDs? Most likely the video are choppy because the CPU is always busy. It’s not normal.
April 12th, 2006 at 9:30 am
Do you know any sites that show how to repair a sony vaio laptops??
April 12th, 2006 at 9:54 am
Hello cj2600:
At the beginning I used an original Toshiba restore CDs and then I did clean Windows restore using Windows XP CD. Why CPU is always busy? What is the problem? Can heatsink cleaning help?
April 12th, 2006 at 9:23 pm
Hi Brandon,
You can find some help for Sony laptops here and here.
April 12th, 2006 at 9:30 pm
Hi Peter,
Not sure what is going on with your laptop. I think that cleaning the heatsink will not help. It is possible that one of installed devices is bad and loads the CPU 100%. Try to remove the DVD/CD-ROM drive, modem, wireless card, etc… one by one and start the laptop after each removed part. Check if it fixes the problem.
April 14th, 2006 at 11:38 am
Dear cj2600:
Thank you very much for your response. Please let me know if the result of removing “the DVD/CD-ROM drive, modem, wireless card, etc” is SIMILAR TO DISABLING THESE DEVICES USING DEVICE MANAGER.
I want let you know that my majour problem is that Windows Media Player plays CHOPPY STREAMING VIDEO FILES .WMV.
The problem arose after I installed RED VIDEO TOOLS converter from http://www.videohelp.com/mov2avi.htm. Full Recovery with Toshiba Recovery CD’s and clean Windows reinstall did not solve the problem.
Thank you in advance for your help.
Best regards,
Peter
April 15th, 2006 at 11:46 pm
Thank you cj2600. I have a Toshiba Satellite A75-S226 laptop and I was wondering if my fans are messed up because my laptop shuts down unexpectedly. My fans makes grinding sounds when I put my power to full power such as processor speed and brightness but it goes away if I put everything on low, I can also feel the air coming out from the bottom and the fans are loud. I’m going to disassemble and follow your guide and also put as5. Hopefully this can solve the problem of the fan and the unexpectedly shutdowns. Any other advice? Thanks again
April 16th, 2006 at 9:17 am
Hi Brandon,
Most of the time the laptop shuts down not because of a noisy fan but because of a clogged heatsink. I am pretty sure that you will fix the unexpected shutdown problem by cleaning the heatsink and replacing the thermal grease.
I think that your fan should be replaced too. I have seen a lot of A70/A75 fans making a grinding sound when it spins on highest speed. Usually we replace the fan in this case. If you have no money to buy a new fan now, then you can leave it as is for a while. But the heatsink cleaning is necessary to prevent shutdowns.
BTW, the Toshiba part number for fan assembly is: K000016310
April 17th, 2006 at 9:16 am
Thanks again cj2600. Do you know if theres anyway to fix an lcd because of the black spots or dead pixels? And Do you know the Toshiba Satellite A75-S226 part number for the lcd because I searched for lcds and they have many different part numbers. I was wondering which one would be the best one.
April 17th, 2006 at 11:50 am
CJ,
Thanks for all the help. I took my A75 apart last night cleaned out the lint and put it back together. Now I’m running CPUSTRES.EXE on it for the last six hours and I would have to say it’s like a new laptop.
Only problem I had was that I accidently smashed one of the small circular connectors for the internal wifi card and I can’t get it snapped on anymore. I found the part number for the antenna (K000016040) and I found where I can order one, but I don’t know how to take the LCD screen apart which is where the antenna runs through. Any help here would be appreciated.
April 17th, 2006 at 9:39 pm
Brandon,
You cannot fix a dead pixel. The only way to get rid of it is to replace the LCD screen. To find a correct LCD part number I also need the model-part number witch you can find on the bottom of the laptop. Something like PSA70U-004004.
April 17th, 2006 at 9:49 pm
Hi Steve,
First try if the Wi-Fi will work with only one antenna cable attached. It might be not necessary to replace it. I haven’t created LCD disassembly guide for Satellite A75 yet, but you can use Toshiba Satellite P25 LCD disassembly instructions for example. The screw location would be different but you’ll figure it out. To replace the wireless card antenna cables you have to remove the LCD screen, the keyboard strip and the keyboard itself. Nothing complicated. Be careful removing the LCD mask; do not use a screwdriver, only fingers.
April 18th, 2006 at 4:52 am
CJ,
Yes, it works with only the one wire attached, but I was wondering if it was only working at a reduced performance, possibly not getting signal or intermitent signal if I go to far away from the base station.
Since it was working, I didn’t figure I would rip it apart again immediately, If I have to clean out the heat sink every 6-9 months I figured I would replace the antenna next time I open the laptop back up.
I am also planning on putting Linux on this system in hopes that the lower CPU/Memory requirements of a Linux system would help to avoid disassembly as often, but I am having trouble finding drivers for the WiFi card. Do you (or anyone) know which drivers I would need for my Satellite A75-S226 system?
April 18th, 2006 at 5:10 am
The model number for my laptop is PSA70U-004004.
By any chance do you have any guides for taking apart a Toshiba Tecra M4?
April 18th, 2006 at 1:17 pm
Brandon,
There are a lot of different LCD screens listed for your Toshiba:
K000009680 LG LP154W01-A3
K000009660 CPT CLAA154WA01
K000016010 Samsung LTN154X1-L03
K000009670 Toshiba LTD154EX0C
K000019460 LG LP154W01-A5
K000023590 LG LP154W01-TL12
They all 15.4” WXGA screens. The last one is the most inexpensive.
There is one more K000024340 CPT CLAA154W05, but I didn’t find if it is backward compatible with other LCD screens.
I will create a guide for Toshiba Tecra M4 as soon as I get it for repair in our shop.
April 18th, 2006 at 4:05 pm
Cj,
Thanks does it matter what lcd do I get for the toshiba satellite a75-s226? If it does, the more expensive the lcd is the better the quality?
April 18th, 2006 at 8:44 pm
You can install any LCD you can find and afford. When we have to replace the LCD screen on a laptop, we order from Toshiba any available on the moment screen ignoring the price. When you replace the LCD screen, the most important part to find a correct LCD screen with the same mounting points and the same connector type. All above mentioned screens should fit your laptop without any problem (not sure about K000024340).
April 18th, 2006 at 9:40 pm
Steve,
One antenna wire is called auxiliary. I would guess you need this antenna just in case if the main antenna cable is damaged, not sure. I asked other technicians if the performance would be reduced if you use only one wire, and nobody can give me a straight answer. It is not necessary to take it apart every 6-9 months; you can prevent the overheating problem if you use a compressed air to clean the fans. Blow inside the openings on the bottom of the laptop until the heatsink is clean. You have to take it apart only if the heatsink is completely clogged or if you want to replace thermal compound on the CPU.
I do not use Linux very often but know that it has a terrible support for wireless. Cannot help with drivers, you have to find some Linux gurus on the Internet.
April 18th, 2006 at 10:31 pm
Hi Peter,
It is not enough just disable the device using device manager. When you troubleshoot the laptop you physically have to remove the device from the laptop. You mentioned that the CPU is loaded 100% all the time and reloading the operating system didn’t help. I guess that’s why you are getting a choppy video output. I cannot say what is causing the problem.
April 19th, 2006 at 10:26 pm
I’ve A70 and same problem. Laptop keeps shutting down while working. Got reparied so far 4-5 times and changed mother board 3 times so far. They also replaced CD/DVD, TSF and much more. Now they trying to walk over me that there is lot of dust in my laptop which gets overheated, but infact it’s not true. My laptop never stays in the dusty environment.
Now I wanna get the permanent solution for my laptop so I can use smoothly, what can I do? As of now the unit is not under warranty.
April 19th, 2006 at 10:44 pm
If the laptop shuts down while working then it might indicate two problems.
First problem: DC jack loosing connection with the system board and should be re-soldered. If the LED lights flicker when you wiggle the power plug, then the DC jack should be replaced or resoldered. Most likely your system board was replaced before because of this problem.
Second problem: the laptop overheats and shuts down without warning. To fix the problem you can buy a canned air and blow inside the openings on the bottom of the laptop. That could be your solution to prevent laptop overheating.
April 22nd, 2006 at 8:33 am
before starting in my toshiba laptop there is a 20 seconds beep. Why?
April 22nd, 2006 at 10:43 am
I’ve got a Toshiba Satelite A75-S231 The problem is following: the computer switches off every 30 minutes, After 20-30 minutes of working it gets too hot (I think so) and switches off. What can be the reason of such problems? And i don’t have any warrenty on my laptop
i want to do myself pl give the clear idea to trouble shut the problem without any problem
i hope u will give the clear picture and also where i will get the accessories for the same
i am waiting for ur reply
with regards,
sathya
April 22nd, 2006 at 11:31 am
Sathya,
Most likely your laptop shuts down because it overheats. You can take it apart and clean the heatsink with fans.
April 24th, 2006 at 6:22 pm
Hey, I know a million people have said this above — but this is such a cool resource. Thanks for putting it out here.
My laptop (5205-S703) just started shutting down today. Or actually, it doesn’t shut itself down, it just keeps throwing up these dire warning messages every 15 seconds or so, saying a problem has been detected with the cooling system.
When this happened, I noticed that there was no fan activity at all. The machine was totally quiet. I don’t know how long it had been like this, but MAN it was hot.
After reading through this post and the comments, I imagine I’ve got enough dust in there to build a whole new computer with (the machine is 3 years old). The question is, do you think the fan strained so hard to cool the system that it just broke? Or is a fan shutdown what you’d expect in an overheated situation like this?
Blowing out the heatsink I can do myself. Messing with component stuff like that, I’m going to people who know what they’re doing.
Thanks again for doing this — it’s great!
April 24th, 2006 at 8:47 pm
Hey Eric,
When you see a warning message about a cooling system problem in Windows, then most likely the fan doesn’t spin and should be replaced. I had to order a new fan for Toshiba Satellite R15 this morning with a warning message like yours. Removing fan on Toshiba Satellite 5205 laptop requires some skills. Here is a guide for Toshiba Satellite 5105 VGA board replacement, it will show how to get access to the fan and the guide should be the same for Satellite 5205. If you are not sure, do not open the case.
Here is a Toshiba part number for the cooling fan: P000352700 or P000371020
April 25th, 2006 at 7:00 am
Hi, 1st Thanks A LOT for having this site, is one of the few sites I’ve seen with real good useful info. I’ve been having the overheating problem for more than a year. I have a Satellite P15, how do I clean the heatsink?
April 25th, 2006 at 5:18 pm
I want any information about Eisystem laptop prices specialy the kind of inte(R) , celeron (R) , cpu 2.6GHZ and Li-ion Battery 14.8v 4000MAH8640SC with serual no MSL S/N :4766050a8i-4c0428 and part No :40004852(SM)
April 26th, 2006 at 7:30 pm
Hi, Great Site.
Have you dealt with the touchpad shutting down? First the touchpad goes, then right after that or maybe at the same time I also then lose the USB ports and the keyboard. Usually the keyboard comes back but not the touchpad.
5205-S703 is the model. It has been cleaned of dust lint but didn’t help this problem.
Thanks for any help!
JOe
April 26th, 2006 at 9:47 pm
Cj,
I was wondering whats the average time disassembling a toshiba satellite a75-s226? This is my first time im going to take it apart, so hopefully it doesnt take long.
April 26th, 2006 at 9:56 pm
Madeline,
Follow the link. How to clean Toshiba Satellite P15 heatsink and fix laptop overheating problem.
April 26th, 2006 at 10:01 pm
Hi Joe,
I have never seen this problem before, not a clue. I would try to upgrade BIOS and reseat the keyboard and the touchpad connectors on the system board. Not sure if it will help, but I would definitely try it.
April 26th, 2006 at 10:05 pm
Brandon,
If you have never done it before, it might take about 45 minutes. When you disassemble the laptop make some notes, do not forget screw location. It is pretty easy to take it apart, just do not hurry. Be careful with connectors on the system board, unlock them before you pull cables.
To remove the motherboard I need 10-15 minutes.
April 26th, 2006 at 10:36 pm
If it is possible, please let me know the best place to connect anti-static wrist strap to the notebook computer.
April 27th, 2006 at 9:57 pm
“I have seen a lot of A70/A75 fans making a grinding sound when it spins on highest speed. Usually we replace the fan in this case.”
Cj,
After replacing fans, would my laptop be more quiet than before and would the grinding noises would go away?? Thanks because I was just wondering if it’ll be worth it buying a new fan this weekend.
April 27th, 2006 at 10:08 pm
Brandon,
Toshiba Satellite A70 and A75 laptop are not the quietest computers in the world. After you replace the fan and clean up the heatsink it should be quieter and the grinding noise will go away if it is not caused by a failing hard drive of course.
If you use Toshiba Power Management Utility then you can also change the cooling method from the maximum performance mode to the silent mode. It should also help to make your laptop quieter.
To change the cooling method go to: Start-Control Panel-Toshiba Power Management-Advanced-Cooling Method
April 28th, 2006 at 9:34 am
[...] Read more: Why my Toshiba laptop suddenly shuts down by itself without warning? [...]
April 28th, 2006 at 12:05 pm
Hi,
I have a used toshiba satellite A15, the guy I bought it from told me it worked fine, but when I got it home it would start go through the bios and then shut down. At first I thought it was the hard drive or OS so I installed a new hard drive, got my windows xp cd and tried to set it up. However, it won’t stay on long enough to set up. It will shut down normally at the setup is inspecting your hardware screen, or sometimes if I get lucky I will get to the blue screen to agree to the license, but then it will shut down again. I have tried cleaning the heatsink and fan, etc., but to be honest they were not even dirty or clogged with lent or dirt. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks, Ray I’m wondering if it could be a bios issue……….
April 28th, 2006 at 6:23 pm
Ray,
It looks like your laptop overheats and shuts down. Check if the fan spins. Also I would check if there is thermal grease between the CPU and the heatsink.
You can get it trouble if you try to upgrade or re-flash the BIOS. The laptop might shut down in the middle of the upgrade and the motherboard might get screwed. You’ll have to replace the motherboard. Try to find the problem without re-flashing the BIOS.
April 30th, 2006 at 11:56 pm
Is it possible to get at the M35X’s heat sinks and fan to clean them without completely disassembling the case? I see the instructions for completely disassemblng the case but it kind of glosses over the fan and heat sinks like are so prominently discussed in other model instructions. Thanks, this is the best Toshiba help site I’ve found and the best for the notorious overheating problems!
May 1st, 2006 at 6:22 pm
Hi Cj
I am trouble removing some screws I think they are on so tight and I think I messed up the screw top part and I dont know how to take it off, Is there any way I can remove the screw?
May 1st, 2006 at 6:25 pm
I believe my screw is stripped now, anyway to remove it?
May 1st, 2006 at 6:26 pm
Hello, I have a toshiba tecra a1, and its ben working fine until all of a sudden, i kept getting a cpu hog and shutdowns after start-up. Thinking it was a virus, i spent a whole week tweeking and installing and scanning and deleting files. It was only after some thinking i noticed that the usually loud fan was quiet and that the back and keyboard were unusually hot. At this point, i packed it away because I cannot afford repairs. Reading this blog gives me some hope, and in the event that i totally screw it up, i am resigned. But before i proceed, do you have any words of caution???
May 1st, 2006 at 9:15 pm
Jerry,
You can try to clean the heatsink and the fan with a compressed air. Buy a can of compressed air and blow inside the fan grill on the side of the laptop. It’s not the best way to clean the heatsink, but you do not have to take it apart.
May 1st, 2006 at 9:24 pm
Brandon,
You can search for a screw extractor tool on the Internet. I guess you need something like this.
May 1st, 2006 at 9:35 pm
Tropware,
When you replace the fan, I would also clean the heatsink and apply new thermal grease on the processor.
Most likely the laptop overheats because the fan stopped working. It is very easy to replace the cooling fan on Toshiba Tecra A1, you can access it if you remove the hatch on the bottom. You have nothing to screw up.
Toshiba part number for Tecra A1 fan: P000377310
May 2nd, 2006 at 12:58 pm
I have a toshiba laptop model EA60-155, which is overheating and shutting down, does the same process of compressed air to clean the heatsink work with this model?
May 2nd, 2006 at 6:58 pm
Tracey,
It will work for any laptop that has CPU fan and heatsink openings on the bottom or on the side.
May 3rd, 2006 at 1:14 pm
I just finished taking apart my Toshiba A75 S206 because it was overheating/shutting down. I disassembled the computer, removed the dust/hair and reassembled. It now works great. If I ever need to do this again I think that I would try to “fish” the lint from infront of the copper heat sink using a thin wire with a hook crimpped into the end. I know the wire has to be thin, but I think that it is made. You can access the outside of the heat sink. If this would work it would save alot of anxiety!!
May 3rd, 2006 at 2:19 pm
hi, i have a toshiba p10-873
basically, it does the overheating problem, where it wont let me play any dvds or do any virus check-ups or anything, and my warranty is over. shud i do the compressed air thingy (is this model ok to pull apart?), is it easy to do, because im not really great with computers? or should i take it to a shop?
thanks for the help
May 3rd, 2006 at 9:00 pm
Hi there,
You can clean Toshiba Satellite P10 yourself and save couple dollars. It is not difficult and you can use my disassembly guide for Toshiba Satellite P15 laptop laptop as an example. It might be not necessary to remove the heatsink because after you remove the fan you can easily clean up the heatsink. Follow steps 1-4 and you’ll be OK.
May 4th, 2006 at 4:50 pm
Thanks Cj,
Everything worked great disassembled Toshiba A75-S226 and changed out lcd and fan and cleaned heatsink and fan. I was wondering how to upgrade a notebook hard drive to a bigger one, is ez-gig II notebook hard drive upgrade kit worth it?
May 5th, 2006 at 11:31 pm
Hi Brandon,
Check out newegg.com. Very good prices and very good service. I buy a lot of computer stuff from them.
Congratulations on fixing your laptop. To upgrade your laptop you need just a regular 2.5” notebook harddrive. I believe your laptop is configured with 60GB 4200RPM ATA-6 hard drive by default. You can safely upgrade to 80GB, 100GB or 120GB hard drive. Not sure if the BIOS will support a bigger size, I have never tried it. I would go with at least 5400RPM or 7200RPM if you can afford it.
May 7th, 2006 at 9:20 pm
Thanks for the info on disassembling my wife’s Toshiba M35X, I was surprised that it wasn’t all that dirty and the filter was not as clogged as I assumed it would be. Afterall the fan was going crazy so I assumed the filter was clogged. What I think the problem was was that the thermal compound between the CPU and heat sink was bad so the heat sink was not conducting heat away from the CPU like it should have. I applied Arctic Silver thermal conductor between them and I feel that probably did the trick. 4 days later and zero shutdowns whereas before it was shutting down 4-12 shutdowns a day. The filter just wasn’t clogged enough to have caused this problem, you could see through it and there just wasn’t much dust or lint. So for me, I think the new thermal compound from Arctic Silver did the trick. Thanks for the instructions on getting into the M35X, I am an old computer tech and I was surprised how difficult it was to get to the processor! Thanks again!
May 8th, 2006 at 9:45 pm
Not realizing that the a75 had to be taken apart to access the heat sink, I took the hard drive out in the process of blowing compressed air into the computer to clear it. When I put the hard drive back in, the computer would not boot up.
I took the hard drive out and some of the prongs were bent and the piece that it plugs into (inside the computer) was broke. I am currently in the process of creating a ghost image of the hard drive before calling support.
Do you think I voided the warranty? I have full coverage, including accidental. I didn’t want to send it in for such a minor repair (or what I thought was a minor repair).
Thanks.
May 8th, 2006 at 10:20 pm
Ruby,
If you have a Toshiba repair center somewhere in your location, I would recommend taking the laptop there instead of shipping directly to Toshiba. In this case you will have a chance to talk to a technician and explain the situation.
The hard drive connector is a part of the system board and if it is broken, the entire system board has to be replaced. It is very strange that you broke the connector. It is pretty solid and cannot be easily broken. I’ve replaced hundreds hard drives on this model and never had a problem. I cannot say for sure if you voided the warranty, it depends where you bought the warranty and who is covering your laptop. I think you’ll be OK.
When you talk to the customer support, make sure to use your negotiating skills.
May 8th, 2006 at 11:17 pm
I was wrong it is an a65-s1070. (Model no. psa60u-0le015)
Just got off the phone with toshiba, I am hopeful that everything will be okay.
May 8th, 2006 at 11:27 pm
Toshiba Satellite A65 is a different model. When you install the hard drive, you have to slide it inside the laptop base and the connector is completely hidden. You need some skills to install a hard drive into this model.
Good luck!
May 8th, 2006 at 11:33 pm
Assuming toshiba fixes these current problems. What is the procedure for fixing these overheating issues (when they happen again) on the a65.
Do you have to take it completely apart?
May 8th, 2006 at 11:46 pm
Ruby,
Unfortunately Toshiba Satellite A65 doesn’t have a hatch on the bottom of the laptop for an easy heatsink and CPU access. If you want to avoid this problem in the future, you can prevent it. Buy a can of compressed air and blow inside the fan on the bottom and then inside the opening on the side. Do it 2-3 times a months and you will not get a clogged heatsink again.
Also, you can remove the keyboard for a better heatsink access. To remove the keyboard, follow steps 5-8 on this disassembly guide . After the keyboard is removed, used compressed air to clean up the heatsink.
It is not necessary to take apart the laptop completely if you want to clean the heatsink. It is necessary only if you want to replace thermal grease on the CPU.
May 13th, 2006 at 1:02 am
Hi cj2600,
I have a Toshiba Satellite P10-803. There is a constant whirring and grinding sound when I switch on the PC. I suspect it is related to the heat sink and fan getting clogged. Can I use the instructions for P15 as you had mentioned in some previous comments for cleaning it my self.
The 2nd thing I noticed was that when I was writing a DVD/reading it took some time recognizing the DVD. I had previously written a DVD with no problems. CDs work fine. I am thinking of using a DVD cleaner CD available in the market. Is there anything specific that I should go for? And is there a laptop specific DVD cleaner?
May 13th, 2006 at 5:43 am
Thanks for the A75 disassembly guide. One question, to remove the wifi card you have a red arrow pointing to the right. I’m having trouble with that. Push it to the right to remove it? Thanks again.
May 14th, 2006 at 8:56 pm
CJ,
You are my hero! My CPU’s fan was running like crazy all the time, today I took the laptop (A65-S126) apart, replaced the thermal grease, but didn’t have a blower, so just kinda blew into it. So now the fans don’t run all the time, but the CPU temperature shows 62C. And previously at this temp the fan would kick in. Why is that? Shouldn’t the fan start now too? Is worth to take it apart again, this time with a can and blow all the dust away from the sink?
Also has anyone tried replacing the CPU. The site mytoshiba.com has very cheap P4s for this model, but I am not sure of the quality. Anyone has any experince?
May 14th, 2006 at 8:58 pm
also I forgot, my HDD overheats too, rund at more than 45 C all the time, and the CD/DVD drive is very hot too, I don’t know why. Any explanation for these?
Thanks a lot!
May 15th, 2006 at 6:27 pm
Ragesh,
Make sure that the grinding sound is not coming from the hard drive. Sometimes a failing hard drive makes the same grinding sound as a failing cooling fan. Remove the hard drive and turn on the laptop. If you do not hear the grinding sound, most likely the HDD is bad and you have to replace it.
If it’s a fan problem then you can use Toshiba Satellite P15 disassembly guide. You can find a link to the guide in LINKS tab on the right side. Remove the fan and replace it. It is not necessary to remove the heatsink to clean it, just use compressed air to blow off the dust from the heatsink. You have to remove the heatsink only if you want to replace thermal grease on the CPU. Be careful with the CPU pins.
May 15th, 2006 at 6:33 pm
andyandval,
The red arrow is pointing on the Wi-Fi card itself. To remove the wireless card you have to remove a metal bracket located above the card first. After that you carefully push on the white plastic latches on both sides of the wireless card. The wireless card will pop up and will stay at 30 degrees to the system board. After that you have to grasp the card and pull it from the slot.
May 15th, 2006 at 6:47 pm
Artur,
Is it possible that the hatsink with fan is not seated properly? May be you replaced the thermal grease but didn’t secure the heatsink the way it should be secured? I’ve seen some units (Satellite A75 for example) when the cooling module had loose screws and there were a big gap between the CPU and the heatsink. The final result – overheating. Make sure that you use a good thermal grease and the cooling module is seated properly. If the cooling module is not seated properly, it will explain why your hard drive and the DVD drive is running hot.
May 16th, 2006 at 6:10 pm
[...] Be very careful when you remove the heatsink from the CPU. Very often the heatsink comes out with CPU attached to it. Pay attention or you can damage the CPU pins. When you put the CPU back into the socket, do not forget to open it. After the CPU is in place, lock the socket or your laptop will not start after you assemble it. Here are some comments for fixing Toshiba Satellite A35 overheating problems. Make sure to read it before you jump in. [...]
May 17th, 2006 at 1:19 am
Thanks for the reply. Will try again this weekend.
May 17th, 2006 at 8:56 am
I have a Toshiba Satellite A15, and i have had so many problems with it… first, the power cord ceased to function and i had to purchase a new one, second, the hard drive crashed and i had to purchase a new one of those as well, third, the fan ceased to function, i cleaned it, but now, the computer will not turn on at all. i don’t believe that the fan and the not turning on are connected, but either way, they happened around the same time. i must say, this laptop was not the ideal purchase for a student on a small budget.
May 17th, 2006 at 7:13 pm
I have a Toshiba Satellite A75 that I have had for only five months, and I am beginning to have problems with overheating. I’ll work on it for an hour and it will shut off automatically out of nowhere. I also experience overheating after only 10-15 minutes. I paid $1500 for this brand new laptop, and this is what I get! Sometimes even when I elevate it with something such as a big book and make sure that the two fans underneath are not obstructed, it still overheats! Down with Toshiba!
May 18th, 2006 at 6:18 am
So, I took the laptop apart again, now when removing the heatsink the CPU came off with it. I cleaned the heatsink (it was extremely clogged), put all back on, but the laptop didn’t start:( So, rereading this forum again I thought it is most likely the CPU lock problem, took the laptop apart again, and I don’t even know what that lock looks like:) I didn’t have anything similar to what the pictures of other laptops have, with a screw-like thing on top. After very long staring at the CPU seat, i decided that the metalic rod on the side must be the lock, and it was! Now the CPU seated properly, and the lappy booted up all happy! Just for other folks like me with a Satellite A65 to know… Now my CPU is not heating up, HDD is running at normal temperature, and the CDROM as well.
Thank you very much for a great webpage!!!
May 21st, 2006 at 2:43 pm
I have been searching for 2 weeks how to disasemble my m35x-s149 laptop to resolder the power port.I very impressed with the step by step, and photos to walk me through it.Thank You very Much.
May 23rd, 2006 at 12:02 pm
had to use F5 to get screen to stay on - now it is stuck on that with screen too small to see verything. Cant get it to go back to normal size. Please need help!!!!!!!!
May 23rd, 2006 at 12:10 pm
Craig,
Try to reboot the laptop first. Then I would try to change the screen resolution. Right click on the desktop and then go to properties. Click on the settings tab. Set the screen resolution to 800×600. If it’s a wrong resolution, set it to 1024×768, etc.
May 23rd, 2006 at 2:04 pm
Hey..first off; thanks to everyone. The problem: after taking apart my Toshiba Satellite M35X-S149 laptop and cleaning out the heatsink, it no longer boots up and there is a blank screen. The power, battery, and HD light in the front are solid green and the power button solid blue. The fan kicks in, but after a few seconds the computer goes silent. The power light and lights in the front all remain green. I’ve tried the basic stuff (w/ & w/o battery, removing RAM, etc.) and no such luck. Most likely this is happening because of a loose part. Now I’m a broke college student so any help would be GREATLY appreciated.
May 23rd, 2006 at 2:15 pm
Christopher,
Check out if the CPU is locked and seated properly. Sorry, but you’ll have to take it apart again. Check out the comment #154. After you reseat the CPU put the top cover back but do not screw it for a while. First, turn it on and see if you can get the video on the LCD screen. To boot the laptop and get the video you need only the system board, the memory and the CPU (with heatsink and fan attached).
May 23rd, 2006 at 4:54 pm
Amazing, it wasn’t the processor at all. Apparently I also have the DC Jack plague that’s been going around. Though, it shorts out the entire board to the point where the laptop will not boot even with a fully charged battery. I am hoping that resoldering will alleviate the situation. I am having difficulty removing the mother after removing all the screws (even the screws for the HD incasing). The laptop is a Toshiba M35X-149S. I followed the pictures, but am I missing something, a movement or button to get the motherboard detached from the black plastic bottom?
May 23rd, 2006 at 9:36 pm
Christopher,
Wait for a while with resoldering the power jack. I’ve never seen the DC jack shorts the motherboard so badly that it will not start. Even if the power jack is bad, you still should be able to start the laptop from a battery.
Try to install the memory module into the second slot. Try to start the laptop without the LCD screen attached and without the top cover installed. You can carefully remove the power button board from the top cover and connect it directly to the system board, so you can turn it on. As I said in my previous comment, try to minimize the system. It might be just a loose connection. Check if the power button flat cable is seated properly on the system board.
When you remove the cable, you have to open the connector first. When you install the cable, open the connector on the system board first, plug the cable inside and close the connector.
May 24th, 2006 at 10:26 am
I would have thought that there’d be a loose part, however, I’ve secured all the ZIF connectors (top cover, sound card) by popping out the plastic parts first. I’ve tried using different Celeron M processors of the same speed and have also tried several RAM chips at various speeds (3200 & 2100) and of different sizes using various combinations. I am most assured that the DC Jack is causing a short as shifting the power cable and adding adequate pressure ensures the machine starts up as normal. What’s interesting is that the battery charges and the lights are all green. I know it’s bizarre, but I’m sure the DC Jack is causing the motherboard to short. I’ll get back to you when I resolder the joint since it is loosely connected to the board (there’s a small crack). Thanks for your advice and your help CJ. This forum has saved me some frustration.
May 24th, 2006 at 10:42 am
Christopher,
I previous comments you didn’t mention that you can boot the laptop when you wiggle the power jack and apply some pressure on it. I guess you are right; it might be the power jack problem. Good luck!
May 24th, 2006 at 10:57 am
Sorry about that CJ, I don’t want to undermine your expertise. Again, many thanks and I’ll get back to you after soldering the Jack.
May 28th, 2006 at 12:55 pm
I took apart my laptop and cleaned the heat sink reapplied the thermal grease. Worked perfectly. I reassembled everything works except one. The computer won’t start from battery power. I don’t think the battery is dead. I don’t see the orange battery charging light come on either. Is it possible that hte battery is dead or is it just not making conductive contact with the motherboard to charge it?
May 28th, 2006 at 10:39 pm
Moose,
That is very strange. I’ve never seen that cleaning the heat sink can cause such a problem. Are you sure that I didn’t have the problem before you took apart the laptop?
May 29th, 2006 at 12:49 pm
Hey Moose, CJ, All:
I had/continued to have a very similar problem. Taking apart the computer and cleaning the heatsink had been a conduit for more problems. Perhaps I might have damaged a part? I tried resoldering but the problem remained. My conclusion is that the excessive shorts caused by the overheating had damaged a few of the components other than the DC Jack on the motherboard. Perhaps replacing the DC Jack may work for you Moose; they are cheap on eBay. If all three lights are green, it means your battery should charge and is recognized by the motherboard. My first guess is just a short on the board itself. Did your laptop overheat and restart often before you cleaned out the heatsink?
May 31st, 2006 at 10:43 pm
[...] Most likely you experience a laptop overheating problem and it would be fixed by cleaning the cooling module – the heat sink and the fan. The notebook processor produces a lot of heat when the notebook is turned on. The cooling module helps to keep the CPU cool when the laptop is working. The cooling module includes two parts: the heat sink and the cooling fan. The heat sink is attached to the CPU and helps to conduct the heat from the processor to the radiator. The cooling fan blows on the radiator and helps to disperse the heat produced by the CPU. The laptop will overheat if the heat sink radiator is clogged with lint and dust or if the cooling fan stopped spinning. [...]
June 5th, 2006 at 2:10 am
Hi, i have Toshiba A75-S229 P4 laptop .when i play dvd or play any video file from internet
I am getting blue screen saying memory dump.when i try rebooting its work for about 30min and it does that again after cuple time rebooting i can boot. its beeping and ideo. i restore the OS 3 times from toshiba CD its does same thing even i restore fress install. any help will be good
June 7th, 2006 at 12:58 am
I hate my Toshiba satellite A70…..we just bought it last April 2005 and seldom used it but last week , it suddenly shut down and smoke comes out from the bottom. I brought it at the service center here in the Philippines and they told me that the power supply from the motherboard is broken/burned. We had so many laptops but we are very dissatisfied with our Toshiba. And worse of all, it does not cover the warranty because it’s 2 months expirted. They ask me to pay 37,000 ( $700) for the repair…damn i hate it…..i hope toshiba company wil hear my complaint on this
john
June 7th, 2006 at 6:24 pm
Hey, I’ve found this website through my searches, and its come up pretty imformative. Right now, i have a toshiba a70 and i’ve had it for about maybe… 5 or 6 months? I think it’s an older model, but it was brand new. Now my problem is this; during some memory/cpu/video intensive program (basically, a video game) my computer tends to “lag” for a short period of time, and i’ve noticed that it syncs up with the fan. the fan runs at i’d say one of the higher speeds, but sometimes it would kick in to maximum i think, and it would “lag” when it kicks in. it lasts maybe 15 seconds before it stops, so i don’t know if this is related to overheating or some other problem. i haven’t tried any solutions to overheating yet, i’d like your input before i do something drastic. thanks!
June 7th, 2006 at 11:14 pm
Jeff,
It is very possible that the laptop overheats. You can try a very simple solution first. Clean the heat sink with compressed air. Blow inside the openings on the bottom of the laptop until the dust stop coming from the openings on the side. Test the laptop after you cleaned the heat sink.
June 8th, 2006 at 3:45 pm
all right, thanks!
i’ll get back to you once i’ve tried that
June 12th, 2006 at 1:46 pm
Same kind of lag thing can happen with Dells when the heatsink is clogged. If it gets reallly clogged then usually the system doesn’t hang completely, but once in awhile starts running REALLY slowly as it switches into a fail-safe mode. Here’s a video about cleaning the lint off a Dell D600 heatsink:
http://geekswithblogs.net/lori.....81623.aspx
June 12th, 2006 at 11:47 pm
[...] I am pretty positive that it is not the FL inverter issue. A defective FL inverter would cause a problem with the backlight, but not with the image on the screen. Apparently there is no problem with the video chip on the system board because you can get the external monitor to work properly. With the image going crazy, jumping in and out and scrolling, I would suspect the video cable first. [...]
June 14th, 2006 at 12:00 am
[...] If your laptop shutting off without any reason, then I am almost 100% positive that you are experiencing a laptop overheating problem. This is a very common problem with Toshiba Satellite A70 and A75 laptops and could be easily fixed if you clean the heat sink. Overtime the heat sink gets clogged with lint and dust. It ruins normal air flow inside the heat sink and the heat stops dissipating. As a result – the CPU overheats and the laptop shuts down. In some cases it would be enough just to blow off the heat sink with compressed air to get the laptop back to normal condition. Try to clean it with compressed air first. Sometimes it is necessary to take the laptop apart, so you can access the heat sink and remove all collected overtime dust and lint. I covered an overheating problem with more details in this post. Posted by Laptop Freak on June 14th, 2006 Filed in Laptop shuts down, Laptop Overheats [...]
June 14th, 2006 at 4:58 am
Hi, i have Toshiba A75-S229 P4 laptop .when i play dvd or play any video file from internet
I am getting blue screen saying memory dump.when i try rebooting its work for about 30min and it does that again after cuple time rebooting i can boot. its beeping and no video. i restore the OS 3 times from toshiba CD its does same thing even i restore fresh install. any help will be good
June 15th, 2006 at 9:14 am
I had something that looked similar to CPU overheating, but apparently wasn’t. The machine would stall after some 1-2 h of work. I tried cleaning the heatsink, throttling the CPU, no dice. I then noticed that the hard drive was making funny noises when the computer had stalled. I changed the hard drive (got a Western Digital from tigerdirect instead of the Toshiba one, $88 Canadian), and so far it has not stalled again. May have been hard drive overheating. Just in case your box behaves similarly, may be worth a try…
June 15th, 2006 at 5:10 pm
Hey Nima,
Does it makes three beeps – pause – three beeps – pause- etc.? I would try to test the memory first. Here’s my post that explains how to use memory test utility.
June 15th, 2006 at 5:16 pm
Michael,
You are right. If you hear a funny clicking or grinding sound from your laptop when it stalls, then most likely the hard drive is bad and must be replaced. It’s not a hard drive overheating problem; it’s just a bad hard drive.
June 17th, 2006 at 12:55 am
I had similar problems with my P35 S609 overheating. I spoke to Toshiba’s customer support rep, who suggested I take my machine in for service; however, thanks to discovering this site and looking several recommendations, ranging from using canned air to blow the machine out, to taking the machine apart, 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.
June 17th, 2006 at 7:42 am
Hi,
I have a toshiba satellite A65-S126 which according to the gig sqpuads the memory that come with this computer (256 MB) is bad. But they told me that this memory can not be replace. It is true?, If not how can I replaced.
Thanks
June 17th, 2006 at 9:33 am
Luis,
Toshiba Satellite A65 has a memory integrated into the system board. Actually, it’s a few chips soldered to the board permanently. You cannot replace or re-solder it yourself. If onboard memory is bad, the entire system board must be replaced.
June 17th, 2006 at 3:23 pm
[...] I have an issue with the LCD, 1/5th (right side) of the screen is completely white I had overheating problem with Toshiba Satellite P35 laptop and your guide helped fix it. I have another issue with the LCD screen, 1/5th (right side) of the screen is completely white (off white) and it is only garbled at times, mostly though it stays solid white, both at BIOS and OS. If I hook up external Monitor, it looks fine (no white). I guess that means bad LCD screen? Do you have any suggestions on what to try before I shell out money for a new LCD if it’s even available? [...]
June 24th, 2006 at 12:03 am
I just used your instructions to get at and clean out the heatsink on my P35 (truth be told, my boyfrind did the work - I just hovered like an expectant father).
It worked like a charm! The machine is running a long-overdue virus check now, and it hasn’t shut down yet!
Plus, I didn’t realize how NOISY the machine had been! It’s practically silent now.
Thank you, thank you, thank you….
June 25th, 2006 at 5:15 am
Thank, exactly the info i’m looking for. I got this laptop A70 Satellite for a year already. At first I was able to do a lot thing with it, playing games, burning, encoding, etc, without lock-up. Then trouble starts after 2 or 3 months. Things going that bad that I can only play card game on it… Was so pissed that I was thinking about getting a new PC but NO notebook.
I did so googling and found this site and how to dismantle the laptop. I was hesitating to dismantle it since everytime I touch computer part, sometime I broke something hehe. Anyway I gave it a try, removed everyting except the CPU, cleaned the 2 fans and the damn so clogged heatsink. put everything together except 2 F3 screws that I can’t remember where it goes. Crossed my fingers and prayed, everything went good since it boot normally and now I can do encoding and playing without lockup.
I notice the fan is working less and it not as louder.
Thank for the dismantle link and insight guys.
June 26th, 2006 at 2:59 am
hi, cj2600
I test memory on my A75-S229 i tested it 3 times
first time its came with red screen memory error then secend time its work 11 pass.then tird time red screen again. i think memory is bad. It has built in on board, its a 4 chips on it.can i replace it or disable it so i can use the memory slot
June 28th, 2006 at 10:41 am
Yep, it looks like the memory is bad. Unfortunately you cannot disabled it and I doubt that you can replace it yourself. The only solution – to replace the motherboard.
June 29th, 2006 at 2:13 am
Hi,
I want to clean the heatsink of my laptop Toshiba S255/2435. Can you please provide detailed instructions with picture.. My computer is getting overheated and I am not able to play any movie files as the computer automatical shuts down.. also my DVD rom has stopped working.. I wonder what the problems is
June 29th, 2006 at 2:32 pm
VS Devan,
I haven’t created a disassembly guide for this model yet. I do not have this model in front of me, but I believe that there is a heatsink hatch on the bottom of the laptop. You can easily access the heatsink if you remove the hatch. Take a look at Toshiba Satellite A35 guide, I guess it would be similar.
When you remove the heatsink, be careful because the CPU might come out with the heatsink. Before you put the CPU back in the socket, make sure that the CPU lock (the screw on the side) is opened. Even if the CPU will not come out with the heatsin, I would recommend reseating it. Just open the lock, make sure that the processor is seated properly and then close the lock.
July 4th, 2006 at 3:21 pm
I did it !
I’m touring USA right now and I had to get my Satellite a-70
working. I was a little bit scared to do it ,I’m still on the computer
waranty. It was easy but took 2 hours of my day . Last week I both a apple macbook computer beacause my sattelite used to shut down after 10 minutes . I was screwed again beacause my
sound card is not yet compatible with the macbook . Today I decided to open my sattelite a-70 ! ITS WORKING GREAT NOW! THANKS !
I’m still mad at toshiba cause I heard all their sattelite costumers have the same problems and all they can do
is clean up their computer insted of replacing them
July 6th, 2006 at 11:35 am
Can anybody file a class action suit against Toshiba. I bought an A65-S1066 in Sept 2004 paying $1200 and since Sept’05 it shutdown after some use. Same overheating problem. Hi cj2600, Is the disassembly for A65 same as other toshiba?
July 6th, 2006 at 11:48 am
Hey Subra,
Here is Toshiba Satellite A65 disassembly guide.
You can easily access the fan and clean it up properly with compressed air, if you only remove the keyboard. Go inside only if you are confident.
July 7th, 2006 at 4:14 pm
Thank god that worked, mine used to boot out of nothing like once an hour. It turns out the heat sink was filled with dust, literally filled. Works greats now, the fan rarely turns on. It used to be running most of the time since it’d heat up quickly.
July 8th, 2006 at 3:30 pm
After one year of getting frustrated while my laptop would randomly shut down, I found your website from google. I hestiantly dis-asembled my cpu, but it actually was not that bad. What I found looked just like the pictures above. The fan was clogged with LOTS OF DUST! I cleaned it out, and now my laptop works just like new.
I would recommend this procedure to anybody that is having similar problems with their Toshiba laptop. It works! Just be sure to save all of the 100 different screws when you take the cpu apart!!
July 8th, 2006 at 7:12 pm
hi, looks like this is a very good resource for toshiba owner.
i just bought an M55-S3512 series, and have an annoying problem.
i usually work with AC power, but after about 2 hours (or more) the battery light is blinking and makes a beep sound about maybe 10 minutes, then it shuts down.
i go to toshiba power saver in control panel and set all powerdown setting to ‘never’ in ‘full power profile’ but no luck.
i tried to plug out the power source and pug it in again after the beep occured, still no luck.
it’s not an overheating problem i think, because there’s no abnormal heat under this laptop, it even far more colder than my old P15 series.
so.. what’s wrong with it? is anyone here had the same problem?
thank you.
.awan.
July 9th, 2006 at 10:27 am
I have had so many problems with my toshiba a75 laptop so I called toshiba myself and found that there is a class action law suit against the a75 laptops. http://www.classcounsel.com/news/toshiba.html
this site will help explain a little better. Good Luck!!
July 9th, 2006 at 2:35 pm
Awan,
Here’s my guess. It looks like that the battery charges when the laptop is turned off. As soon as you turn on the laptop, the laptop starts running on the battery power. The battery lasts for about 2 hours and then the laptop shuts down. It’s just a guess.
I would try to upgrade the BIOS to the latest version. At this time it is version 2.10. I checked Toshiba downloads for this model and they have a lot of BIOS revisions for this model.
Try to remove the battery, connect the AC adapter and start the laptop. Does it start at all when the battery is removed? I think it’s also possible that the AC adapter is defective and doesn’t provide a normal voltage necessary for the laptop to operate properly.
July 11th, 2006 at 10:58 am
[...] First of all, make sure that the laptop shuts down because of a dead fan and it’s necessary to replace it. When you turn on the laptop, does the fan start spinning? Can you here it at all? It’s very likely that the laptop shuts down because the cooling module is clogged and it needs just a good cleaning. Laptop overheating is a very common issue. I just replace a motherboard on Toshiba Satellite A65 and believe me, the heat sink was 100% clogged with lint and dust. [...]
July 11th, 2006 at 11:06 am
Oh my God I travel all over the world with my laptop and could not figure out why it was shutting down. I had more dust than that pic you have posted and I keep my computer clean in a case. Thanks so much for the advise. Cheers from S.F.California
July 12th, 2006 at 9:39 pm
hi cj2600, ppl,
now i know why. when connecting to AC source, it’s charging (and it has to), the battery led went orange; but, when it reach 100%, the battery lamp went off (which it should be turn blue right?). now the problem starts here. after the battery led went off, the power icon is still there. and the battery meter suddenly dropped to 50% (!) when i tried to plug off and in again the power, the icon still ‘on AC’ (or turn to battery but it doesn’t matter), and it’s not charging… so the battery keep dropping until i hear the beep sound and blinking orange led like i told, then shut off.
now, this is office notebook, so i don’t have any authority to do anything in the hardware.
just my curiousity, if i remove the battery and put it on again, would it fixed? if not, is it the battery? or BIOS?
thank you all,
.awan.
July 13th, 2006 at 11:45 am
It really depends. Usually the life of the battery is around 1-3 years, depending on how you really used it. The optimized usage of the battery is fully charging it and discharging it from time to time. I advice you check the support website of toshiba, which is support.toshiba.com and check on the FAQ’s for battery. Also, try to download and install the latest bios update for your laptop because that could solve the issue
July 15th, 2006 at 3:33 pm
Dude, THANKS so mcuh!!!
Very good!!
Was going to pay 150 pounds to get it fixed:P
CHEEEERRRRRRSSSSSS
July 15th, 2006 at 8:13 pm
This is the best site ive ever seen… I own a Satallite A75-S229.. Bought 11/29/2004…
At first I would always shock it by touching it and it would shut down.. (I just thought it was my electrifying personality.. til I read this thread).. After about 11 months it started overheating all the time and shutting down… Now the power cord works intermittantly.. (I Have to wiggle it to get it charge)… All three of these issues were addressed at this site… Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.. Wish i had found this info a year ago…
I’ll Let ya know how my cleaning and soldering goes…
July 16th, 2006 at 1:38 am
I have a A65-S1062,and at first it would shut off by itself. As time goes on, it would turn on for 3 seconds and then turn back off. Now it wont turn on at all. I would have to apply pressure at the bottom between the battery and memory card cover in order to have the green light to come, but that dont work any more. I have took it apart and cleaned out the heatsink which had dust clogs in it. But still no green light. What gives
July 17th, 2006 at 5:04 am
I made a “heatsink cleaning” guide for the Toshiba 1955-S80x series. Its available for free under http://tinyurl.com/e4wlu and http://electrochain.googlepages.com/toshibafan
6.1 Mb Adobe PDF file available for download through megaupload or rapidshare
cj2600, if you want to, you can adobt this guide into your fantastic collection. (or just strip the pictures and rewrite it, whatever you prefer)
Best regards
CH@IN
July 17th, 2006 at 11:13 pm
Thank you George,
That is a nice guide and very clear pictures. Let me ad one little detail. I wouldn’t put the heatsink back in place with the CPU still attached to it. If the CPU is not aligned with the socket, you can bend pins and damage the CPU.
I would suggest the following steps. When you remove the heatsink with the CPU attached to it, carefully separate the CPU from the heatsink. You can place a flat head screwdriver between the CPU and the heatsink and rotate it until the CPU is separated. After that unlock the CPU socket on the motherboard (there is a screw-lock on the side), align the CPU and place it back inside the socket and lock the socket. Now, when the CPU is inside the socket it’s safe. You can clean old thermal grease and apply new grease.
July 18th, 2006 at 4:41 pm
I have a toshiba m35x. I used the instructions to crack it open and look at the cpu.. its not that dirty.. so im a little confused.. when i start the computer then fan turns on briefly.. windows starts and almost 5 mins later my screen goes off and the little light beside the blue is still running.. any ideas on what is going on?
July 20th, 2006 at 2:55 am
Thank you for the info cj2600,
I will make the changes according to how you described the procedure in a couple of days.
I just thought that finding some heat-grease would be more difficult than just leaving the processor in place
Best regards
CH@IN
July 21st, 2006 at 5:16 am
This was a really helpful guide, thank you. I own a P30 and have had it less than a year; it’s been back in for repair twice because of overheating but I’ve just tried the vacuum idea and it seems to have resolved the problem third time round. If it goes again, I’ve the confidence to open it up and see what I can do to clean the inside.
I don’t think I’d ever buy Toshiba again, though, judging by this being a known problem; that, and I bought the P30 to be a laptop (obviously) and the battery runs no more than 45 minutes tops - as low as ten if I try, heaven forbid, to watch a film or listen to music!
I’m just wondering, this may seem an odd thing to ask or maybe not, but if you have pets, can their fur get into the laptop even when it’s not on your lap but sitting most of the time on a table? I’m thinking we have cats, and that stuff they call ‘dander’ gets everywhere else - maybe the laptop too?
July 26th, 2006 at 5:56 am
Hi! I own a Satellite A75 S209. I’ve had it for around a year now, and one day one of the fans suddenly stop working, and now my laptop won’t even turn on. What do you think is the problem, and do you think my documents and files will be lost because of this?
July 26th, 2006 at 7:22 pm
Andy,
It’s not an odd think to ask. I’ve seen some heat sinks full of animal’s fur. One of our customers has a cat and she brings her laptop for cleaning every three-four months. May be here cat sleeps on the laptop?
July 26th, 2006 at 9:39 pm
Angie,
Your laptop is completely dead? When you plug it the AC adapter, do you get any LED lights? I think that you still should be able turn on the laptop even though one fan not working.
July 27th, 2006 at 4:04 am
Hi cj2600! Yes, it won’t turn on at all. When you plug the AC adapter, the only lights that turn on are the 2 left green lights, the 3rd one doesn’t light up. When you try turning on the laptop, one fan just hums, and the power button won’t turn on also. Do you have any idea why this happened? The only problem I encountered with the laptop, like everyone else, is the shutdown problem when the laptop overheats.
July 27th, 2006 at 11:00 pm
Angie,
Hard to say what is wrong only by the description you’ve provided. It could be a dead memory, dead CPU or something else. Try to remove the battery and start the laptop just using the AC power. If you have an extra memory module, try to remove it and turn on the laptop.
July 28th, 2006 at 8:21 am
Hey there, guys.
First off, I think it’s great that you provide these guides for everyone out there.
I’ve read through the guide and comments, and I’m almost sure that I need a new application of thermal paste. I have a Toshiba A15-S129, and I’ve disassembled (pretty easily) into the heatsink and found this:
http://img.photobucket.com/alb.....C00778.jpg
The color on this looks off, probably from oxidation or something like that. My question is: should I replace this part? Could this discoloration be a compromise to my cooling system?
One last thing, if you wouldn’t mind. Could you give a Model# for a replacement LCD screen for me? My Toshiba’s Part# is: PSA10U-0ZH6MV
Much thanks in advance for the help.
July 28th, 2006 at 9:46 pm
Fadi,
It is not necessary to replace the heatsink, just clean up the surface that contacts the CPU.
There are a few LCD screens for this model:
Samsung Part#: P000367840
LG Philips: P000367850
CMO: P000367860
LG Philips: P000367860
There are also three Sharp screens, but they require a special insulator.
Here are part numbers for the screen: P000367870, P000379090, P000383670
July 29th, 2006 at 3:59 am
My Toshiba A65 was sent to get repaired because it wouldn’t turn on. The person said the AC is not broken, power is going through, and the voltage is ok, but the it still wouldn’t power up nor charge battery. What can be the problem.
July 29th, 2006 at 12:37 pm
TRE2K3,
Apparently, the systemboard is bad.
In this model the battery connects directly to the systemboard, the power switch is located on the systemboard and the memory is integrated into the system board.
July 30th, 2006 at 2:58 am
Already sent it for repair. Will update
July 30th, 2006 at 8:18 pm
Hiya folks…I have a Toshiba A75 and I have recently (the past two days) begun having a very thin yellow/greenish line running vertically down the right third of my LCD screen. The line seems to coorespond to the warmest part of the base and the bottom of the screen frame is warmest at that time. What’s this all about? The line is about the thickness of a thread. There are no other disruptions to the working of the unit, so I’m stumped…
Thanks,
John M.
July 30th, 2006 at 10:11 pm
John,
It might be the LCD screen problem. There is no way to troubleshoot it, until you connect a test LCD screen and check if it fixes the problem.
July 31st, 2006 at 4:59 am
Thanks, cj2600. I was hoping someone might say that. As of now the line seems to be intermitent, flashing on/off, then going away, then coming back. The LCD solution seems right. I’ll find someone to physically walk me through the test procedure. At worst right now it is only annoying.
Thanks,
John
August 5th, 2006 at 4:30 pm
CJ, I took your solution and went to my local computer store and picked up Ceramique (an Arctic Silver product).
After following the instructions and trying it, it doesn’t look like it’s helping my problem. Could I have damaged my processor? I noticed that when I cleaned the surface of my CPU (isopropyl alcohol) it seemed just a tad discolored at the center, whereas around it there was a nice, mirror finish.
August 6th, 2006 at 1:00 pm
I’ve been fiddling with my laptop, trying to figure out what the problem could be.
I’ve run it with a program that monitors my CPU temperature. It’s upwards 78-96C in temperature. Soon thereafter, it’ll shut down on its own.
Also, I’m almost sure that the heatsink is supposed to conduct heat, am I right? I’m not sure if it’s doing that. I opened the panel and ran my computer again. The brass directly in contact with the CPU is hot, but the heatsink out where the fan blows air is cool. In fact, it’s not even warm until about an inch away from the processor.
Not sure if that’ll help you out, just trying to get as much information as I can on the problem for you. Thanks again, CJ.
August 7th, 2006 at 1:10 am
Disassembly EiSYSTEM need to resolder the power supply plug on this note pad but can’t seem to get at it can you please point me in the write direction thank you
John booth
August 7th, 2006 at 7:56 am
I think my Toshiba M45 Satellite is overheating. It freezes after a minute of the computer being on every single time. I am planning on getting compressed air to clean out the fans.
If that does not work, is there a tutorial on how to apply artic gel, or to remove the fan to celean out more?
Thanks!
August 7th, 2006 at 10:41 pm
Fadi,
I’m sure that you cannot damage the CPU by cleaning up the surface with isopropyl alcohol. I do it myself each time I have to reapply thermal grease on a CPU.
Does the fan spin all the time or it starts only on the laptop start up? If the CPU is so hot, the fan should run at least once in a while.
Just yesterday I had to repair a similar problem on Toshiba Satellite A75. The laptop shut down after 2-3 minutes being on. I noticed that the fan started spinning only on start up and then it didn’t start anymore. The heatsink was very hot and the laptop shut down. Apparently, the circuit that turns on the fan (when the CPU is hot) was bad and the problem was fixed after I replaced the board.
Another laptop with a similar problem I fixed about 3 days ago. It was Satellite M45 and the fan got stuck and didn’t spin at all. Fixed the laptop by replacing the fan. So, check for fans.
I don’t think that you having a problem because of thermal compound. Arctic Silver makes a good stuff and by the description they provide, Ceramique thermal compound is a good one.
August 7th, 2006 at 10:53 pm
Chris,
I think that first of all you have to find out if it is hardware or software issue. Does the laptop freeze up only after booting to Windows? You can enter the system setup (BIOS setup) and check if the laptop still freezes. Check if the fan spins on startup.
Here are Toshiba Satellite M45 disassembly instructions. All you have to do is remove the heatsink and apply new thermal compound (steps 1,4,5). It’s not necessary to remove the fan; you can clean it with compressed air after you remove the heatsink.
August 9th, 2006 at 11:58 am
Toshiba satellite A75-S229, is running HIPER slow!!!
My laptop is taking about 16 minutes to star in safe mode, and if try to start it normally I don’t even know, the last time I tried I let is start for about 5 hours, and it never did. I was watching a power point file and it just repently started going very slow, so I restarted it and it was doing the same thing, and restarted it again, but it never did. I thought is was a virus, so I took out the hard drive and connect it to my desktop, but it runs perfect and no virus found. Then I thought it could be overheating and I cleaned it as the procedure you show in the website, it stills the same. One particular thing is that the time never change, not even in the BIOS. Any advice???? Could the battery of the BIOS be causing this???
August 9th, 2006 at 6:57 pm
CJ,
My fan seems to be doing fine. It starts up about thirty seconds into startup, and it blows at full speed. No odd sounds or anything.
August 10th, 2006 at 9:44 pm
Alex,
Satellite A75 is not the fastest computer in the world, but 16 minutes in safe mode it’s too much. I would definitely test the hard drive. You can use Hitachi Drive Fitness test.
If it passes the test, I would back up all important data from the hard drive and then run a Toshiba recovery DVD to take it back to factory defaults. It might be a software problem.
To fix the time error, I would try to reflash/update the BIOS.
August 11th, 2006 at 11:07 am
Thanks for your advice CJ,
I actually did that already, talking about the buckup my important information….well, I did it the hard way =), I used the toshiba recovery CD first, and when I saw norhing changed I uses Easy recovery to get back my important information connecting the HD to my desktop.I’m sorry for this question but, how do I reflash my BIOS??
Thanks for your help.
August 11th, 2006 at 11:27 am
To re-flash or upgrade the laptop BIOS, you’ll have to go to Toshiba tech support website and download the latest BIOS version for your model. It would be .exe file and after you run it you’ll get a media creator wizard. You follow this wizard to create a bootable floppy disk. For some models you can create a bootable CD or run the BIOS upgrade right from the Windows environment. I think that for Satellite A75 you can create only a bootable floppy disk, not sure though. After that you will have to boot the laptop from a USB floppy drive and finish it up. After you reboot the laptop you should have new version of BIOS. When you upgrade the BIOS, you should run the laptop from AC adapter power, because if the battery is not charged and it dies during the upgrade you might have a problem.
August 12th, 2006 at 12:11 pm
thak you CJ..
‘ll do that and let you know what happened.
August 13th, 2006 at 2:38 pm
Hi,
I have an A75-S206 laptop and it overheats after 10 minutes and turns off. It started this about 2 months ago and would only shut down after about 1 or 2 hours of being on. Do you think this is a dirty heatsink problem. If so in your dissasembly instructions the last two steps are removing the CPU. Will i have to remove the CPU to clean the heatsink. Thank so much for the site. I will be donating by paypal!
August 13th, 2006 at 2:49 pm
Cjones,
I’m almost positive that’s a clogged heatsink problem. It’s not necessary to remove the heatsink and the CPU. After you remove the cooling fan you’ll get a good access to the heatsink and can clean it up. You’ll have to remove the heatsink only if you want to re-apply thermal grease on the CPU. It’s a good idea but not always necessary. Most likely just cleaning the heatsink would be enough to fix overheating.
Before you take it apart, try to blow off the heatsink with compressed air but you’ll need to find a good air compressor. Also, check if fan spins when you turn on the laptop. It should start spinning right away after you turn it on. In some cases laptop overheats because of a dead cooling fan. BTW, I like your idea with paypal.
August 13th, 2006 at 3:35 pm
A couple of last questions c.j. what tools will i need to do this. Where should I look for the dust. I do have experience taking pc’s apart but not a laptop hope it fixes this thing. Also what email adress should I send the donation through paypal.
August 13th, 2006 at 3:48 pm
To take this baby apart, you’ll need only a Phillips screwdriver (I use Wiha #1 – the best!). The dust collects between the heatsink and the cooling fans. After you remove fans (Step 23), you’ll see it. I would suggest using electrostatic discharge wrist strap when you take it apart to prevent any ESD damage.
For donations you can use PayPal button on the top of the disassembly guide. TIA.
August 14th, 2006 at 12:37 pm
Man you are a life saver. I followed the instructions and man was that thing dirty. It was like a big ball of lent over both openings to the fan. I used a shop vac to get the dirt out then I followed the instructions and applied Artic Silver to the cpu. Ive had my laptop running for at least 2 hours now and its as cool as can be and doesnt shut off.I hope a 5 spot will due for a donation until I get paid. Again thanks so much I will tell all my friends about this place!
August 14th, 2006 at 2:12 pm
my laptop is doing the same thing but it is a compaq armada m700 can you help me?
August 16th, 2006 at 7:04 am
Hi there, I tried the idea above of vacuming out the vents from my Toshiba laptop, as my lap top too was shutting itself off everytime i tried to play a game or watch a dvd, and it had neever done this until now. After vacuming it today as advised, I’ve been playing on games for hours now and SUCCESS! No shutdown! I advise anyone with the same problem with any kind of laptop to try the same. Great tip thanks alot, saved having to take it to a pc store to get it sorted.
All the best,
Sarah
August 16th, 2006 at 9:12 am
I was told that you needed to be careful when you use compressed air so that you don’t burn the fans up. What can I use to keep the fans from spinning that is non-conductive?
August 16th, 2006 at 6:01 pm
Hello and first, thank you for the help thus far.
We had an overheating problem with our A75. I’ve gone through all off the steps, cleaned, applied new thermal grease and put it all back together. Now, the computer boots up, however the fans are not running. So that’s the first problem as it won’t stay on long before shutting down. Also the display is “funky” . . . don’t know how else to discribe, resolution is off and there seams to be some ’snow’.
If you could help address the fan problem first I would be most grateful. Any any ideas on the display problem would be much appreciated also.
Thank you again.
August 17th, 2006 at 10:38 am
Judy,
I am not an expert but when you took apart the computer and unhooked the display cable there was another black wire secured by a screw. This is a ground make sure you hooked it back up properly. And about the fans cj will probably know the answer to that and the display problem. Just thought i might add a little advice!
August 17th, 2006 at 7:20 pm
Misty,
I don’t have a guide for Compaq Armada M700. If you experience the same problem as I described in the post, try to blow off the fan first.
August 17th, 2006 at 7:32 pm
Carew,
I’m not sure if you can burn up fans but when I clean them with compressed air I block fans just in case. I usually take the fan out and block fans with my fingers. I use very powerful air compressor and if I don’t block fans, they spin really fast.
August 17th, 2006 at 7:39 pm
Judy,
Did you plug fan cables back into the system board? Unfortunately, if you didn’t, you’ll have to take the laptop apart again. In Satellite A75 there is no way to plug them back without taking the laptop apart. Satellite A75 fan has 2 fans and 2 connectors. May be you plugged in only one of them?
You can barely see one connector if you remove the memory/wireless card cover on the bottom of the laptop. That’s would be enough to check if it’s plugged.
When you turn on the laptop, both fans have to start spinning. You can see fans through the grill on the bottom. Do they spin at all?
cjones is right. You’ll have to coonect the ground cable. It has to be secured by F3 screw located under the keyboard.
August 18th, 2006 at 6:31 pm
I have an A75-S206. If I wanted to put the DVD burner from an A75-S226 in the 206 can I just slip it in place of the old drive. Is there anything else I will need to do ie. drivers etc. Thanks cj.
August 18th, 2006 at 6:36 pm
Cjones,
You shouldn’t have any problem if you just replace the old drive with a new one. No drivers needed.
August 19th, 2006 at 2:37 pm
Need an advice..
toshiba A75-S229 Pentium 4 538 @ 3.2GHZ
I posted a problem before, (230) and I checked my HD and is working, I even use it after the test to star my desktop in safe mode with no problem, I updated my BIOS with no complications either, but it’s still not startin in normal mode and taking even more than 16 min in safe mode. Whe I go to properties of my PC (running is safe mode) is really wird that the speed of my procesor is showing as 68.33GHZ. I think the procesor could be damaged. Any ideas??, sugestions?? I would really apreciate it.
August 20th, 2006 at 9:36 pm
Hey CJ, you may have missed my last comment.
Computer’s been on overheat, and I replaced the compound. Still on the fritz, and my fan looks like its working just fine.
Thanks again in advance.
August 20th, 2006 at 11:56 pm
Fadi,
I don’t know what’s wrong. If the heatsink is clean, you have new thermal grease on the CPU and the fan works properly, then the laptop shouldn’t overheat.
Here are a couple guesses.
1. Wrong thermal grease. I would contact the manufacturer and ask them if you can use the grease with your CPU.
2. Usually fans spin at 2-3 different speeds. May be your fan works only at slow speed. The fan is controlled by the motherboard. It’s possible that a circuit responsible for CPU speed doesn’t work properly.
3. The heatsink is not seated properly and there is a gap between the heatsink and the CPU surface.
August 21st, 2006 at 9:45 pm
Alex,
If the CPU runs at 68GHz, it should be really fast! Just kidding.
How your CPU is detected in BIOS? What speed does it show?
As soon as you turn on the laptop, pres on ESC key. The laptop will continue to boot with details on the screen. You should be able to see the CPU speed. I tried it on Satellite A75-S211 and on my laptop it’s the fifth line from the top. If the screen flashes too fast, you can pres on Pause key.
What CPU speed you see? 3.2GHz or 68GHz?
August 22nd, 2006 at 2:40 pm
My laptop toshiba a75-s206, will not power on from ac or battery. Tested w/ known good working other pwr ac and bat. still no power on. So I think power manager chip is dead?
August 22nd, 2006 at 3:10 pm
Toshiba Guy,
If Satellite A75 will not boot from a good AC adapter of from a good charged battery, then I would say something is wrong with the systemboard. Not sure about power manager chip, I do not repair motherboards on component level. Do you get any LED activity at all? What are your symptoms? Do you hear any sounds?
August 22nd, 2006 at 3:47 pm
CJ,
The BIOS seems to detect it fine, it shows 3.2GHz, and what I see in My Computer properties is this:
Pentium(R) 4 CPU 3.20GHz,
64.58GHz, 896MB of RAM
And actually I updated the BIOS but is beeping whe is turning on, showing an “error on the time” (like when you don’t have battery on the BIOS or is low). And of course is THAT SLOW!! that the beep last for almost 12 seconds lol.
August 22nd, 2006 at 4:09 pm
Hey Alex,
If the CPU is detected properly in BIOS, but not in Windows, then might be it’s just a software thing? Have you tried to reload Windows at all?
August 22nd, 2006 at 5:40 pm
CJ,
Yes, I also tried that, I used the restore CD and everything. It was kind of slow the instalation too, but after it tells you to remove the CD and restart, is when it won’t start at all. I’m kind of lost, I’ve never seen something like this before happened, but to tell you the truth, I got a bad feeling about the CPU, is just that I don’t find any other way to go. I even thought that could be just the battery of the BIOS, but after all the only way teh BIOS can affect the CPU speed is by changing the clock-speed, and that feature is not in my BIOS like other I’ve seen.
Should I trhow it away already?? lol
August 23rd, 2006 at 3:52 pm
Do you know where to get a restore cd for a satellite A75-S229. I cant find it on ebay and I have lost mine.
August 23rd, 2006 at 4:00 pm
Call Toshiba customer service line at (800) 457-7777 and ask them if they can sell you one. It shouldn’t be very expensive.
August 25th, 2006 at 7:50 am
cjones,
That is the model of my Toshiba (A75-S229), if you know any good P2P program and you have a good connection speed I can transfer you a ISO file.
August 27th, 2006 at 3:54 pm
[...] When you turn on the laptop, both fans should spin. You can see them through the grill on the bottom of the laptop. If both fans spin and they are not noisy, wait with the replacement, try cleaning the heatsink first. If the heatsink in the laptop is completely clogged, a vacuum cleaner will not be able to remove the dust and dirt and make it 100% clean. A powerful air compressor would be a better option. [...]
August 27th, 2006 at 11:10 pm
Thanks guys. I will follow your advise and focus on cleaning the heatsink and get back to you on the results.
Thanks again.
August 31st, 2006 at 10:15 am
The comment has been moved here.
August 31st, 2006 at 11:33 pm
[...] Most likely the laptop shut downs are related to a clogged heatsink and you would be able to fix the problem if you clean up the heatsink. You can blow off the heatsink using an air compressor or you can take the laptop apart (for people with laptop repair experiance ) and remove the dust. [...]
September 4th, 2006 at 6:38 pm
Hi!
I have a A75-S231 model and I had the same problem described here (laptop is on for 10-20 mins and turns off without warning). I already cleaned the heatsink and the fan and assembled back the laptop. I turned it ON and while it displays the “XP loading” screen, it turns OFF.
I tried everything (including disassembling and assembling again) but it did not work. I tried to do a SAFE MODE in XP and it did not not work as well.
One thing that I remembered doing differently is removing something (looks like GRAYISH DUST) on top of the processor that I thought was dust. I did not bother putting any coz I thought it was just dust. Is this the “thermal grease” that was mentioned in the article? What do I need to put in there?
Any comments?
September 4th, 2006 at 6:47 pm
Joseph,
Yep, this gray stuff on the top of the CPU is thermal grease and before you assemble the laptop back, you must apply new layer of the grease (because the old one is already removed). If you run the laptop without thermal grease, it will overheat and shut down. You can buy thermal grease in any local computer store or buy it online.
When you assemble the laptop, make sure that both fan connectors are plugged into the system board. Sometimes people forget to connect the fan, it’s a common mistake.
September 5th, 2006 at 8:14 am
Hi
I am attempting to fix the hinge on my girlfriend’s Satellite A45-S150…I opened up the computer, and quickly realized that the hinge is broken (I thought I’d be able to simply tighten it). So I ordered a new hinge and put the computer back together in the meanwhile. I did not apply thermal grease (didn’t realize I’d have to). Of course, the computer overheated. So I went out and bought Ceramique thermal paste, and followed their online directions.
The first time the computer overheated, the fans were on full blast for a while. It overheated within I believe 30 minutes or so. After I applied the grease, the computer stayed on for several hours, and the fans were not running on top speed…they were running “normal”. All of a sudden, the fans went on full blast and the computer shut down. From the fans turning on to the computer shutting down was really quick, within 30-60 seconds…any ideas what to look for?
Do I need a thermal pad, vs thermal grease perhaps?
September 6th, 2006 at 7:30 am
Update to my situation:
I decided to retry applying the ceramique paste. I bought acetone, and thouroughly cleaned the heat sink and the CPU. The first time around, I was using 70% isopropyl alcohol to clean, even though Arctic Silver’s website said to clean with high purity isopropyl alcohol or acetone. So this time, I cleaned both parts really well, and followed the ceramique instructions very carefully.
The computer is still overheating. It’s idling in the 60degree C range. I believe it should be in the 30-40 range, correct?
I called Arctic Silver, and their (very helpful) tech instructed me that some laptops require a thermal pad for the heat sink to make good contact to the CPU. I called Toshiba, and their (not so helpful) tech stated that according to his specs, Toshiba uses pink silicon grease, not a thermal pad.
I’m out of ideas, aside from getting pads as a test…any thoughts?
September 6th, 2006 at 8:04 am
Tomer Busidan,
That’s right. According to Toshiba specifications, Toshiba Satellite A45 requires a pink grease. Here’s the part number: GY4C0000T210-01, you can find it if you Google for it. I would probably try using the grease recommended by Toshiba. I’ve applied it hundreds times and never had any problem.
Last year when I was building my desktop, I bought Arctic Silver grease for my new AMD 64 CPU (I’ve seen a lot of positive reviews for this brand) . I was very surprised that with Arctic Silver grease my desktop ran 10 degree C hotter then with grease that I got with the heatsink. Since then I use grease that came with the heatsink.
September 6th, 2006 at 8:52 am
From your knowledge, is there anything special about this grease? Do you know if Compusa sells anything that I can try? This specific Toshiba grease is expensive, and I’d love to be able to pick it up in a store if possible. Compusa has another grease listed that’s a light pink color, for example…thanks for the response, by the way.
September 6th, 2006 at 9:01 am
I don’t know if there is anything special about it, I don’t think so. When we were out of pink grease, we used just whatever we had in stock, some kind of generic white grease. I think you can try the grease from Compusa or any other local computer store; it’s much cheaper and faster. Let me know how it goes.
September 7th, 2006 at 5:53 am
Still overheating…I bought generic Compusa silicone-based grease, and there’s no change. The heat sink is on the CPU as tight as it goes, there is enough grease to cover the entire CPU…I can’t figure this one out. What else should I be looking for?
September 7th, 2006 at 2:15 pm
Hi Tomer Busidan,
That’s a strange problem you are having in there. If the fan works fine, the heatsink is seated properly and there is thermal grease between the heatsink and the CPU, you shouldn’t experience overheating. Do you know the version of the laptop BIOS? Probably I would try to re-flash/upgrade the BIOS too. Version 1.50 has an update for non Hyper Threading Technology CPUs. I don’t know what exactly it fixes, but I would try it.
Are you sure that laptop shuts down because it overheats?
September 7th, 2006 at 6:10 pm
No dice
The BIOS was outdated (1.3) so I updated it to the latest (1.5). I was praying it wouldn’t crash in the middle of a BIOS update, that would really be bad news…the BIOS did it’s thing, the computer restarted (thank God) and then the machine crashed again, literally as soon as the BIOS update ended…I’m thinking that it’s an overheating issue because the fans kick in full speed right before it shuts down. Also, I downloaded a freeware called Speed Fan or something like that, and it shows temps idling in the 60C range, and then when I do something like watch a DVD, it creeps up. When it hits around 82C, the PC shuts down.
I’m pretty sure I have the heat sink in correctly. I mean, it’s only three screws, there a cover that forces it to be in a certain place, etc. It seems kind of idiot proof lol…I put thermal grease on there 3 times now (each time I’d thoroughly clean the CPU and heatsink with acetone)…and I’ve used 2 different kinds of greases…should I call an exorcist?
September 8th, 2006 at 11:43 am
I think you should sell the laptop to somebody who lives in Alaska; at least they can use it as a heater.
It looks like Satellite A45 has 2 fans. One fan you can see on the bottom, look at the step 2, that’s the CPU fan. The second fan you can see on the step 20 in the top right corner (I’m not really sure why it’s there, do not remember). Can you see if both fans spin? Man, that’s a weird one.
September 9th, 2006 at 10:21 pm
I have a TE2100 and I have this overheating problem too.
Do you know where I can get the Toshiba pink grease cheaply?
I live in Singapore. On one website, I found that it costs USD16 + USD20 for shipping, which is really expensive. The tube of Arctic Silver 5 which I bought from a store here costs only about USD7, maybe I should use that?
September 9th, 2006 at 10:32 pm
Wayne,
We’ve repaired a lot of TE2100 laptops and we used any grease we had in stock. I think you’ll be fine with Arctic Silver. Apply just a small drop, just barely enough to cover the CPU surface after you spread it.
September 10th, 2006 at 2:03 am
I’ve have a Toshiba P35-6292.
It had a overheating issue. Blowed the dust seems to fix that. Now the problem that I have is that from time to time the LCD start displaying CYAN thin lines to the right of any Black draw item on screen. The lines are kind of 3-5 cm long. I tested the graphic card with a external LCD.. No Lines apear ever. So I opened the top lid that coved the connector of LCD to the motherbord. Tapping that connector seems to remove the problem temporarly.
Is there a way to fix this issue?
Replacing the video card?
Is symptom of cold wirring?
September 10th, 2006 at 10:01 pm
Horatiu,
Have you tried to reseat the video cable on the motherboard? If not, then disconnect the video cable from the motherboard and connect it back. See if it fixes the problem.
You cannot replace the video card in this model, because it’s a part of the motherboard. On the disassembly step 16 of this guide, you can see ATI video chip permanently soldered to the motherboard. But I don’t think that’s the video card problem, because the external video is fine.
I think that you might have a bad video cable (replace the cable) or a bad video connector on the system board. I hope it’s just a bad connection.
September 11th, 2006 at 6:41 am
CJ, Thanks for the help, I did finally get the computer to work. I had ordered a new hinge, and figured that I might as well fix the hinge and worry about the overheating later. It’d be cheaper to fix the overheating issue at a service store than fixing the hinge anyway. So I fixed the hinge using your wonderful tutorial (thanks man!) and figured I’d give the overheating issue one more go at it. I cleaned the heat sink and CPU again, this time for like a solid half hour. I spread some of the generic, $3 Compusa grease on there, and for some reason, it worked this time. Not sure what I did different this time, but I’ll take it
Thanks for the help, you rock!
September 11th, 2006 at 10:38 am
Do you know if I can up-grade the processor in my Toshiba A65-S126 from a celeron to a P-4
Thanks,
Mike
September 11th, 2006 at 8:43 pm
To Mike: Question 283
Yes you can change the Processor from an Celeron to a P4. Now the bad part. You must take the computer apart to gain access to the processor and remove fans, heatsink and processor. You will need new thermal grease to re-attach to heat sink. Now the most important part to remember you must find a compatable P4 that has the same or lower wattage rating than the Celeron. If you don’t the computer will overheat. I changed a Celeron 2.4G to a P4 2.0G with a lower wattage rating and the computer performed much better.
Good Luck
Bernard
September 12th, 2006 at 4:17 am
Thank you Benard,
I need to dis-assemble the unit anyway. I had an overheating issue with this machine. I found your website and followed the directions to clean it. the temp dropped to 70 C but it still freezes up and runs consistently at 100%. I know i need to change the thermal grease if I havn’t burned out the processor. I was thinking this would be a good time to up-grade the processor since I have to dis-assemble the unit . You assistence is greatly appriciated.
Mike
September 12th, 2006 at 5:45 am
Benard,
I was able to locate a 2.8GHz P4b Northwood. It requires the same wattage as my 2.8 GHz Celeron and the same voltage. The FSB on the P4 is 533 and the FSB on the Celeron is 400. Will it still work? The thermal design power for both processors is 68.4 Watts and the voltage for the Celeron is 1.25 to 1.52, the voltage for the P4 is 1.52, I am also upgrading the expansion ram to 1Gb for a total of 1.25 gb. I know I am pushing the spec’s to the max but hopefully this will give me the performance I need without purchasing a new laptop. I will also be placing a triple 60mm fan cooling pad under the machine.
Many Thanks for your advise!!!!
Mike
September 12th, 2006 at 3:35 pm
Hi,
Does anyone know where to buy or replace an LCD screen cheaply for a toshiba p35-s629? Warranty won’t do anything unless there’s like 7 or 8 dead pixels. I have 2 right now, but it’s annoying the heck out of me coz I paid so much for it and I expect the screen to be perfect. Any suggestion will be really helpful. Thank you.
September 12th, 2006 at 7:14 pm
This is about as cheap as you will find for a new lcd for this laptop. Or you can order from toshiba for an extremely high price. I would check and see about how this will affect your waranty if you replace the screen though or you can do it and just not tell them anything
. If you are interested in selling your damaged screen let me know.
jnsantqs at cyberback.com
September 15th, 2006 at 1:31 am
My TE2100 will occasionally shut down by itself, so I thought it is due to overheating. However, I took out the HSF and did not see any clogging. I removed the thermal grease from the processor and HSF and reapplied some AS5 on it.
I assembled everything and switched the laptop on, but the temperature is about the same as before.
AS5 needs some time to perform optimally, so maybe it is due to this?
I used a program called MobileMeter to check the temperature.
It ranges from 60 to 64 degrees Celsius. Is this OK?
September 15th, 2006 at 9:23 pm
I have dealt with the overheating issue on my A65-1068 too, but my problem now is that it keeps restarting and going to the Windows Advanced Menu. No boot method works (Safe modes or CD-ROM), so it makes me think it is a HW issue.
Any ideas?
September 16th, 2006 at 8:29 pm
Hi
I have a fan problem with my Toshiba Satellite Pro 6000. It dosen´t turn on by it self when the laptop gets to hot. But the fan is not damaget because i can control it with the program: SPEEDFAN. The fan also starts when i start up in bios upgrade mode. Without SPEEDFAN the laptop crashes after few minutes.
Btw. Its all clean and the fan sounds nice and ok.
Sorry for my bad english, but i hope you can tell me what the problem is? And how to fix it.
Great site and best reguards from DK
September 17th, 2006 at 8:11 am
I have a 1905-s303. I used to have the overheating problem but fixed it by cleaning the heatsink and every few months thereafter cleaning it. My problem now is when I plug in the dc power adapter sometimes it shows it charging and sometimes not. When I wiggle a little the light goes on to show it charging. Sometimes it stays like this for a long time and sometimes I have to keep playing with it for a while. I read about the plug coming apart from the motherboard and re-sodering it there can fix the problem. Any news on this issue as replacing the motherboard isn’t worth it. If I want to check if this is indeed the problem do I check from the back of the computer or do I need to disassemble the front (which I have never done before) and am not quite sure how to do. Thanks for any help or advice.
September 17th, 2006 at 11:15 am
Wayne,
I think that 60 degrees Celsius is a little bit high. I tested my Pentium M 2GHz CPU and it runs at 46-50C.
Here’s what I found on their website:
So, just wait for a while and see if the temperature goes down.
September 17th, 2006 at 12:54 pm
Steven,
Did you take it apart for cleaning? If the laptop worded fine before you cleaned up the heatsink then check if all cards and connectors are seated properly.
September 17th, 2006 at 4:15 pm
Hi, I have a Toshiba MX35-S111. It keeps shutting down randomly. I checked the heat sink and cpu and its clean..no dust. When it shuts down, the power light button stays lit but the screen is black. My battery charges fine. When the laptop shuts down sometimes it takes a few tries to get it to boot again. Some times it boots on the first try. Sometimes the laptop will stay on for hours and sometimes it shuts off after a few minutes. Do you know what the problem could be? Thank you for your help. Noe
September 17th, 2006 at 6:34 pm
Martin,
I’m not really sure what’s wrong with your laptop. I guess that the temperature sensors might not work properly and the fan will not turn on when the laptop is hot. Not sure though. That’s strange that the fan works fine during the BIOS upgrade but not during normal operation. Let me know if you find a solution.
September 17th, 2006 at 7:23 pm
cj,
The booting up problem existed before I cleaned out the heatsink. I plugged the hard drive into another computer as an external and can read it fine. I tried using Linux (suggest in #34) to reboot from disk and even with failsafe it gets a kernel abort. Bios seems to work fine. When the Toshiba screen appears, the screen looks messed up though (lines and pixels), but text looks fine.) So, it seems like a HW issue, but not sure how to debug.
Thanks,
Steven
September 17th, 2006 at 8:09 pm
Christina,
Laptop disassembly requires some tech skills and if you are not sure do not open the laptop or you can damage it.
In your case it could be either a bad power DC-IN jack on the system board (it’s necessary to take apart the laptop if you want to fix the problem) or a damaged AC adapter plug (it’s necessary to replace the adapter).
Overtime, the wires inside the adapter power cord can break. The break point is located close to the power plug. It happens if you move your laptop a lot and frequently plug and unplug the adapter. When the power cord gets damaged, you’ll have to wiggle the power plug in order to get power to the laptop. As you see, a damaged power cord can a damaged power jack can have the same symptoms. Before you decide to repair the power jack, make sure that the adapter is fine.
September 17th, 2006 at 8:24 pm
Noe,
Test the memory module; it could be a bad memory. Try reseating memory, moving it into another slot. If you have two modules installed, remove them one by one and test the laptop again.
Remove the wireless card and run the laptop without the wi-fi card installed.
September 17th, 2006 at 8:40 pm
Steven,
You should have mentioned that before. I think your problem is related to a bad memory module or a bad video card. If you have any extra memory module installed, remove it and test the laptop again. You’ll be very lucky if it’s just a bad removable module.
Next step. Check if the same garbled video (lines and pixels) appears on an external monitor. If it does, you’ll have to replace the motherboard.
September 17th, 2006 at 9:36 pm
I have a problem with my Toshiba A55-S326 I was play a game GTA III and suddenly the laptop freeze and no key word Ctr Alt Del for end task, so I turn off with the on/off switch but after that the computer did´t start.
September 17th, 2006 at 9:42 pm
Hey Carlos,
Can you provide a better description on the laptop behavior? It will not turn at all? Do you see any LED lights, any HDD or DVD drive activity, any video at all?
September 18th, 2006 at 6:46 am
Thanks for the reply. I am almost positive it isn’t the adapter as the adapter is only about 6 months old. Normally I would have someone open the laptop however I am overseas at the moment and getting someone where I am isn’t the easiest. I would in a minute if I were back in the states (which I hope to be in the not too distant future)
If I could ask 2 brief questions. I read somewhere where 1 guy was having a connection problem and used alumium foil on the end of his adapter and that helped. Is it safe to put alumimum foil on the end to help be a conducter? 2) If I just wanted to open the laptop to check if the dc plug is broke (not try to fix myself) would I open the computer on the front or back (toshiba 1905-s303) I opened the back panel to the left of the fan and saw where the plug comes in the back but that didn’t really show me anything, so either I have to take the whole back off or really open the front. I just want to see if it is broke or not, then I can get this thing to someone to repair. Thanks again for your time
September 18th, 2006 at 7:10 pm
cj
Thanks for the ideas. I removed the extra memory, no help. I plugged in an external monitor and see the bad Toshiba image. Sounds like I need to replace the mother board?
Thanks very much for the help. This site is great.
Steven
September 18th, 2006 at 10:40 pm
Christina,
I don’t really understand how it can help you to fix the connection problem. Usually the power jack fails because the solder points on the motherboard crack and the power jack looses connection with the system board.
I haven’t crated a guide for taking apart Satellite 1905 yet. You can check out my disassembly guides for other Toshibas at http://www.irisvista.com. Some disassembly steps will be different for your model, but in general the entire process would be very similar to any other model. In most cases it’s necessary to remove the system board, or at least remove the laptop top cover, in order to check the power jack.
September 18th, 2006 at 10:48 pm
Steven,
Yep it sounds like a bad system board. Most likely the onboard memory module is bad and it will fail if you test it with Memtest 86+ utility.
September 22nd, 2006 at 4:29 am
The LED on my Toshiba Laptop A15 is not activating when I boot the computer up. It works fine when I connect it to a monitor. What might the problem be?
September 22nd, 2006 at 7:52 am
Avery Stewart,
Did you mean the LCD screen? If you are having a problem with laptop video, check out these posts:
How to troubleshoot and fix laptop video problems
Laptop has bad video on the LCD screen. What is wrong?
September 22nd, 2006 at 7:59 pm
Thank You!! for your passion in teaching, I look forward to de-assembling my new to me (used) Satellite A15-S129 to clean, etc… got for deal due to LCD hinges are “loose” and LCD will not stay staionary (loose but wont open all the way flat so maybe ok?), but I am definitly happy with it!!
QUESTION: Can I tighten the hinges under the speaker covers or at base of LCD housing internaly? Help very appreciated…
Thank you again for your teachings!
September 22nd, 2006 at 8:59 pm
MichaelS,
You can defiantly clean up the heatsink, because it’s easy to access it from the bottom of the laptop. But it’s not as easy with hinges. You cannot tighten them. The hinge screws are located under the top cover and not under the speaker covers. I think that most likely your hinges are broken and have to be replaced. If you happy with your laptop now, do not replace hinges, that’s a LOT OF WORK.
September 26th, 2006 at 10:40 pm
Thank you sir!
Will be cleaning heatsink soon, currently she’s running great but as with anything proactive is pretty good huh… LOL …
I think will save the hing change for when ever I have to replace LCD, looking at some of the instruction definitly a LOT OF WORK!
Although does look quite fun ;-))
Thanks again!
September 27th, 2006 at 10:04 am
hi bernard,
i wanted to know, which processor can i use for replacing the celeron in my toshiba a65-s126 ?
thanks,
saurabh
September 28th, 2006 at 3:23 am
dear sir,
I am using a toshiba M35X laptop.
The screen is damaged.
Can u advcie how much it will cost to replace the screen
rgds
amit
September 29th, 2006 at 12:48 pm
Thanks very much.
I have a Satellite A70 which I dual boot between Windows XP and SUSE Linux 9.3. Recently it started to shutdown suddenly every once in a while when I was running in Linux. As time went on it started happening more frequently until the point where I could not even have it on for five minutes. The weird thing is, this never happened in Windows. Only Linux.
I tried reformatting the Linux partition and installing a different Linux distribution. First I tried Fedora Core 5. Same problem. Then Mandriva 2006. No dice. Then Ubuntu 6.06. Again, hard shutdown with no warning. I was at a loss as to what to do until I stumbled upon this website. I disassembled the entire thing and the heat sinks were filthy. I blasted them with compressed air, reassembled and so far so good. It hasn’t shutdown yet! It hasn’t been that long yet (a couple of hours), but still. Better than before.
Thanks very much for the detailed instructions. They were a breeze to follow.
I am still confused as to why the problem never happened in Windows. This is the oposite of what I’ve been reading on other posts. ??????????
September 29th, 2006 at 1:26 pm
Saurabh,
Give me more information about your laptop, I need laptop part number. I’ll check CPUs listed for this laptop.
September 29th, 2006 at 1:39 pm
Amit,
I think you can find a used screen online for around $400-450. If you going to replace it in a laptop repair shop, add $100-$120 for labor. As you see, it’s very expensive. You can fish for a cheap screen on eBay, or even buy a whole unit for less then $400.
September 29th, 2006 at 2:00 pm
Brian,
I don’t have a good explanation but I have a guess why your laptop works fine in Windows but shuts down in Linux. A clogged heatsink was definitely a problem, but apparently there is something else to it. Some Satellite A70/A75 laptop has a utility (Toshiba utility) that allows you to setup the laptop performance manually. If you set it up to a maximum performance, the cooling fan works on a higher speed and makes a better job cooling the CPU. I believe the high performance is set by default.
It’s possible that Linux controls the cooling fan differently and it might have a lower rotation speed by default, not enough to cool down the heatsink/processor and as a result the laptop overheats and shuts down. Have you noticed that the fan has a higher speed in Windows? Can you check if the laptop performance is set to maximum?
I’m not sure if this information is accurate, it’s only a guess, but cannot explain your situation otherwise.
September 30th, 2006 at 5:43 pm
I purchased a Toshiba P25-s5262 and it did not include an ac adapter. I bought one off of ebay part # PA3290U-1ACA because they said it would fit this model of toshiba. Well I got the adapter and it is the right output 19V 6.3A but the end doesnt fit. (the pin on the laptop is too large for the hole on the adapter) . Several other places have told me this is the correct part number for this laptop yet it doesnt fit. Please Help I need an adpater so I can start using this laptop. Thank You!
September 30th, 2006 at 11:35 pm
Cjones,
That’s strange. It looks like PA3290U-1ACA is a correct part number for Satellite P25-S5262 adapter. You said:
Did you mean that the AC adapter plug has a bigger diameter then the hole in the laptop? If so, then you probably need PA3290-2ACA adapter. This adapter has the same output 19V-6.3A, and looks exactly as PA3290U-1ACA, BUT the power plug has a smaller diameter.
October 1st, 2006 at 9:41 am
After some research I have found that there are 8 Toshiba Connectors (there may be more).
6 Are Round Hollow Barrel Type Connectors: Sizes below are diameteres in millimetres.
6.5 x 3.0
6.0 x 2.0
5.5 x 2.8
5.5 x 2.5
5.5 x 2.0
5.0 x 2.5
PA3290U-1ACA has two sizes the standard is 5.5mm x 2.5mm and there is a large barrel connector 6.5mm x 3.0 which I assume will fit my laptop. It is the other way around the ac adapter barrell is too small for the larger hole and pin on the back of the laptop. I dont know if you have ever heard of this it sounds strange to me because I would assume all part numbers would be the same. But two stores told me that they have ran into this problem before and this was the reason it would not fit. Thank you though for your reply I hope this will help other Toshiba users in the future!
October 1st, 2006 at 9:51 am
Cjones,
So far I’ve seen only 2 different tips for 19V-6.3A adapters. We call them “big tip” (6.5mm) and “small tip” (5.5mm). I don’t think that they have the same part number. I have both adapters at work and check the part number on Monday.
October 1st, 2006 at 11:20 am
I would greatly appreciate that. Thank You!
October 2nd, 2006 at 9:28 am
Cjones,
Here’s what I got.
PA3290U-1ACA is 19V-6.3A adapter with a BIG barrel.
PA3290U-2ACA is 19V-6.3A adapter with a SMALL barrel.
October 2nd, 2006 at 10:32 am
Ok I have two of these adapters. One that came with another laptop I have (toshiba a75-s226) it is part number PA3290U-2ACA . I also have the one I ordered for the p25-s5262 and it is part number PA3290U-1ACA. They both are the same size tip. I used the PA3290U-1ACA on the A75 and it fits fine(both adapters are interchangeable on the A75-S226). The PA3290U-1ACA is a generic ac adapter do you think that they just made a mistake when manufacturing thinking that because both had the same specs they were made the same. I can send pictures if you would like to show the two parts and tips. Thank you though for your speedy response
October 2nd, 2006 at 10:46 am
Cjones,
That’s strange; I guess Toshiba made a mistake. I just checked other adapters listed for Satellite P25-S5262 and found 2 more: K000006860 and K000040129. Sparepartswarehouse has first one for $76, you can find it faster if you google for the part number.
October 5th, 2006 at 4:44 am
Here is an adapter that I recently purchased for $26.99 + shipping if this is of any use to anyone. It works fine. We have a Toshiba Satellite A45-3130, though it works with many Toshiba notebook models.
http://www.geeks.com/details.a.....38;cat=NBB
October 6th, 2006 at 2:34 am
I have tried to play video games on my computer, but for some reason every game I buy just freezes when I try and play it. I can play the games on my older dell that has even less memory for graphics. Any suggestions or anyone else run into the same problem.
October 6th, 2006 at 11:34 am
I have to say I think the Toshiba EA60 55 is a problematic machine. The power connection broke on me last year - I think it’s a flaw in the design that it sticks out so much - and now it’s heating up too eaily and cutting out. I only have it 19 months after paying 900 euro so it’s hardly a reliable machine.
Great web page by the way and a great help. Thank you!
October 6th, 2006 at 2:02 pm
Bret,
When you submitted the comment, you entered Toshiba Satellite P35-S6112 in the url field. I assume that’s your laptop. Satellite P35 heatsink designed similarly to Satellite A75 and this model tends to overheat because overtime the heatsink gets clogged with dust. When you play games, the CPU works harder and generate more heat. If the heatsink is clogged, the CPU will overheat. When CPU overheats, it slows down and the video might get laggy or freeze up completely. I think it might be your problem. Blow off the heatsink/fans with compressed air and see if it fixes the problem.
October 6th, 2006 at 2:26 pm
I have a problem with my P25-s5262 . I know it is not overheating from experience with my A75. While im using the laptop it just goes to stand-by and then turns right back on. After it does it once it just keeps doing it every 5 minutes and then it will quit and run sometimes an hour before doing it again. I know when they overheat they just shut off completely. I think it may be something to do with software but Im afraid to run the restore dvd because if the machine goes to standby while restoring it could be a disaster. Do you have any idea what could be causing the laptop to go into stand-by over and over for no reason. Again thanks for the site !!!
October 6th, 2006 at 2:41 pm
Cjones,
Enter the power management utility. There should be a place where you can change timing for the system standby. Change it to “never” for the battery mode and AC mode. Does it make any difference?
Also, just in case, enter the advanced settings and find “when I close the lid of my computer” entry. Set it to “none”. If the lid close switch is malfunctioning, it should eliminate the problem.
October 6th, 2006 at 2:59 pm
I cannot find where to change the timing for system standby. I looked under all the tabs in the power management. I will try to set the lid close option to none and see what it does and let you know what happens. Thank You!
October 6th, 2006 at 3:18 pm
I set both off the settings to what you suggested. Still it does the same thing. Im clueless I guess I have a toshiba paperweight now. Thank you for the suggestions!
October 6th, 2006 at 3:25 pm
Cjones,
Can you download and burn a copy of Knoppix – live Linux that runs right from the CD? Boot your laptop from this CD (it looks like Windows) and see if it still goes to stand by. If it works fine, then it’s a software related issue.
The biggest advantage of this test – you don’t have to reinstall Windows.
October 6th, 2006 at 8:23 pm
I have the A75-S229 Model, I’ve owned it for a year, I had the upper cover replaced because of the static issue and the speakers and I have opened it and cleaned it about 6 times. Well now my problem is this, I was playing Ned for Speed Most Wanted and I thought that Turning off Hyper Threading would allow the game to use more CPU, well I turned it back on and played it for a while and then it just shut off, nothing,? when I try to turn it on the Blue power light will come on, the fans turn on, and the CPU light blinks only once and then nothing, almost as if the CPU is fried, ? well I took it apart and cleaned everything again for the 7th time, put everything back together and it does the same thing, I tried putting in a CD and pushing the PLAY MODE button next to the ON one, the CD drive spins but again No CPU activity LED, or music, what could be wrong? I don’t want to buy a CPU and it not be the problem,
Thanks, Randy.
October 8th, 2006 at 3:10 pm
Randy,
Try starting the laptop from the AC power, without the battery installed.
It also could be a dead memory. If you have any extra memory stick installed, remove it and start the laptop without it.
October 8th, 2006 at 7:31 pm
tried both of those already, nothing, no LED activity or anything, Randy.
October 9th, 2006 at 6:46 am
IN my notebook toshiba A60, the drive dvd doesn’t work well . May I please have some instructions to remove the drive to change.
Thank you very much
Giulio
October 9th, 2006 at 7:48 pm
My toshiba P35 S609 has a year and a half now. For about 2 month now many lines have appeared form top to bottom on the entire the LCD. I Connected an external monitor to the laptop and the image was perfect.
Are these lines symptoms of a faulty LCD or could it be somethig else?
Thanks you for help and such a great site!
October 10th, 2006 at 11:04 am
it’s either the LCD screen, or something is not plugged in correctly, did you take it apart at all? if not It’s the LCD screen, it can’t be the video card as the other monitor wouldn’t work, did you recently mess with any display setting before this happened? if so you could have overloaded the screen, Randy
October 10th, 2006 at 11:05 am
Does anyone else have any ideas on my laptop? I don’t want to spend $75 for the CPU if the board is bad, is there a way I can test it?
October 11th, 2006 at 10:52 am
Giulio Brunetti,
Check out this disassembly guide for Toshiba Satellite A60 notebook. The DVD drive in this model is secured by one screw on the bottom; I believe this screw is marked as B2. The screw is located close to the lower right corner of the memory bay. After you remove this screw, pull the drive from the notebook as it shown on the step 4.
October 11th, 2006 at 10:58 am
Connie,
Check out my post “Laptop has a bad video on the LCD screen. What is wrong?” From your description I can say that it could be a faulty LCD screen, a faulty o loose video cable.
October 11th, 2006 at 11:25 am
Randy,
It looks like you know how to take it apart with closed eyes. Probably, you’ll have to take it apart one more time.
Here’s what I try when I have a situation like yours. I take the laptop apart completely and assemble it outside the case on my bench. With Satellite A75 it’s pretty easy.
You’ll need only the motherboard and the CPU with the cooling module. The motherboard has integrated memory module, the power switch is also located on the motherboard.
After the motherboard is removed from the case and the CPU with the cooling module is attached to it (as it shown on the step 23 here), connect an external monitor, plug the AC adapter and press on the power button located on the motherboard. If you can start the laptop and get some basic video on the external screen, then most likely the motherboard with CPU are fine. Start to assemble the laptop and test after each step. Check if the top cover has any bent metal pieces, which can cause unwanted grounding.
If you still cannot get any video on the external monitor, then either the motherboard or the CPU is bad. Reseat the CPU just in case and test again. That’s as far as you can go without test parts. Further troubleshooting will require either a test motherboard or a test CPU. From my experience a laptop system board fails much more often then a CPU.
October 11th, 2006 at 1:49 pm
I already tried just the motherboard, monitor, and ac or battery, same thing, blue light and no video, cpu led activity or anything, I wish I could figure out whether it’s the motherboard or the CPU, oh, and I know it’s ot the monitor because a. the CPU led would still work and b. the external monitor I plugged in I know works would have turned on, Randy.
October 12th, 2006 at 4:06 pm
I do have a Toshiba Satellite M45-S331. Last night, after being off for 3 hours, I turned it on back and it did so, but there was no display at all on the LCD. It was total black. I tried reseting, turning the laptop off, taking the battery out and so on and I got the same response. I let it go. This morning tried again with the same result. Then, I connected an external LCD monitor and it worked, all the display was ok (on the external monitor).
I ran some software tests and found no problems. Afterwords, I asked somebody from Toshiba Thecnical support and was told to take the notebook to a technical representative to fix what appeared to be a LCD problem. I did so and when the technical guy turned the laptop on it worked perfectly (without external monitor). Brought it back home, had it working for a couple of hours and got back the same problem: a black screen. Went back to connect the external monitor and got display on it and all systems working ok.
So, have you ever se anything like this? LCD inverter or other cheaper part?
Thanks on advance
October 15th, 2006 at 8:08 pm
Jose,
Yes, I’ve seen it before many times but there is no straight answer to your question. It could be a bad inverter, screen, video cable or even motherboard.
You mentioned that the screen is black. Is it completely black or you still can make out an image on the screen? When LCD inverter fails, the backlight turns off, but you still should see the desktop (very dim image). Can you?
October 16th, 2006 at 7:43 am
cj2600:
Regarding my Satellite M45-S331, yes, it shows the Windows Xp image when starts booting, but nothing else, not even a dime image of the desktop after a couple of seconds had passed.
I had it on working over the weekend using an external monitor and (it) works perfectly. Boots, loads and does run all software without trouble at all.
I do not mind having to fix an inverter, cable, etc. or other minor problem, but I won’t go (for sure) for a new screen. It would be about $500, close to 70% what the laptop is worth now.
May be you can come with a wiser advise.
Thanks a lot,
Jose
October 16th, 2006 at 6:20 pm
Jose,
Try this. Start the laptop with the external monitor attached. When it’s completely booted to the desktop (on the external monitor), try switching the video from the external monitor to the internal LCD screen by pressing Fn+F5 keys. Press on Fn first and hold it down, then tap on F5 for a few times. When you hold down Fn and tap on F5 one time, you might get a menu that shows where the laptop outputs video (I get this menu on my Satellite A105 laptop). Change it to the internal LCD screen. Try it and let me know how it goes.
October 17th, 2006 at 7:49 am
CJ2600:
I started the laptop the way you advised me. First try, I got full display on its (laptop) screen, but for a split second. I went back to the external monitor (using Fn + F5)…everything ok on the external (display). I tried again switching to the laptop but did not get the same result as the first test. However, I am able to see a very dim display of the desktop on the notebook. It didn’t happened days ago when I tried using Fn + F5 by myself. So, could it be the LCD inverter? Is there a “dimmer” function as software or hardware on the satellite M45-S331?
I think I am gonna tried changing the LCD inverter. Its cost is about $40.
Any other recomendation, I would be please to follow.
Thanks a zillion,
Jose
October 18th, 2006 at 9:09 pm
Jose,
It could be a bad FL inverter board. You can make the screen brighter with Fn+F7 and dimmer with Fn+F6. But even if you turn the brightness all the way down, the screen still should have backlight. As you mentioned before, your screen is black. So I think it could be a bad inverter. Here’s a guide for taking apart Satellite M45 screen. Try reseating cables first and if it doesn’t help go with the inverter, it’s not expensive.
October 20th, 2006 at 8:42 am
I recently bought a Toshiba Satellite 2430 Laptop off ebay which had a faulty HDD, I replaced
the HDD and installed XP and the laptop was working fine. I have noticed however that when playing any sound whether it be DVD/CD or a sound file on the computer it crackles sometimes or loses sound altogether and if it is a DVD that is playing the movie jerks at the same time. I have traced it to the smooth areas either side of the touch pad as when I press firmly here it can cause the problem. I am thinking a loose connection is the problem, does anyone know of this problem or can help guide me to the disassembly of the problem area? Also I think the ac power connection could be loose but I understand this is a known problem. Any help much appreciated.
October 20th, 2006 at 10:50 am
Fyall,
It looks like you’ve already posted the same comment on this site.
October 26th, 2006 at 6:39 am
I have a Satellite 1135-S125 and tried to remove the cover to clean my heatsink, but it does not have phillips head screws; but little rivetlike things. Does anyone know how to safely remove the cover, or do I remove the entire back of the notebook? Please advise. Thank you. Jim
October 26th, 2006 at 7:36 am
Jim,
You don’t have to remove the entire back of the notebook in order to clean up the heatsink. Remove just the cover and you’ll get an access to the heatsink and the fan. The heatsink cover usually secured by two torx screws. If you don’t have torx screderiver, then probably you can use a small flathead screwdriver but be careful because you can strip the screw. BTW, you can buy torx screwdriver in any local hardware store for about $3-4. I believe you need torx #6 (T6), I don’t have this tool with me and cannot confirm the size.
October 27th, 2006 at 11:18 am
I had the same monitor blackout problem which occured randomly, it turned out to be the spring catch holding the rubber switch on the back of the plastic strip beneath the screen. it has come loose from the three tiny plastic holding pips and trapped the screen off switch . I refixed the spring using epoxy resin and it is now ok
November 1st, 2006 at 5:29 am
My Toshiba laptop keeps shutting down the adapter big barrel tip is broken (already had the inside plug fixed)it is adapter # PA3290U-2ACA any ideas where I can get this at a reasonable price? Seems to be at least $68.00 + Thanks for your help!
November 1st, 2006 at 10:33 am
The solution of using canned air to blow out the dust worked like a charm. I was going to take my laptop to a repair shop and spend at least $100. Thanks laptoprepairguy.com.
November 1st, 2006 at 11:04 am
cj2600
Regarding my Toshiba Satellite M45-S331, I replaced the FL Inverter Board (LCD inverter) as you told me and the laptop is working fine now. Blackout problem solved.
Thanks a lot for you help.
Best regards,
Jose
November 1st, 2006 at 7:56 pm
Sgalante,
It looks like you are looking for 19V-6.3V AC adapter for Toshiba Satellite A60/A65/A70/A75. Is it right? Search here by the part number you mentioned in your comment (PA3290U-2ACA). You can a new AC adapter for less then $30.
November 9th, 2006 at 5:57 am
my laptop wont start at all just gives me the options of safe mode, networking mode, command prompt mode and normall mode and when i pick one it starts to load then goes back to to the four options
November 9th, 2006 at 6:27 am
My Toshiba Satellite MX35 laptop worked fine for a week after cleaning the heatsink with compressed air and reapplying silver thermal grease following the instructions given in this website. Recently, it started shutting itself down or freezing with a white screen again. If the air conditioning is on, my laptop works just fine. Any suggestion on what to do next?
November 13th, 2006 at 1:58 pm
This could also due to the poorly soldered DC power jack problem….
November 13th, 2006 at 2:50 pm
I have model TOSHIBA SATELLITE M35X the cooling fan is not working at all i can blow air in the open in you can hear the fan spin but as soon you stop blowing on it stops
November 13th, 2006 at 4:06 pm
I have a satellite p15- s479 and I warn all of you that the design of the jack in back or on most all computers is designed somewhat flexable and when you bump the cord or plug it does not take much to break the stem or post inside where the charger plugs in. Mine snapped off so for now I have a small spring inside the plug that goes into the back and I cut a good fitting piece of nail about 1/2″ long and plug it into the back and it works. I do not recomend anyone do this except as an emergency or real need to use the computer. But! since I first done this about six months ago I thought my batter was going bad because it would stop charging after a while and I purchased a new battery which seems a little better but still have a problem so I ordered a battery from getpartsonline.com and it is now in the mail. BUT! after looking around I am wondering if something is over heating, I will check that as well. I can use it for a while and it starts beeping and then just shuts off after a while. I tried to take apart the computer to get to the charger plug but I saw that I have to tear it most all the way down. Since I am kind of handy at these things I am considering cutting out a chunk for easy access to the plug and re vamp it with a better design.
I also had to buy a new computer when this first happened to me so I purchased another satellite but not a pro. for some reason it shorted out and Toshiba said to ship it to them and they will repair upon further questions I find out that most likley no matter what the problem is they will re image the hard drive. OUCH!! I must not lose all my research that I did not back up so I was looking at the warrenty info and see that when you ship it to them that they don’t want it with third party hardware in it OUCH!! again because I had ordered a new western digital 60 gig that I would send to them to re image I purchased it from 4allmemory.com and they got it to me right away but it was only a 40 gig. so they sent me a 60 gig with a return shipping label for the wrong one they sent me. I went to put it in and found that it is not the same one and will not plug into the satellite. Many emails and phone calls and I am not getting any results yet. The have what seems like an easy way to find the right part and order but even tho they say they guarantee it to be the right part that does not matter if you can not get what you need right away. It is a month later now and I guess I have to find another place and order another one and hope they remove the ones I sent back off my charge card.
I don’t know why but I try and do the right thing but it seems like I always run into some kind of problems. I think I will go with HP the next time but I doubt that will stop some of the same problems I have had. Wishing all of you better luck that I have.
November 16th, 2006 at 6:41 pm
hello,
I have a toshiba satellite 1415-s173 laptop. When I try to use the recovery CD I get the following message:
” This Recovery and Applications CD is not configured to work with this machine (Portable CD).
This CD is for: Satellite 1415
Please use the correct Recovery and Applications CD. ”
Any suggestions?
Thanks,
David
November 16th, 2006 at 10:18 pm
David,
When you start a restore process from the CD, do you get a “WRONG MACHINE” message on the screen? Usually it’s written in big letters and this message takes almost the entire screen.
BTW, do you use the original Toshiba restore CDs?
November 19th, 2006 at 5:46 am
My satellite M30-604 shuts down when the graphics card is in use. It drains the battery down to 0% then shuts down even with the AC in. It works fine with the graphics card not in use. Any ideas guys?!?
November 22nd, 2006 at 8:15 pm
I have two A75 Series Toshiba notebooks that I use extensively for video editing and DVD burning. Both of them have max memory, max power settings, and upgraded 7200 RPM hard drives so they’re running hot.
I got the crazy idea of using my leaf blower– Weedwacker Groundsweeper 2510 to BLOW out the crud and dust. Better than ANY air can around but LOUD. Put on ear plugs and remove main extension tube for portability. For only $30.00 (Just Google the model), you can get a radical blower. Awesome power tool. You’ll see AND hear the results. My fans are so quiet and they don’t kick-in to high very much at all anymore. Just do this once a month. Definitely not the extravagant high tech solution, but industrial strength, baby.
November 25th, 2006 at 3:01 am
Hi
I have toshiba laptop satellite 1137
it suddenly turn off
now it doesnt work any more!!
what should I check!
thank you
regards
November 25th, 2006 at 9:36 pm
Please
Could you tell me how can I remove the prossecor in TOSHIBA Satellit P15-S409
best regard
November 26th, 2006 at 7:48 pm
Hisham,
Do you get any LED lights when you plug the AC adapter? May be the AC adapter is bad and has to be replaced? You can find a multimeter and check if the adapter outputs any power at all.
November 26th, 2006 at 7:57 pm
Khalid,
Here’s a guide that shows how to remove the heatsink from a Toshiba Satellite P15 laptop. The processor is located right under the hetatsink. To remove the processor, you’ll have to open up the socket first by turning the screw-lock into “Open” position. After that you can lift up the CPU.
BE CAREFUL. When you lift up the heatsink, the processor might come out with the heatsink. In this case you’ll have to separate the processor from the heatsink using a flathead screwdriver. Insert the screwdriver between the processor and the heatsink and slowly rotate the screwdriver until the CPU separates from the heatsink. Be very careful with the CPU pins.
November 28th, 2006 at 7:59 am
I purchased a brand new Toshiba Satelite A-70 notebook in March of 2005. It started overheating and shutting down on it’s own in December 2005. I have returned it for repair in Dec/05, April/06, July/06, Aug/06 and it’s back in for service where I purchased it. At the time of purchase I opted to buy the 3 year extended warranty. Do you think this type of problem is covered under such a warranty (for replacement)?
December 2nd, 2006 at 7:52 am
Wonderfull site!
-I managed to clean the heatsink on my Toshiba by pointing an airline into the side vent (the air tank was at about 30psi) - lots of dust came out the fan grill .
A hint : to see how well you’ve done; Go into a darkened room and put a torch onto the fan grill, then look down the side into the heatsink, you should see light through all the silver heatsink vanes.
No shutdowns now
December 2nd, 2006 at 10:44 pm
My computer thanks you… it was about 3 seconds from being flung out the window when I stubbled on your site. Now it’s working like it was new! Great job!
December 3rd, 2006 at 7:01 pm
Step 10 question.
Where do the black&white wires from the monitor connect?
December 3rd, 2006 at 7:31 pm
Hey guys,
was cleaning out my fans/heatsink as per suggested above to stop this whole ’shut down every 5 min’ problem - only now i’ve put it all back together i’m not getting anything on the screen! Any suggestions as to what i’ve done wrong?
TOSHIBA SATELLITE A70.
December 3rd, 2006 at 10:51 pm
Daniel,
I think you are talking about wireless card antenna cables – black and white wires coming from the screen. The white wire goes to the “Main” connector on the wireless card, the black wire goes to “Auxiliary” connector.
Step 10 on witch disassembly guide?
December 3rd, 2006 at 11:02 pm
Frederick,
Here are some common mistakes people make during laptop disassembly/assembly.
1. Make sure the memory module is seated properly. Reseat it just in case.
2. Make sure the video cable is properly connected to the motherboard. Unplug the cable from the motherboard and look inside the video cable connector on the motherboard. Make sure there are no bent pins. If you see bent pins you can straighten them with a very small flathead screwdriver. Be VERY,VERY, VERY careful with pins inside the connector. If one of them gets broken, you are screwed big time. Plug and unplug the video cable very carefully.
3. If for some reason you remove the CPU, make sure to lock in the socket when you install it back. If the CPU is not locked, the laptop will not boot. Test the laptop with an external monitor and if it works fine then CPU is locked and the problem is somewhere else.
December 4th, 2006 at 2:13 pm
Cj2600,
Many thanks! Simply a case of being careless when reconstructing. Sadly, I doubt i’ve learned my lesson…
All the best.
December 4th, 2006 at 5:26 pm
I’ve finally put it back together.
EXCEPT for the batery, it works fine, but only if plugged into the wall.
It doesn’t see the batery anymore
Other than that, I run a set of tests that would have heat and shut it down, but they didn’t.
Any advice on the battery?
December 7th, 2006 at 8:54 am
I was repairing a Toshiba Satellite pro for a friend and found the previous information very helpful.
The cpu and heatsink were glued together and when I pulled out the heatsink, the cpu came out withit and slid off! I did all of the cleaning, put it back together, powered on and…. the fans spun for about three seconds, then the laptop died… It took it apart again and noticed that one of the corner pins on the cpu was bent and laying flat across the base! NOOOOOO!
To remedy this I had to borrow a pin from my girlfriends sewing kit and “very carefully” bend to pin back into position. I then put everything back together, remembering the cpu lock (I forgot the first time) and IT WORKED!!
I am sooo lucky…..
December 8th, 2006 at 5:00 pm
Hello! You guys are amazing… I have been noticing Overheating with my Toshiba Qosmio G25-AV513. It is Bottom part batter, harddrive , Top Keyboard gets really really hot and Fan kick-in non stop for 10- 15 mins then it cools down. But it is keept on happening now when I try to run BenchMarking or Graphic Extensive Apps or JAVA APPS that uses JAVA VIRTUAL MACHINE. One Solution I’m using now is bought a really Fine Quality FAN that Sits on the BACK of my TABLE when I work on the Table which I now mostly to keep the Laptop Cool.This is getting annoying and i need a permenant solution. It is out of warrinty only 14 months old.
What I need from any of you guys to help me GET THE DETAIL HARDWARE MANUAL and Please TELL ME what are the HARDWARE TOOLS I would require to OPEN the LAPTOP and Get to the bottom of it…Please tell me where I can buy all the MUST have Tools and Maybe needed tools. I have none. This is my first time I will be opening any LAPTOP and I want to do it right. GOOD MANUAL and GOOD TOOLS with Precuations will do it.
CASH
December 10th, 2006 at 6:41 pm
The Toshiba Satellite P15-420 overheated from day one. The cooling fans always ran at full speed. Both the cooling fans and the heat sink were kept clean at all times, and heat-sink was properly applied to the chipset during each maintenance check-up.
At the end of the second year, the laptop motherboard burned out. Toshiba replaced the motherboard, which again burned-out within a few months when the laptop was no longer under warranty, and has refused to address the design defect.
Symptoms: The PC suddenly stops and the screen goes blank during normal operation. Occasionally there is system-dump information. Occasionally, there are CMOS errors when re-booting. Battery power management is not working properly.
December 11th, 2006 at 10:43 pm
My Toshiba shut down on me last night, now when I attempt to turn it on it won’t boot up, it sits idle with a black screen. The power button is on because I see blue. I will say this, it came on earlier, then shut itself down.
December 15th, 2006 at 1:16 pm
This Toshiba 6000 was shuting down on it’s own. I suspected heat problem so I checked the fan. The fan never spins, no matter how hot the CPU gets. So, I replaced the fan, started testing, well, this fan does not spin either. System still shuts off due to overheating. Any thoughts?
December 15th, 2006 at 7:16 pm
There is a class action lawsuit against Toshiba because of problems discussed here for certain models. See this website: http://www.a70m30xsettlement.com/
December 16th, 2006 at 12:02 am
Toshiba Qosmio .Display distortion.Blue screen error then system reboot itself.
December 18th, 2006 at 8:21 pm
Cashif,
Before you take the whole thing apart, find an air compressor and blow of the fans and heatsink. It should help.
December 18th, 2006 at 8:25 pm
Brian,
The cooling fan plugs directly into the motherboard. If you installed a new fan (I assume it’s a good working fan) but still experience the same problem, then there is something wrong with the motherboard itself.
December 21st, 2006 at 3:58 pm
I was wondering…I have a toshiba laptop and i am experiencing strange freezing after starting up my computer…wondering if it is overheating. If i leave my computer for a while it will seemingly run fine for a little bit. Whether I leave it or open programs, it will eventually become unresponsive. Sometimes I can correct this for a short while by hitting alt ctrl delelte, and bringing up the task manager, other times this will not work and I have to restart. If I use my computer, the freezes seem to become more frequent and happen faster the longer I use it, which would seem to point to overheating. I want to know if this could be the problem before I try reformating.
December 24th, 2006 at 7:37 am
I have a P35-S692 and after over heating over and over and over, it wouldnt come back on, I took it apart and nothing, put it back together and a mirical is came back on, now its still overheating, and it shut down lastnight from overheating and wont come back on at all. I am really starting to hate toshiba, they told me to send it in, but now i am scared because of all the horror stories I have read on different forums. Has anyone come up with a good solution so this overheating problem…besides a boxfan and a cookie cooling tray lol…btw, it doesnt help when I try to play a game…its elevated 3in off the table and it still shuts off.
December 25th, 2006 at 9:03 pm
Mav,
Did you clean the heatsink? Did you remove the old thermal grease and applied new one? Make sure both fans spin when the laptop is hot, may be you have a bad cooling fan.
December 26th, 2006 at 9:21 am
I have an A 70 which was suddenly shutting down due to overheating as well. I solved the problem by putting the computer on supports that hold it about an inch off the table or desk. The fin area cools down after that and the fans run at about medium speed; I downloaded a cpu temp monitoring utitlity (Hardware sensors monitor) and found that once cpu usage gets up to around 50%, the cpu temp rises quickly. But having the computer an inch off the table allows the cooling system to work properly.
December 28th, 2006 at 8:14 pm
I have a Toshiba Satellite 1905-S301 and would like to try cleaning the heat sink. Please let me know where could I find the instructions. I already checked the irisvista.com and it does not have instructions for this model.
If there are no instructions for this exact model, then please let me know which model most closely resembles 1905-S301 and I would try to follow those instructions.
Thank you for this really helpful website!!
Regards,
Manish
December 30th, 2006 at 4:44 pm
I have a qosmio av 600, now i dont know but why does the web pages freeze on me.is it the graphics card,i have to go back and forth to other pages for it to come back and then again the same thing,the page keeps on freezing,please help very frustrated.
December 30th, 2006 at 6:18 pm
A note of thanks. Just finished putting together my Toshiba M35 after reading on how to take it apart. After using the shop vac on the fan and exhaust port, I removed the heat sink off the processor and found that the heat sink compound which assist in the transfer of heat away from the processor was non-existent. After adding a fresh dab of compound and re-assembly the unit is working nice and “cool”, relatively speaking. Thanks again. By the way I wound up with a spare screw.
December 31st, 2006 at 8:13 pm
Afet,
Most likely it’s just a software related issue. Backup all personal data (burn it on CD/DVD or transfer to an external drive) and reimage the hard drive using the recovery DVD. This process will erase everything on the hard drive and reload it back to the factory default, it would be the way you bought it from Toshiba.
January 3rd, 2007 at 4:36 pm
I own a Toshiba Qosmio F25. Recently it has been suddenly shutting itself down on AC power and shows it as a dead battery. The computer is not hot when it shuts off. It is almost as if the AC charger does not have enough power to run the computer and charge the battery. It runs off AC power when the battery is fully charged, but does not seem to fully charge unless the computer is off. I have brought the computer in multiple times to be looked at, but they say there is nothing wrong with the computer. Any idea what the problem may be?
January 4th, 2007 at 8:05 am
I have a toshiba EA60-155 laptop with a display fault, it works ok on an external monitor but its own display just shows flashing horizontal white lines up and down the screen, i fear it is the mobo anyone had this before???
Regards
Jay
January 4th, 2007 at 7:19 pm
I have a Satellite A10-129. Just out of a 3 year warranty and of course now I have problems. The fan is loud and it runs hot. I’ve cleaned the heat sink but the fan is still noisy and the computer is hot.
Can you take apart the fan itself and clean it? If so, how?
Also, I dont need to replace a Toshiba cooling fan with a Toshiba part do I? There seem to be better cheaper options out there but I dont know what size fits what.
January 7th, 2007 at 4:04 pm
Hi, I owned a Toshiba A75-206S and the problem that I had was overheating. I follow the steps on this site about using a compresed canned air blowing thru the open slots of my laptop and it really works. The overheating stop completelly without having to take apart the computer, thank you.
January 7th, 2007 at 10:52 pm
My Toshiba A70 was shutting down due to overheating. I did not want to have to take it apart, so decided to vacuum with a very strong suction vacuum cleaner. It worked very well, except that there are some larger dust balls that will not get past the small holes of the fan vents. The fans which were whirring like crazy and making a lot of noise and now silent, so much so that I have had to pick it up and look to see if they were spinning. I guess I got used to the sound and thought it was normal. So, anytime your tosh starts to overheat, vacuum first.
January 8th, 2007 at 8:44 am
Where can I by fan for my toshiba A75-S206?
January 9th, 2007 at 8:45 pm
I just add another 512 of ram and it hasn’t overheated agian.
January 14th, 2007 at 10:30 am
Heather,
May be it’s a software related problem? Check comments 27 and 29 in this posts. Roger had a similar problem with his Acer laptop.
Try uninstalling Toshiba power utility and see if Windows power management can handle it properly. As a last resort reinstall the operating system from the recovery DVD.
January 14th, 2007 at 11:26 am
Jason,
If the laptop works fine with an external monitor, most likely there is nothing wrong with the motherboard. Try reseating the video cable first, make sure both ends of the video hareness are seated properly and secured. Next, I would try replacing the video cable. Finally, the LCD screen.
You can find more tips on troubleshooting laptop video here and here. If you have more questions, please use an appropriate thread.
January 14th, 2007 at 3:32 pm
Sorry for posting in the wrong thread but you were correct it was the ribbon cable at fault it had become slightly unseated, once replaced all is fine thanks very much for your help.
I however now have another problem,
Running the same laptop on ac power on full settings seems to be draining the battery especially when playing the likes of msn games and will just shut down, i have stripped down and cleaned the heatsink and fan but still the same problem persists.
I have two similar machines and have noticed that the worker takes quite some time to fully charge the battery were as the faulty one seems to fullly charge in around 20 mins from flat but then dies even when on ac……. could this be a software problem???????
Regards
Jay
January 14th, 2007 at 4:12 pm
Angel Soriano,
You can find a new cooling fan for Satellite A75 if you search by the following part number: K000016310
January 16th, 2007 at 9:02 am
I’m havining the same problem with my toshiba right now. It Shut down and goes to a blue screen telling me that it is shutting down to prevent any further damage….
ALSO, my D: Drive is NOT working….
January 17th, 2007 at 6:35 pm
I have Toshiba Laptop satelite a45-s121, previously it was going dead after a 15 min and now it is totally dead, is it worth to get is fix or buy the new one?
Thanks
Charan
January 17th, 2007 at 8:32 pm
Jason,
You have two similar laptops, right? Borrow the battery from another computer and test on yours. If it works properly with another battery, probably you have a bad battery.
The laptop dies when the AC adapter is plugged? May be the laptop overheats? If I understand right, you disassembled the laptop. Did you plug the fan? If you removed thermal grease from the processor did you apply new grease on it?
January 18th, 2007 at 3:50 am
Hi there thanks for your reply, i have rulled out the battery as i have swapped them over and i have also swapped power supplies to rule them out, i dont think it is an overheating problem either as i have stripped it down removed the heatsink cleaned up and applied new heatsink compound and have rechecked my work there.
Regards
Jason
January 18th, 2007 at 8:46 am
I have two M30-S309’s, both out of warranty. I wanted to take the system fan out of one and put it in the other since one of the machines had a very loud fan and cleaning it out didn’t help the issue.
So, I swapped fans, but now neither fan is spinning when the laptop is powered up. Shouldn’t it always be running? I let one run for a bit and it shut down and won’t come back. It smells funky too, like something fried. Since the fan isn’t spinning on the other machine I am hesitant to leave it running at all.
Any suggestions? Yes the fan is plugged in.
Thanks
January 18th, 2007 at 10:42 am
HI again. Well, I’ve put both fans (both worked before I started this whole thing) into the known good M30 and neither spin up at boot. There isn’t a BIOS message about a failed fan, but I am real hesitant to leave this thing running since I think I fried the other machine.
Being a Centrino machine, I didn’t think anything was wrong when the fried machine was running without the fan.
… not sure what I should do about the fans…
January 18th, 2007 at 7:46 pm
Jason,
May be you have a power jack related problem?
January 18th, 2007 at 11:02 pm
Lance,
Not on all models. I’m not sure about Satellite M30. Sometimes the cooling fan doesn’t spin when you turn on the laptop and kicks in only when the processor is hot.
January 19th, 2007 at 4:41 am
Yes, I was thinking the same thing until the other machine fried. I was taking it apart again when it shut down though, so it may have been a coincidence. The M30’s are Centrinos, so I figured the fan wouldn’t kick on immediately, but I was concerned that leaving the machine running without a fan could led to a premature death.
I will let it run a bit and see. Since it isn’t a first edition P4 machine, it technically “should” run for a little while without a fan.
Thanks
January 19th, 2007 at 5:45 am
Luckily, I was patient enough to wait. The fan did kick in and it did take a while. I figured this was so, but I was worried since another CPU fried (I believe). However, that machine had the faulty fan, so it’s possible that it had been overheating for a long time and the CPU simply couldn’t take the heat.
Thanks for the tip…
January 19th, 2007 at 1:01 pm
Lance,
Right now I’m working on a Satellite M35 notebook and the cooling fan doesn’t start when you turn on the laptop. It kicks in after about 5-7 minutes. I assume it’s normal for this model.
January 20th, 2007 at 5:18 am
Dear LRGuy, I have a Satellite 2430-S256 and am having trouble with (i think) ovrheating, as discussed, but I can’t get onto the askiris link you have provided, or directly through the Toshiba site - i am guessing you have to be able to log on for this info. Any suggestion how i get the info, or anyone know how i get into the box ? From top or bottom ? Help plz
January 20th, 2007 at 3:29 pm
shopvack trick worked great guys. with three dogs and two cats, I didn’t realize how bad the hair built up in their. I could have knitted a sweater with what came out of the cooling fans and heatsink. Funny thing was that it looked clean from the bottom and back but deep inside was the problem.
thanks,
Jeff
January 21st, 2007 at 4:27 am
These are my experiences of the A60 and things that helped me.
http://www.reviewcentre.com/review177939.html
Also did the hoover trick and have a laptop cooling pad. Overheating improved, but wouldn’t buy another toshiba laptop again.
January 23rd, 2007 at 10:47 pm
Dear cj2600,
I’ve been reading your comments for the past month. Thanks to you i was able to find out the problem with my Satellite M35X-S311. It’s an overheating issue. It would boot and then shut down;sometimes within minutes if left off for a day, and sometimes shuts off within seconds if repeatedly booted. There was some dust/dirt in the heatsink which i managed to clean up. I then applied a thermal pad to the CPU-heatsink interface. The boot problem still persisted. I ended up buying a new heatsink and some Artic Silver 5. After multiple trials of applying various thickness layers of the Artic silver, without any solution to the overheating. Note that the fan doesn’t kick in, it only works when i first boot. i realized that when i totally cleaned the CPU and heatsink and connected them without any thermal compound in between, it seemed to boot and load Windows and then shut down after minutes.
Please help. What could be the problem??
January 24th, 2007 at 10:18 pm
Martyn,
Could you please tell me where the link is located, the comment number? I’ll fix it.
January 25th, 2007 at 12:13 am
Zooos,
So the cooling fan starts when you turn on the laptop, then it goes off and never comes back? It might be a problem with the motherboard. I think the circuit responsible for the turning on the cooling fan is damaged and doesn’t work properly. I’ve seen that before two or three times, very rare problem. That’s my guess.
If the fan does come back after a while, try a different thermal compound; use silicone based grease.
BTW, check out this post. May be you can get a free repair from Toshiba?
January 25th, 2007 at 5:31 am
Thank you so much cj2600!!
I forgot to mention that the fan does turn back on only when not using any artic silver!! My guess is that the CompUSA brand Artic Silver 5 is not conducting any heat to the heatsink. I’ll try buying some thermal pads. Also, is that settlement/ 12-month warranty extension valid on previously disassembled laptops?
January 29th, 2007 at 8:50 am
Hi,
I have the CPU overheating problem on my Toshiba A10-511.
I took it to a repair shop where my laptop was cleaned, the old thermal grease was removed, and new grease put on. Now the laptop stays on for longer and I can at least copy all of my important files onto cds as a precaution! But I can’t even go on the internet or run any software, it just shuts down!
Is there a solution to this problem?
Thank you for your help!!
January 29th, 2007 at 1:41 pm
I don’t know if anyone looks at this page anymore - but I’ve got a Toshiba A65 Notebook which kicked the bucket a few months ago. Everything was working fine when one day it froze up on me, and afterwards never agreed to reboot. The lockup in Windows was a hard one requiring a hard reset (8 secs on the power button). It shut down but will not restart, it does not do a think other than you hear the CD-Rom initialize and 2 of the front LEDS turn-on. But other than that she’s dead… No LCD activity, not HDD spinning up, no nothing - oh the power light around the On button does turn on. I’ve tried doing everything from pulling the additional memory out, pulling the CD Rom out, pulling the HDD out, using just batter, using just AC, but nothing… I’ve opened up the unit per the instructions on this site and looked for a clogged heat sink and fan - but neither were they were both very clean. I tried reseating the CPU and checking for loose connections. I put it all back together and still nothing.
What is interesting though is out of the 250+ times I’ve tried booting it in the past 6 months it actually started booting - but then locked up within just a couple of minutes and died not to be rebooted again. I have to presume a serious hardware failure somewhere.
This laptop was a lap-burner from day one, definitely a terrible design by Toshiba. I am quite sure this is the same problem that Toshiba got sued for on the A70-series. But they deny the A60 series suffers from this problem. I’ve called them and begged to differ…
Anyone got any ideas? Should I just scrap this thing on eBay? A new motherboard is way too expensive, but just a CPU would be cheap enough to replace.
I will never ever buy anything Toshiba makes, whether it’s a computer or a wide-screen TV. I can’t believe this notebook didn’t even last 2 years and I barely used it! I had an old Digital (DEC) notebook that ran strong for over 5 years - and I ended up selling it!
I’d really appreciate any advice if someone is still out there looking at this website.
Thanks
January 29th, 2007 at 4:46 pm
i found so much junk in mine i could stuff a turkey. I started going to the car wash every three months and vacuum it .
i had to open it to fix my cord too so i cleaned a bit also. I took the stickers of the fans and poured some baby oil in there:p
Mine use to shut off when i touch it , it also stopped
January 29th, 2007 at 7:54 pm
Hi i have a toshiba tecra and whenever i play any type of game in about 10 minutes the laptop shuts off without warning. Sometimes its not even hot. What is the solution to this?
February 4th, 2007 at 5:54 am
Laptop Repair Guy!
Thank you for this wonderful site!
I have a Satellite A70 and I found your site because I was looking for what the problem may have been for my computer shutdowns. I figured it was overheating but didn’t know how to solve the problem. I am not a computer techie person but I like to take things apart. And man it is a bit_ _ to get to the heatsink.
I have had problems with the ones mentioned here on your site. The powerjack and as mentioned the shutdowns. I did get the jack replaced by warranty. Hopefully I won’t run into any other problems. Thanks again. I hope you keep this site up for the lifetime of my laptop.
I do have a question about the Toshiba Settlement. I don’t think I am entitled to it because I bought my laptop in Canada. Is this correct?
February 4th, 2007 at 6:03 am
Oops! forgot a question.
While putting back together my laptop I have 2-3 screws left over. Yikes! I’m not sure where they go exactly. My computer is working so I’m thinking it won’t matter too much. The screws left over are a F8 and another one. I saw that most were labled(on the laptop) F3,F5 & F8. These came off while disconnecting the board (not labeled). Is this something I should find out? The screw is a little bit smaller than the F8 but bigger than the F3 and F5.
February 4th, 2007 at 10:36 am
my picture is distorted. I don’t know what I hit but everything is much wider then it should be. Can you help me. Thanks
February 4th, 2007 at 11:22 pm
Chris,
If you minimized the laptop completely and left only the motherboard (memory is onboard) with the processor, but still nave no video on the screen, then either the motherboard or processor is bad. It looks like you have a problem with the motherboard.
February 5th, 2007 at 11:17 pm
Cheri,
I believe this settlement is good only for computers sold in the United States.
I think I know where the F8 screw comes from. Remove the hard drive and then remove the DVD drive, you’ll see a hole in the hard drive bay. Do you see “Do Not Forget” screw on the step 6? I think you forgot this one.
February 5th, 2007 at 11:36 pm
Carol Nielander,
Do you have a widescreen notebook? Maybe the screen resolution is not correct and you should change it?
Right click on the desktop – Properties – Settings – Screen resolution.
February 9th, 2007 at 7:25 pm
I have a pos A75 laptop that has been overheating for about 6 months, particularly when I watch a video or use google earth.
I tried the vaccum technique, but first I used canned air and sprayed it in all of the vent holes and fans to break up the dust.
I then used a vaccum for about 5 minutes just holding it over the various holes…and….
It worked! The laptop hasn’t overheated since I did this (about a week ago), and it is quieter than any period in the last 6 months.
February 11th, 2007 at 3:44 pm
I have a Satellite p10-803 with the similiar shutdown problem. What would the steps be to clean that? Would there be some set of steps with pics available?
February 11th, 2007 at 5:48 pm
ragesh,
Sure, I have a guide for cleaning up the heat sink on a Toshiba Satellite P15 notebook, it would be the same for Satellite P10.
Some tips. Do not remove the heat sink from the processor if you don’t have new thermal grease. Just remove the cooling fan, blow off the heat sink and install the fan back. If you decide to remove the heat sink, be careful. The processor might come out with the heat sink. If it does do this.
1. carefully separate the processor from the heat sink
2. unlock the CPU socket on the motherboard
3. install the processor back in place and lock the socket
If you forget to lock the CPU socket the laptop will not boot up and you’ll get just a black screen on start up.
February 12th, 2007 at 12:54 pm
I have a Toshiba laptop Satellite series s2112 (I think). Anyway, when turning it on today, the power button fell into the laptop. Any suggestions of where to get a replacement or how to repair this (knowing WHY it happened would be nice also).
Thanks! Great site!
February 14th, 2007 at 2:13 am
Please sir, my Toshiba laptop is runing very slow and. so pls help me out.
thank u.
joe
February 17th, 2007 at 4:38 pm
I blow out my fans almost every day. I run everest to tell me the temperature because this happened to me before. I also have a secondary fan unit that my laptop sits on, which has kept my P35 down to under 100 degrees most of the time.
The thing is, these shutdowns are still intermittantly happening. I don’t think it’s the heat thing, so are there other trouble-shooting things I can do?
February 18th, 2007 at 10:13 am
Thanks for your website, appreciate the help towards DIY’ers. My problem is with my Toshiba A55-S3061. It overheats on me, but only when plugged into ac power. Before this problem began, my ac adapter began to intermittingly function (through observation of the ac indicator led on the front of the laptop.) I would have to move the cord around to get it to work until that got real bad and thats when my overheating began. I assumed it was due to my ac adapter and took it apart and found it was indeed grounding out right at the male DC connector. I resoldered this connection and all voltages on the ac adapter tested fine. After retrying on my laptop the same problem was there- Overheating only when plugged into the ac adapter. A freind had a similar toshiba w/ an adapter of the same specs- same results with his power supply on my laptop. I can therefore charge the batteries with the laptop off, and run on batteries no problem (laptop runs normal), but as soon as I plug the ac adapter in it begins to heat up, even at idle. I have attempted cleaning my heatsink, but it was clear (I removed the cover and inspected). Running Speedfan I can see an instant jump in “Remote Temp” from low 30’s to low 50’s (celcius) within two minutes. The temp “Temp 1″ also registers somewhat high around 52 celcius but that is constant. I am not sure what these temperatures refer to therefore am not certain where to look next. I had assumed that there is a possible problem with power regulation within the laptop, I don’t however know if there is a replaceable part for this or not. Also I don’t know if this has anything to do with it but at the same time as the overheating began I noticed the left speaker got scratchy. It did not do this before the overheating problem. Sorry for the long post wanted to explain as much as possible. Any help is greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
-Carlos
February 18th, 2007 at 10:26 am
deb j,
Probably I can find a replacement part number for you so you can search on the Internet for this part IF you provide the model of your laptop. You’ll find it on the bottom sticker.
Isn’t it a Toshiba Satellite A75-S2112 notebook? It’s just a guess. If I’m right, you’ll have to replace the top cover assembly as it shown on the step 16.
Top cover assembly for a Satellite A75 notebook has the following part number: K000016190. Find it online.
February 18th, 2007 at 10:46 am
i can help you just let me know if your ok with dissasembly of it?
because i have a sweet fix for you. you have to make a sturdy connection to
the board . i have the instructions for you get back!
February 18th, 2007 at 11:01 am
I had all the problems all at the same time too. Temp fix for overheating if you dont have time for disasembly. Go to the car wash and use the vaccum there to clean it. For the power cord , loosen the screws on that corner of the laptop. dont take it apart just take the screws out , wedge it open and with the power cord inserted heat the solder and wiggle it at the same time. this will temporary fix it . i didnt have a solder iron so i used a hot nife because it was thiner and less chance of melting the computer. but when u get the chance dismantle it and remove the ac inlet from the board and bend the pin up like this
http://img2.freeimagehosting.n.....764345.jpg
and finally solder it back to the board omiting the positive for the time. Get a wire and solder to the board where the pin usually goes, then solder to the erect pin :lp like it shows in the following pic. i drew the red line to represent the wire ok
http://img2.freeimagehosting.n.....1f577b.jpg
dont forget to glue it after for stiffness, the play is harmless now , but it is easier to sell if it isnt wiggly. Since the pin isnt in the board. Mine isnt glued i have no problems for the record.
Carefull not to heat the board too much also
good luck
Phatty
to get the board out work the smartmedia button to release the board.
February 18th, 2007 at 4:02 pm
Mike e,
I’m ok with dissassembly. I don’t know if you were refering to my problem (post 445….the really long one).
-Carlos I.
February 18th, 2007 at 5:12 pm
Hello, I have a Satellite a105 . I just bought it a few months ago and about 3 weeks ago, after 45 mins of use , the screen would go black with white lines in it. The music or an sounds would keep playing making me think it was a bad connection to the LCD. But today , I tried to turn it on and if I press the power button , it takes about 2 seconds to start up but it shuts down after 3 seconds.
If you can help that would be great. Im at a loss now
February 19th, 2007 at 9:31 am
Mike Phatty,
Thanks for the response, I couldn’t get the pictures to work however, also is this the cause of the overheating because my power is no longer intermittent after I repaired the cord. Did I damage this area or the connection around it. Thanks for any help in advance. Also is there another way to look at those pics?
-Carlos I
February 19th, 2007 at 5:14 pm
I need an original manufacturer ISO file for repairing an old Toshiba Sattellite P15-0479 running XP Media Center. Can anyone help. Let me know. THX
February 19th, 2007 at 10:18 pm
Hey Carlos I,
I fixed links to images posted in the comment 448.
February 19th, 2007 at 11:18 pm
Bryan,
The screen is not completely black, it’s kinda dark gray with a few thin horizontal lines, right? And the laptop works absolutely fine with an external monitor, right?
I’ve seen this problem with Satellite A105 a few times before. It’s a problem with the MOTHERBOARD. I don’t know what’s exactly is wrong, but it’s the motherboard issue. Firs time I misdiagnosed the laptop, because it looked like an issue with the display/cable/connection (the external video works absolutely fine). I replaced the screen, then video cable but it didn’t fix the problem. Only after I replace the motherboard the problem was gone forever.
After my first Satellite A105 I repaired over 10-15 A105s with exactly the same problem by replacing the motherboard.
Your laptop still should be under warranty. Take it to an authorized Toshiba repair center.
February 20th, 2007 at 4:43 am
Mike Phatty,
Thanks for the pics, they’re working now. Are you sure however that thats the same as an A55-S306, I’ve taken it apart only so far so I couldn’t really tell what it looks like but according to these pics (step 21 on this page, its for a tecra 2, but they say its the same as the Satellite A55: it has no direct attachment to a board (attaches through a wire), but like I said I haven’t taken the laptop apart enough to verify this. What model laptop was that in the pics you supplied?
February 20th, 2007 at 8:16 am
Hi, I have a Toshiba Satellite 1700-300 laptop. Although bits break here and there, off and on, it’s been working fine since I bought it about 4 years ago. I’ve been very happy with it, but a few weeks ago it started to show a strange problem.
It powers off in the middle of a session and it looks brain-dead (no leds on, it doesn’t run from battery, either, etc.). If I unplug it and let it rest for a while, it will work OK again, but just for a short time, and it goes dead again. It will repeat this pattern until it will just power on for a few seconds, then I have to put it away. IIf I wait a week, it would work OK for a long time, but soon, the shutdown problem starts all over again.
Then I found your great site, looked through the tips, I decided it might be a power cord/plug problem, so I stripped it down, but nothing of that sort. As my cooling fan had just started playing up I changed that too. Cleaned inside, applied thermal grease, etc, but it didn’t solve the problem.
Sounds strange, but it seems, the longer I let it rest, the longer I can use it afterwards. Seems like she wants to retire? Unless you can help me… Please!
February 20th, 2007 at 2:22 pm
Hey i got those pics from my own a70 toshiba 3.1ghz
February 22nd, 2007 at 11:03 pm
I have a Toshiba Satellite M45-S331 that was first sold in early 2005 (I think). I am its second owner and it worked fine for me until two weeks ago. I turned it on without the battery and the yellow light around the power button turned on then off. About 3 seconds later, the blue light around the power button and the front 2 blue lights came on. It made some sounds for about four seconds and then turned off. This happens quite frequently now. If it is plugged in, there is no yellow light, but only the blue ones.
I tried opening it, but I can’t seem to get it separated. I don’t see anything wrong with it, but there’s a problem somewhere.
I took out the heatsink and processor, cleaned both, then applied thermal grease to both and reinstalled them. This didn’t fix it.
Please let me know if you know what I can do. It seems like it might be a power issue or maybe overheating.
Thanks.
Mike
February 24th, 2007 at 9:30 pm
Zoltan,
I’ve never worked with Satellite 1700 laptops but I think it’s similar to Satellite 1800. I think that Satellite 1800 (and probably 1700 too) might experience an intermittent problem with power because of bad connection between the battery board and the system board. Try reseating the battery board. The battery board is shown on the step 23 in this disassembly guide. The battery board connects to the system board via cables (red and white) and also there is a connector located under the board, you can see this connector on the step 25.
February 24th, 2007 at 11:12 pm
First up; congragulations on an outstanding site! I’m a total newbie to anything techie regarding computers, but I was just fed up with my Satellite P35-S609 overheating and shutting down on me. it made burning discs or even browsing multiple websites impossible.
So using your instructions I dismantled my machine and cleaned out a very clogged heat sink.
Since then it’s been running great. the fans are barely working. In fact, I’ve been running multiple applications/DVDs/video files on it to test it out. So far it hasn’t crapped out on me. but it’s quite cool today; I’ll have to give it a go on a hot day.
One word of caution I would like to say to anyone else trying this is just how difficult and brittle removing and replacing the right speaker connection is. It’s tough to get your fingers around and when putting it back I squashed some of the pins. Now my right speaker doesn’t work.
The headphones work fine, but not the on-board speaker. No big loss, I know but it knocks down its resale value.
Anyway, thanks a million for this site. Because of it I’ll probably get another year or so out of my computer.
February 26th, 2007 at 5:23 am
Toshiba A10 Over heating problem.
As a fault finding exercise i changed RAM and even tried another hard drive as i was getting strange page fault errors when trying to strat windows XP. As a test i removed the base cover to reveal the cpu fan and heat exchanger to find it clean but very hot. Laptop only ran for a couple of minutes.
To prove the fault i plugged in a hard drier, set it to blow cold air and presto, the laptop did a full install of XP from cd. There must be a better method of transferring the heat on these machines. This laptop has been fine for years but just recently packed it in.
February 28th, 2007 at 5:08 am
hi cj2600,
my toshiba satellite 5100-201 is running fine but when i unplug the dc cable it turn off immediatly.they told me it might be the battery so i changed it but still the same problem the next thing is when the laptop turn off it will never turn on again so i removed the battery and reinstalled it the laptop turn on for seconds and turn off again i have to wait for like three days to be able to turn it on normaly with dc cable ofcourse so what could be my problem please… thanks!
March 3rd, 2007 at 8:58 am
Richard,
Make sure the laptop cooling fan spins at all. You might have a defective fan. Also try replacing thermal paste on the CPU.
March 3rd, 2007 at 9:04 am
hisham,
I’m not sure what is going on with your laptop. It sound’s like you might have a problem with the motherboard.
March 3rd, 2007 at 3:33 pm
cj2600,
Thanks for your kind answer.
I was glad to hear the solution might be such a simple matter, however, 1700 seems to be completely different from 1800. There is no internal power cable (or battery board). Nothing of that sort. The battery plugs straight into the motherboard and the only power plug on the mother board (and I mean all over the board), that is similar to the one that you mentioned, is the cooling fan’s plug.
I completely agree that the problem is power-related, though, as even the led is off (when I plug in the thing), and I can’t use any of the “switched-off” functinalities either (like cd player, etc). The laptop seems completely dead. During these brain-dead times, when I plug it in, the led blinks, though, and it really seems like the longer I leave it alone, the longer it would co-operate. Very funny. Like a reward system: if I leave it off for a week, it would go for several hours (I could even install windows, in fact), one day grants half an hour, etc. Might be my imagination, but she seemed to wait until I finished installing stuff on several occasion. Very strange…
March 4th, 2007 at 1:08 pm
I have a Toshiba A105-S361 and it seems to be overheating every single time I turn it on. It turns off every single time after it gets to hot. Whats the solution to this problem. I really appreciate your help with fixing this.
Ethan Eyre
Founder
AREYOUIN.COM
March 4th, 2007 at 2:43 pm
Ethan Eyre,
Make sure the cooling fan is working. It’s possible that you have a dead fan and it’s necessary to disassemble the laptop and replace the fan.
Blow off the heatsink. Buy a can of compressed air and spay it inside the air intake on the bottom of the laptop. If the heatsink is clogged, you’ll see dust coming from the grill on the side of the laptop.
March 5th, 2007 at 3:32 am
My girlfriend was using my P35-6292 and mistakenly buried the bottom rear of the computer into a blanket while she was working on it. When it froze (assumably from overheating) I had to come turn it off with a 4 second power button hold down. The next day when I attempted to restart it and with every subsequent attempt, the power light goes on, the fan starts its inital burst for a second or two and then it just sits there. No HD boot up, no monitor response, no dvd light. Just the power button light and three green lights up front. Any possible resolutions?
Thanks, Tony.
March 7th, 2007 at 1:19 pm
James Fong,
I noticed your post of Dec. 16 regarding the Qosmio going to a Blue screen and then re-booting. I wish I had an answer to this myself since my G25 is doing the same thing. If I find any answers I’ll let you know and hope you’ll do the same for me.
March 9th, 2007 at 5:15 pm
Outstanding site, very good advise.
Now my problem, I have a Toshiba A-15 S129 puchase oh about a year of so ago (New) and it work fine to last week, when it started over heating and the fan was making noise’s. So, I got a can of compress air, blew everything out, then the fan died, so I brought a new fan, put new grease under the heat sink and it still heats up. Now when I take a little battery hand held fan and put it to the slot where the fan it (fan is running) it appears to help it cool down for awhile. But it still heats up, could I have cook the processor and its having a slow death?
Thank You
Dennis
March 10th, 2007 at 9:13 am
Tony,
Try this. Disconnect the adapter and remove the battery. Wait for 1-2 minutes, then plug in the power adapter and turn it on. If it will not help, try reseating the memory module.
March 10th, 2007 at 2:40 pm
I own Toshiba A10 and it stop running do to failure of the Cooling system.
does anyone know where I can buy a new fan to replace this defective piece?
Thanks,
March 10th, 2007 at 7:01 pm
Dennis Rick,
Why do you think the laptop overheats? It freezes up, shuts down and just feels hot?
March 10th, 2007 at 7:13 pm
Chan,
Search for “Satellite A10 fan” here and you’ll find it.
March 11th, 2007 at 7:25 am
Ref 473.
I would guess that the new fan I bought is bad.
It does freeze up and feels hot (unit)
Dennis
March 11th, 2007 at 11:49 pm
Don’t restrict this excellent advice to Toshiba models. My HP Compaq Presario has been troublesome for months now, shutting down on me, seemingly due to temperature problems. The symptoms worsened and I contacted HP helpdesk and wwas given the drastic advice that I’d need to replace my motherboard! I did some self-diagnosis and found your site - the indications listed above perfectly described my situation, so I took the plunge and unscrewed my lappy, only to find the fan and heatsink covered in a disgustingly thick layer of dust! I cleaned it out, used compressed air to get rid of any lingering dirt and…voila! Like a new computer…purring like a kitten.
Don’t hesitate - try this great advice!!
March 16th, 2007 at 4:50 pm
my toshina laptop suddenly shut down by itself yesterday, and it’s still not working!!! whenever I try to turned on it was shutting down in 3-4 seconds… I don’t know what happened….it never happened before… should I take it to service provider and fix it??
March 16th, 2007 at 4:59 pm
my laptop is not under warranty.. does it take a lot of money and time to fix it??
March 16th, 2007 at 5:05 pm
my Toshina laptop suddenly shut down by itself yesterday, and it’s still not working… whenever it was started, it was shutting down in 2-3 seconds.
I don’t know what happend… Should I take it to Toshiba service provider? My laptop is not under warranty… does it take a lot of money and time?
March 17th, 2007 at 10:33 pm
hello thanks for your website very informative i just have a question: where is the heatsink located(please be specific) on a toshiba satellite a65-s1070) I’ve already cleaned the inside with compressed air but i’m not sure if i got the heatsink or not. Thank you very much
March 18th, 2007 at 2:52 pm
Thanks i spent hours looking for info on overheating laptops and this was the best one i found.
March 19th, 2007 at 10:30 pm
Victor H,
It’s located inside the laptop
Take a look yourself, check out this Toshiba Satellite A60/A65 disassembly guide, the heat sink is shown on the step 13.
March 21st, 2007 at 6:34 am
Thank you for all the excellent information. A15-S1292 (3 yr old) overheats and shuts down. Cleaned the dust out, new Si thermal grease, Si lube to the fan (was ‘rattling’ when it stopping), turned processor speed down, and bought a chill mat. Worked OK. Recently ran large application w/o chill mat; overheated, shutdown. No dust on the heat-sink. Fan is working. I am now undervolting to lowest setting, and monitoring temp w/ SpeedFan. I will replace Si grease w/ Arctic Silver. Is there anything else I could try? Thanks again, great site.
March 21st, 2007 at 3:49 pm
Well today I did it, I took apart the laptop, and when i got down to removing the heat sink well their was an inch of thick dust. I totaly recomend this way to clean it, I had a hard time around step 14. One of the screws at the top middle wouldn’t remove, it was stuck. I got it off, but you don’t want to know how. LOL
I also fixed my plug issue.
I put it all back together and well the only thing not working is the mouse pad (touch pad) So next time I clean it, or when i have a nice afternoon i will sit down, and do it all again!
Thanks so much,
David
March 22nd, 2007 at 5:28 pm
David,
Here’s something to try:
1. try enabling the touch pad with Fn+F9 key combination
2. lift up the keyboard and make sure the touchpad cable is properly connected to the motherboard
March 23rd, 2007 at 5:04 pm
hey i did my a70 fans they sounded bad. I took the stickers of the middle of the fan axcel, after disassembly of course. Then squirted oil in.
March 25th, 2007 at 1:38 pm
I recently purchased a new cd-rw for my toshiba a70.. it went out a few months ago but I jsut havent gotten around to getting one until now when the computer started failing… the computer started locking up telling me that the computer wasnt shutdown properly and gives me the four different boot options… anyhow on normal boot it flashes a blue screen then restarts. On all the others it still restarts never loading into windows… and for somereason when i put the xp cd ( not the toshiba rescue disk, i lost it.) it wouldnt give me the option of reloading windows even though i set up the bios to start cd-rom, external hardware then hard drive… I tried fdisk, deleted the partion but it stopped everytime when it was validating the hard drive at 41% … also would not find c drive to let me format it.. so I tried a third party partion program called wipedrive.. it would only get .18 % done then stop… so I figured its the hard drive has gone bad… the only problem i had with fdisk is that it said that it couldnt find drivers for the cdrom prob because the boot disk with fdisk i had was used for windows 98 se… what should i do.. go out and by a new hard drive ? And how do i load the drivers for the cdrom ? any help would be awesome
March 26th, 2007 at 4:52 pm
Same thermal overload problem with the Satellite. Problem got progressively worse until I had to use an external fan to do anything. Didn’t really feel like going thru laptoprepairguy’s 52 step process to disassemble then reassemble the machine. So tried the vacum trick but the lint just got caught on the screens. Popped out the screens (very easy just use an eyeglass repair screwdriver or small knife) an was able to get much cleaner suction from the shop vac and remove all lint frags. Also I blew compressed air in from the rear as it sucked from the fan ports. Presto!. Shinning a light in, the heat sink is totally clean and a few weeks later I have not had a problem. So my suggestion is save yourself the grief of dissembling your machine. Just pop out the screens and vacum.
Hugh
March 27th, 2007 at 2:37 pm
Toshiba has acknowledged they have a problem with these laptops overheating, and have extended the warrenty. If you try any repairs on your own you void the warrenty, call Toshiba first!!!!!!!!
April 1st, 2007 at 8:07 pm
tswarnmsg.exe
I keep getting this tswarnmsg.exe that comes up and the cpu keeps running very slow at 100%. I have cleaned the heatsync. I have formatted and reinstalled the OS. It still has the same problems. What do you recommend?
April 2nd, 2007 at 9:10 pm
rlllngriver,
Isn’t it twarnmsg.exe? After a quick search I found that twarnmsg.exe belongs to Toshiba System Warning Function (provides notification dialog when the cooling fan stops). Try removing it from the startup menu (type msconfig in the run box) and see if it fixes the problem.
April 3rd, 2007 at 6:13 am
I have a Satelite A45-1202 and i have replaced the cpu (not a dirty problem )and cleaned the heat sync and blown out the whole underside. I booted up and all works fine except I keep getting a little pop up window telling me there is an internal cooling error and to shut down immediately, I feel the air intake and exiting but the fan motor has not come on. Do I need to replace the fan itself?
April 3rd, 2007 at 2:52 pm
If i do need to replace the fans can you assist with a guide on how to do it?
April 3rd, 2007 at 7:33 pm
It downloaded some software you recommended on your site and it turns out that although I can hear the fan running, the cpu temperature is off the charts and the usage is always at 100% aven after a format and reinstall. I used the notebook hardware tool you recommended.
April 4th, 2007 at 6:40 am
If I remove this program from my start up menu will it harm anything? I am afraid that if there is something wrong I will fry my cpu or something.
April 4th, 2007 at 11:54 pm
Hai, I have a Toshiba Tecra 8100 with 10GB HDD and 128RAM.
Some times its mouse is not working properly… sometimes it will move only vertically. Could u pls help.
Can I upgrade its HDD to 80/100 GB?
Can i upgrade its RAM to 512 MB?
Can i use an external HDD (with USB ) with this machie ?
Thank U ….
Sundareswar
April 5th, 2007 at 12:44 am
Sorry, I meant to say that I downloaded some software that the laptop repair guy recommended on this site to see if my CPU was actually okay or not.
When I have time, I will try to apply some new thermal paste, but if that does not work, I will buy another motherboard. They are pretty cheap on ebay.
April 6th, 2007 at 8:07 pm
I have read your entire site. It is awesome.
I am not technologically savvy. I have a Toshiba SATELLITE A 105-S2716 which recently shuts down very often (4-5 times a day) .
It is burning hot on left side and bottom.
How do I find out what the temperature is. I am going out to buy compressed air in the morning.
Help me if you can.
Thank you so much.
April 7th, 2007 at 9:26 am
Kim,
Maybe you forgot to plug the fan cable into the motherboard?
April 7th, 2007 at 9:35 am
My computer is working good now. I do appreciate this site. It helped a lot and I feel a little more computer savvy.
I never unplugged the fan just cleaned out the REALLY BIG dust bunny and blew the heck out of the bottom with compressed air. I let it run for awhile and the window stopped popping up and it runs like it used too.
I JUST WANT TO THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT.
I know where to go when I need help again.
THANK YOU !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
April 7th, 2007 at 10:50 am
Sundareswar,
I believe it happens because the AccuPoint (keyboard mouse stick) is failing and you’ll have to replace the keyboard.
I don’t know, never tried it on a Tecra 8100 computer. Some Tecra 8100 laptops were sold with a 20GB hard drives. If the laptop supports a 20GB hard drive, most likely it will support a larger hard drive too. You’ll have to try. Make sure you have a latest version of BIOS installed.
The laptop specification says that you can have up to 512MB of RAM.
You can use an external USB hard drive on any computer with has a USB port.
April 7th, 2007 at 9:33 pm
I have a Toshiba A65-126 can i update the cpu and if so what sixe can I do ?
Thanks
April 8th, 2007 at 6:11 pm
MY TOSHIBA WAS OVER HEATING BECAUSE THE FAN WAS CLOGGED WITH DUST…SO I VACUUMED IT! I SUCKED ALL THE DUST OUT WITH MY BRUSH ATTACHMENT AND IT WORKS 100% AGAIN…AMAZING! A VERY SMART MAN WHO USED HIS SHOP VAC…WAS RIGHT ON THE $ WITH THIS ADVICE! WHO EVER YOU ARE ,WHERE EVER YOU ARE, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!
April 8th, 2007 at 10:53 pm
Joan Miles,
You can install Notebook Hardware Control utility, it will help you to monitor the processor temperature. I’m running this utility on my Toshiba Satellite A105-S361 and it works very good. My CPU usually runs at 46-50 degrees Celsius.
I think compressed air will fix your problem.
April 13th, 2007 at 4:25 pm
I cant believe that I actually found the exact diagnosis of the problem with my Toshiba A75! Amazing and truly helpful!
April 17th, 2007 at 12:38 am
How good are apple laptops?
This is in the case of heavy duty,and ability to run for long without heating up.
how long does it keep in operation with battery alone.
April 17th, 2007 at 12:52 am
Agot a laptop-toshiba HQ-manufactured in 1998.
recentry i got shocked that it could boot but my my, the screen
was blank.
on trying to check it up,when i exart some pressure on the processor it could show
graphics,but later even pressing woulnt help.Where do i start for me to overcome this problem?
April 17th, 2007 at 5:28 am
I have a Toshiba M115-S1061 and its the best ever It shuts down sometimes and takes a while to turn on back what is the problem with my labby?
April 18th, 2007 at 4:55 pm
Hey,
I have the same symptoms except my fan doesnt spin except wen the comp first tturns of, and when lt turns off by itself i have to unplug the power then plugit back in. What could be the problem here?
April 22nd, 2007 at 12:35 pm
When both of our Toshiba laptops started shutting off by themselves wih what was apparently oveheating, I researched the problem on this (and other) websites and saw the potential remedy “blow them out with air”. It worked for both! $7 well spent.
April 22nd, 2007 at 3:52 pm
Yanique Ramdial,
It could be overheating. Make sure the heatsink is clean. Blow off the heatsink if it’s clogged. Make sure the cooling fan spins. If the cooling fan doesn’t work, the laptop will overheat and shutdown even with a clean heatsink.
April 27th, 2007 at 11:20 pm
[...] any reason when you ran CPU intensive programs? If yes, then most likely it happens because the laptop overheats. It happens because overtime the heatsink gets clogged with dust. A layer of dust collects between [...]
April 28th, 2007 at 12:00 pm
Yay!! i love the net for this. i got one of the Toshitbas for free cuz kept overheating. thanks for the tip. i took apart the laptop (every screw) and vacumed it. it works PERFECT now. WHAT A BAD A__ COMPUTER! ima put a gig a ram in it and then it should be complete.
MOST IMPORTANT-
THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!
CPLUS
PS - gosh darnit, thank you!
May 1st, 2007 at 9:27 pm
I have myToshiba laptop placed on top of a metal cookie cooler rack. I know I know sounds strange but…the fans are not blocked and it finally runs cool, AND it has stopped shutting down in the middle of tedius editing.
Clare
May 1st, 2007 at 10:55 pm
Hello guys
I want to upgrade the RAM memory of my laptop, is a toshiba ea60 152, Which is the name of the memory I have to buy?
May 2nd, 2007 at 10:04 pm
paco,
Crucial.com has a memory advisor tool. According to this tool, Toshiba Equium A60 will take DDR PC2700 memory module. I believe you have only one slot available for upgrades, you can install 256MB, 512MB or 1GB RAM module into this slot.
May 8th, 2007 at 8:50 pm
Does anybody know if the cpu on Toshiba Sat. A35 is replaceble? I have a Cel-2800 and would like to replace it on a real P4.
May 8th, 2007 at 9:54 pm
Stas,
It looks like there are four different CPUs listed for a Satellite A30/A35 notebook.
2.70GHz Celeron, 2.80GHz Celeron, 2.30GHz Pentium-4 and 2.80GHz Pentium-4.
I think if you replace your 2.80 Celeron with a 2.80GHZ Pentium processor, it might work.
Not sure 100%, never done it myself.
May 10th, 2007 at 12:03 am
So, here’s the deal…
I have a Toshiba Satellite A75, Pentium 4 3.0Ghz, and it shuts down randomly when I’m running the DVD player too long or playing a game (mainly World of WarCraft).
I’m using Notebook Hwardware Control to keep the CPU running at Max Battery Life, I have it on Mid-Power, and I have a cooling pad blowing air into the system on the bottom. I took the notebook apart last week, cleaned everything out, added new thermal grease, etc. and it was running fine for awhile, stayed around 88 to 92 degrees F. But now it’s getting up to 100 degress and this is at 11PM at night. I know its not that hot in my apartment.
I’m running out of options here. Anything you can say to help would be much appreciated
May 11th, 2007 at 6:54 pm
I have a Satellite that was overheating. Inspired by the “shop vac” method I gave it a shot. Seems my shop vac is rather week, so I turned tward the next obvious choice… the leaf blower. My laptop is now quiet and running cool. The leaf blower did the trick! Thanks to everyone for sharing, I wouldn’t have thought of this without this type of open forum.
May 11th, 2007 at 7:04 pm
thegecko,
Do you think 100 degrees F is too hot?
I think it’s normal or maybe even below the normal operating temperature. My laptop has a Pentium M processor. Right now it runs at 122 degrees F and I know it’s normal for my computer.
May 11th, 2007 at 7:08 pm
Charles Hamper,
Thanks for a great advice. I wouldn’t have thought of using the leaf blower without your comment either. I think it’s a great replacement for a powerful air compressor.
May 15th, 2007 at 12:24 am
Hi There - great site. I have a Toshiba Satellite® P35-S609 the big issue is that the screen has flickering pink-ish (red-ish) vertical lines. The odd thing is that when I press on the body of the laptop it makes the lines disappear and lasts for a few minutes. Different violent acts on the body have similar effect too. Now days I mostly jam the classic small metal pencil sharpener between the screen and body hinges gap. The laptop is over 2 years old, so I can’s get it repaired for free and money is an issue here too. I would like to open it and maybe clean it out, but I am very afraid to do it, with out some kind of instructions or something. What would you recommend?
Many thanks for your help,
David
May 15th, 2007 at 2:21 am
i have a satellite M45 and one day it suddenly shuts off. its doesnt seem to be the heatsink or any of that. i checked. to add to the sudden shut down, it wont turn back on. when i plug it in the led lights wont go on so im assuming its ac jack but iono for sure. i didnt really expect any problems to occur cause i jsut got it repaired, whole new motherboard and what not. anyways, when its plugged in i can hear a faint high pitched beeping. i dont know if thats of any help but if anyone can id be much appreciated.
May 15th, 2007 at 10:26 am
Hello.I have a Toshiba a75-s226.Ihave already taken apart the laptop and cleaned the heatsink and fans.What I need to know ,is there a program or utility that monitors cpu temps,fan speed,etc.,that is compatable with this laptop.Any help would be greatly appreciated.Please email me.THANKS. Sean Powell.
May 16th, 2007 at 8:19 pm
David,
You can find some disassembly instructions for Toshiba laptops I posted on the other site (www.irisvista.com) but I don’t think that in your case cleaning the laptop will help.
You can remove the keyboard cover to access the video cable connector on the motherboard. Try applying a little bit pressure on the connector while the laptop is still running and see if it affects the video. If the video turns back to normal when you are applying some pressure on the connector, probably that’s your problem. Unfortunately this connector is permanently soldered on the motherboard and you cannot replace it yourself.
May 16th, 2007 at 8:24 pm
Mike,
Is it still under warranty? If it is, send it back for repair. I think you got a bad motherboard.
BTW, the high pitched beeping comes from the laptop itself or from the AC adapter? Maybe the AC adapter is bad? You can test it with a voltmeter.
May 16th, 2007 at 8:27 pm
Sean Powell,
You can try notebook hardware control and monitoring software. I believe it works with Satellite A75 laptops.
May 17th, 2007 at 7:39 pm
mike in #458 - IDENTICAL PROBLEM!
Same laptop Toshiba Satellite M45-S331
Will power on for 3 secs and then turn off! Removed ram, hdd, wifi, cleaned heatsink, no change!
What could this be? power related problem? How to diagnose further??
May 17th, 2007 at 8:14 pm
Anut,
I’m afraid you have a problem with the motherboard. I just ordered a new motherboard for a Satellite M45 with exactly the same problem. Man, I hate working on this model.
May 19th, 2007 at 6:39 pm
Appreciate the reply cj2600, I guessed the same thing. Not sure how much the motherboard costs, but I think I will be better off getting a new laptop anyway.
Many thanks, this site is a great resource for us DIYers
May 24th, 2007 at 9:39 pm
Great web site! I learned more about my laptop than in the past 2 years I have it. I do need help on top of what is listed here. I used my A75-S2112 for school (BS in IT) and had to install a lot of crap on it for most of classes. I initially used my old Toshiba, but because A75 is so huge (wasn’t happy about the size, but it was the only laptop powerful enough to run compilers and other demanding programs without locking up) I was too tired of carrying both and started using just the new one for both work and school. Anyways, its performance decreased dramatically in the past few months and even removing most of this crap didn’t help much. It even broke some of the existing hardware or software (CD/DVD stopped working, unable to use any zipping/unzipping software even after re-install, internet browsing super slow, etc…) Scanned it with multiple programs for viruses and/or exploits, but found nothing. I was ready to wipe the machine and start fresh since I spent hours trying to get the performance back and nothing, I know that restore will put it back into it’s original shape. One problem: I cannot find the restore disc anywhere! Does anyone know where can I get another restore disk for my laptop? This computer is as good as dead if I don’t find the restore disc soon. It’s getting worse with every day.
Thanks in advance for any help!
P.S. For everyone with overheating problems: I use my laptop on a breakfast tray and it runs great. It gets hot when I do a lot with it at the same time, but not overheating and most importantly not shutting down. My old Toshiba Satellite (now about 5 years old, cannot remember the exact model) never overheated even on the down comforter (I did overheat under it though), but this new one overheated after just couple of days. It totally freaked me out, but I figured out it’s the heat. This is when I got a $10 breakfast tray at Target and I just fold the legs and keep it on my lap. It’s just a little wider than the computer, actually just wide enough to place a little wireless mouse next to it - I love it!
May 24th, 2007 at 9:49 pm
Sorry for another post, but wanted to make something clear after reading what I just posted. A75 I purchased was the only laptop I COULD AFFORD that was powerful enough to do what I needed it to do. Others were much more expensive or the performance was an issue.
May 24th, 2007 at 9:59 pm
Arijana,
I think you can purchase the recovery DVD for your laptop directly from Toshiba. It shouldn’t be very expensive. One of my customers got it for a different Toshiba model for about $40.
May 25th, 2007 at 4:58 pm
Hi,
I just followed your instructions, put the thermal grease on, cleaned the fans, and my computer seems to be running great. But when I turn on my computer I hear two loud beeps, followed by a black screen saying: Push F1 to resume push F2 for default configuration. Something along those lines. Now everytime I turn on my computer I have to reset my time. Also, when I try to log on to MSN it says I have problems with my IP address. Anyways, any advice would be great thanks.
May 26th, 2007 at 11:19 am
Hi guys! I’m from italy. I’ve resolved the problem cleaining the heatsink! Now my laptop works correctly… I’ve also found a good guide at http://www.irisvista.com
Bye
May 28th, 2007 at 11:01 pm
Justin,
What kind of laptop do you have? Maybe you forgot to connect the CMOS battery?
May 29th, 2007 at 12:01 pm
The vacuum cleaner idea worked for me! I can’t believe this is such a wide problem!
June 4th, 2007 at 2:54 pm
Thank You for the information regarding solutions to my toshiba laptop heating up and shutting down. I simply sprayed the areas explained and problem resolved. I actually put the laptop in the closet and was getting ready to take it in for repairs. I am so grateful I found this site and learned from some very nice people. Thank You!
June 6th, 2007 at 5:59 am
Toshiba M45-S355, bought August 05, built June 05 I think. Not under warranty.
Good performance until this weekend, now I get freezing and freezing/rebooting.
Is this more likely to be heat’n'dust related, or static, or some form of recent damage to the motherboard. I’m pretty sure I’ve not bashed it.
If it is most likely dust, then I’ll risk taking it apart.
Thanks a lot, this is a great, great site.
Dave
June 7th, 2007 at 3:34 pm
hi, iv just been reading the advice about toshiba laptops overheating, all i can say is ‘PHEW’ do u guys know how stressed iv been. i thought my laptop was finished and our relationship over. i was at the point of jumping up and down on it and i cannot repeat the names iv called it. sometimes the stupid thing shuts down when im halfway through a letter or project before i save my work. AAAAARRRRGGGHHH !!! THAT IS SO ANNOYING. iv even put the power pack and battery in the fridge in desperation. Anyway i am now going to follow your brilliant advice and try to clean this mother thing i really hope it will work. i will let you all know of my success. thanks again guys Louise. xxx
June 7th, 2007 at 7:13 pm
Dave,
I think it’s possible that your problem is heat related. Clean the heatsink first, it’s really easy. You can easily access the heatsink (right cover on the step 2) from the bottom of the laptop, just unscrew one screw and remove the cover. It is not necessary to remove the heatsink, just clean it with compressed air.
If the laptop still has the same problem even after cleaning the heatsink, run the memory and the hard drive tests (you’ll find links to these utilities in Resources).
June 10th, 2007 at 9:10 am
Hi !, I have a Toshiba Satellite m115-s6010, she was working good as well alright.. few days ago I cant use it without the ac cable because the batt doesnt work. Its brand new.. just 2 month. I dont think its batt problems, maybe I touch a key at the keyboard that disable my batt to get used..
Can anybody give me an idea or help me with.. I´ll be thanks full.
Oscar V, From Dominican Republic.
Thanks a lot!
June 10th, 2007 at 11:25 am
Oscar Vasquez,
Check the BIOS version running on your laptop and upgrade the BIOS to the latest version.
I just checked the BIOS change history for a Satellite M115 laptop. I think this problem was fixed in the version 1.20. Here’s a quote from the BIOS change history:
Try upgrading the BIOS first.
June 17th, 2007 at 5:28 pm
Just wanna say thanks for the info on the overheating, just took mine apart, and it looked like it had sucked up a cat…haha. I was just about to get rid of this computer when i found this site. Lots of useful info here!
June 20th, 2007 at 5:20 pm
I cleaned the heat sink and my computer still shutting down.
Toshiba A75-s206 and now video.
June 22nd, 2007 at 9:31 am
Update to 540: Toshiba M45 S355
Cleaned the heatsink, but freezing persists.
Checked disk/memory and scanned for viruses. All apparently OK. Re-installed the OS from the recovery disk. Still freezing.
Most prone to freezing when the laptop is moved.
However, it does NOT ever seem to freeze in Safe Mode
whether I move it or not. Is there an explanation for this ?
thanks
Dave
June 23rd, 2007 at 11:02 am
Hi, I hope you can help. I took the advise of opening up my laptop to clean the heat sink which was quite simple and straight forward every thing works fine i was able to boot the system and use it but i’ve realised that now i have problems with sound when i play music on Windows Media or Realplay the sound becomes distored. I never had this problem before i opened up the Latop to clean it. Have i done something wrong? I didnt remove the CPU as it was easily detached from the Heatsink so i know i haven’t caused any damage to it. Have i not used enough thermal paste? Have i caused irrevsible damage? I ‘ve reinsatalled the sound driver but still have this problem. I would be extremly greatful if you could help out.
Many thanks
June 25th, 2007 at 8:40 pm
Guys, excellent page/info.!!! I have a satellite P15, with lot of cooling problems. I followed the instructions mentioned here (first time I open a notebook!) and worked perfect! Thank U so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
June 28th, 2007 at 6:25 am
Well,
Thanks a lot !
And for Louise, don’t worry to much for computers,
You can try to insult it,
but better to pray
Perhaps a friend will help you finishing your work, lending you an other computer…
Blessings, Daniel.
July 1st, 2007 at 4:13 pm
hopeing you guys can help me here. I have a Toshiba Tecra 8000 and when i try to turn it on i receive a message ” Windows could not start because following file is missing or corupt”
\windows\system32\config\system
i try to put the disk in as they say and hit R to repair but nothing helps.. pls help i need it badly
thanks again
eddie
July 1st, 2007 at 10:44 pm
eddie,
Run the memory test. Sometimes you can get this error because of a faulty memory module.
July 2nd, 2007 at 10:26 am
Ive never worked on a laptop before, I was wondering if there is a trick to opening the case. I have a Toshiba Satellite A75 S206. I removed all the screws I could see but the case doesn’t want to come apart.
July 2nd, 2007 at 9:39 pm
Jordan,
Follow the disassembly guide at http://www.irisvista.com and you will be able to take it apart.
July 3rd, 2007 at 8:43 am
Hey was wondering if anyone could help, iv got a toshiba L20 and its just ran out of its warrantee. It wont boot up fully…in either safe mode or ordinary gets 2 the ‘ windows xp loading screen ‘ then no further..screen just goes blank? any help would be gratefully recieved as i havent backed up files an dont wanna lose items saved.
cheers Nick
July 3rd, 2007 at 11:06 pm
Nick,
You can try Last Known Good Configuration option, it might help. If it doesn’t help, probably you’ll have to reinstall the operating system from scratch.
You can easily backup all personal files (I assume there is nothing wrong with the hard drive) using an external USB enclosure for notebook hard drives.
Backup files and then run the recovery disc.
July 4th, 2007 at 7:31 pm
Hi everybody. Thanks for the informative posts. I have an L25-S1194. I think my problem is similar to everyone else’s. My laptop gets hot and occassionally shuts off on its own for no apparent reason. I’ve found that if I lift the back of the laptop off the table and give the fans on the bottom more access to air, the problem is helped.
I was wondering however, if this compressed air idea will work for my model’s heating problems as well. If so, do I shoot air into the bottom opening or the side opening, or both? Do I do that while the computer is on or off?
Thanks again.
July 5th, 2007 at 12:06 am
Jesse,
A can of compressed air should work unless your heatsink is completely clogged, in this case you’ll have to find more powerful air compressor.
Turn off the laptop and spay air into the opening on the bottom of the laptop first. Then spray it into the opening on the side.
July 5th, 2007 at 10:43 am
Hey cj2600
thanks for ur help i tried it out again and was again unsuccesful.
Iv tried the last known good configuration and safe mode nothing will work. It wont even boot to dos/command mode therfore i cant tell it 2 bak up files 2 a new device. dont know wat 2 do at all any more ideas?
Thanks Nick
July 7th, 2007 at 7:01 am
My wife’s Toshiba Satellite A70 was terrible, fan always cranking and computer shutting down. Has done this even when brand new. I also have a Satellite A20 which is great, never overheats, fan is always running nice and quiet,
My solution so far for the A70 has been to set the CPU to mid or low power mode using the Toshiba power management utility. Make a low power configuration for both AC power and on-battery which has the CPU set to “mid” or “low”. At first “mid” worked for me, now only “low” keeps the temperature below critical. Guess it’s time to open it up and do some cleaning.
Also a great utility to monitor the actual temperature is at hmonitor.com, so you can see exactly what effect your fixes are having.
July 7th, 2007 at 10:10 am
An update on cleaning my Toshiba Satellite A70… I just blew into the opening where the heat sink is with my mouth several times, and all sorts of dust flew out where the fans are. It’s now fixed and running cool… air flow past the heat sink has been restored…
You might want to be sure the laptop is off and battery is removed before trying this, in case too much spit gets it
Wait an hour then fire it up.
G
July 7th, 2007 at 7:09 pm
My computer has overheating problem; therefore, I tried to repair it by putting the case apart. After I change the CPU grease and I put everything together. However, the laptop doesn’t run anything except the power light is on…. everything is not working…. monitor, cd-rom….
I dont know what else I should do to fix the problem.
Do you think is the mother-broad problem??
Help me plx >.
July 8th, 2007 at 5:12 pm
Nick,
I think you misunderstood me. Here’s how you can try to backup files step-by-step:
1. REMOVE THE HARD DRIVE from your Satellite L20 laptop
2. Install this hard drive into an external USB enclosure. You should be able to buy this enclosure in any local computer store for $15-$25
3. Connect this enclosure to any other WORKING computer (desktop or laptop) via USB cables (sold with the enclosure)
4. If there is nothing wrong with the hard drive, it will be detected automatically and you’ll find it in My Computer
5. Access the hard drive and back up all files
6. After all personal files are backed up, install the hard drive back into the laptop and try reinstalling the operating system by running the recovery disk
7. Transfer all backed up files back to the laptop
By the way, it’s possible that you have a faulty hard drive. You can test the hard drive with Hitachi’s drive fitness test (DFT) utility. You’ll find a link to this utility in the sidebar.
July 8th, 2007 at 7:43 pm
Gerogie,
LOL! That’s funny.
About 20 minutes ago my hardware monitoring utility started complaining that my CPU runs at critical temperature - 88 degrees Celsius. I blew inside the opening on the side with my mouse (didn’t have a can of compressed air) and now the CPU runs at 76 degrees. Good enough for today. Tomorrow I’ll clean it with air compressor.
July 8th, 2007 at 8:03 pm
Chi,
1. Make sure the memory module is seated properly. Remove it from the socket and install it back, all the way down into the socket.
2. Make sure the processor is seated properly and is locked inside the socket. It is possible that you pulled the CPU from the socket when you were removing the heatsink. You’ll have to take it apart again (if reseating the memory module doesn’t work of course) and check the CPU. Open the socket, reseat the CPU and close the socket.
July 9th, 2007 at 5:55 am
WOW! THANKS!
I cannot believe that it took so long to find out that my computer was simply dirty! The Shop Vac worked! I appreciate the help! I spent countless hours on the “helpful” MIcrosoft discussion groups trying all sorts of SOFTWARE suggestions to speed up my computer. And it turned out my computer was just dusty!!!! THANKS!
July 10th, 2007 at 10:43 am
Hey cj2600
cheers man, understand you now.
yeh my dads gonna borrow one of those do-da’s of a guy at work so hopefully we’ll see wat the problem is 2moro! Thanks for your help…i’ll probably be back on 2moro night asking for more help haha thanks again
July 11th, 2007 at 4:12 pm
hi cj2600
on July 1 i sent msg about having problems and you told me to try memory test which took awhile to burn but when i tried it nothing happen..now when i try to boot my toshiba tecra 800 there is a blue window that says: CHK for viruses. remove any newly installed hard drives or hard drive controller.. run CHKDSK /f
but i cant get to there.. how can i run this.
i forgot right before i get this msg i do see Window xp screen just for a second.. any help
July 11th, 2007 at 9:56 pm
eddie,
You can try this. Restart the laptop and press F8 as soon as Toshiba logo appears, you should get an Advanced Options Menu. Select “Safe Mode with Command Prompt” and press Enter. Boot the laptop into Safe mode with command prompt.
At the command prompt type: chkdsk c: /f
You’ll find more information on using chkdsk here.
When you press enter, you might see the following message:
“Chkdsk cannot run because the volume is in use by another process. Would you like to schedule this volume to be checked the next time the system restarts?” Select Y and restart the laptop. Chkdsk will run after you restart the laptop.
BTW, it is possible that you have a bad hard drive. You can test the hard drive with Hitachi’s drive fitness test (DFT), you’ll find a link on the sidebar in the Resources.
July 12th, 2007 at 8:50 am
hello again.. i did try when the Toshiba logo appears to press F8 but i select the safe mode i get the same msg.. can not get the command prompt.. i will try the DFT.. instead of downloading to Diskett like it say can i burn on CD because i dont have 3 1/5 disk driver in cp
July 13th, 2007 at 7:12 am
Great Site,
I have an A105-S2716 that has been working flawlessly for the past year and 1/2. I was working on it last night, left it alone for a couple of hours and when I came back the screen was black, it was shut down and no LEDs.
To Ryan: I moved this comment to the Satellite A105 thread.
July 16th, 2007 at 8:15 pm
Thans for the great article. I was having a problem with my Toshiba laptop also and suspected overheating. The heatsink looked totally clean from the outside but when I opened it up there was a ton of dust clogging the not-exterior-ly visible side. A good cleaning with a vacuumn and its good to go again.
Just a note in case this was missed: your laptop will run hotter when its doing more work. Especially on units that ramp up their speed based on processor demand. Test out the fix by doing something processor-intensive like video conversion.
July 19th, 2007 at 1:30 am
hi all,
i need recovery cds for my notebook toshiba satellite 1905-s301,because mine are crash (disc 2 and 3) somebody can help me to send it to me? contact on my email: april_id2000@yahoo.com. please. thanks alot and great site…
July 20th, 2007 at 5:39 am
What happens, is the machine will turn on for a couple minutes and then will shut down, it will not start up again, I have to unplug the power and sometimes it will start back up.
I cleaned the machine out, but does the fan run once you turn it on or just after it heats up?
I dont think it is the fan, I have to pull the battery out and unplug the machine for a few minute, before I can turn it back on. once it shuts off and you try and turn the laptop back on, the pplug light just blinks amber,
1 long, 3 short, 1long, 1 short, 1long
Thanks
July 20th, 2007 at 6:45 am
I have a problem with my Satellite that usually occurs when it is idle. It shows a blue screen with a lot of info on it about new software causing a conflict, counts down for about 10 seconds (numbers appear at the bottom) then shuts down. It immediately reboots back to the main windows screen, but any unsaved work is lost. Any suggestions?
July 21st, 2007 at 11:31 am
Kevin,
Thank you for your advise.
When I suspect overheating, I usually run the memory test because it takes lots of CPU power. If the laptop shuts down during the memory test, most likely it happens because of overheating. Clean the heatsink and see if it makes any difference.
July 21st, 2007 at 12:22 pm
aping,
Did you try calling Toshiba and ask if you can purchase recovery CDs from them? It shouldn’t be very expensive. I think you can get them for about $40.
Here’s another source, search for “1905 recovery”. I just found a set of CDs for your laptop for $26. I think this is a great price.
July 21st, 2007 at 2:31 pm
A Dean,
July 22nd, 2007 at 2:59 am
lol if ur computer is running at 68GHz it would be super fast, u click on a folder and it opens all its subfolders within half a second XD
July 22nd, 2007 at 9:20 pm
Hi!
I recently bought a toshiba satellite A135-S4527..about two weeks ago..
Today , I was working fine as usual…
Suddenly, the computer doesn’t responde anymore and finally turned off…
Since then it has been IMPOSSIBLE to turn on the computer again…When I push the power button nothing happens..
I wonder if it is a overheating problem or a battery problem..
I was working with AC power cord connected…
Thanksf for your help..
July 24th, 2007 at 11:40 am
I used my Toshiba laptop in school, and when the class was over I put it in the bag. when I got home I turned it on, the fan runs for a few seconds and stops and the power light will still be on, but nothing will be display on the screen.
what should I do?
July 24th, 2007 at 10:44 pm
George,
Try this. Unplug the AC adapter, remove the battery. Wait for 1-2 minutes, then plug the AC adapter and try to turn it on again. If it doesn’t help, check the memory module. It’s possible the memory got dislocated and is not making a good contact with the motherboard anymore. Try reseating the memory module.
July 25th, 2007 at 4:54 am
Hey everyone my laptop is 1 month old and ive had to return it it to a toshiba repair center once before(toshiba P105 S9722) I am not located in the US so i spent a load of money to get it there and back.($300 US to be exact )
Basically my laptop wont start. I turn it on, the lights blink and then there is no display on the screen. Ive read all the comments and i would really like some advice because I know if i open it up I will void my warranty.
When I do get the laptop on i have to keep it steady or else it will shut off and sometimes i get a BSOD.
Im really sick and tired of everything and i would just like to hear what you guys think I should do
Thanks for everything
July 25th, 2007 at 10:29 pm
Ronnie,
Try reseating the memory modules. If you have two modules installed, remove them one by one and also test each module in both memory slots. It’s possible that you laptop will not start because of a faulty RAM module.
July 27th, 2007 at 4:41 pm
Anyone have any suggestions as to why the touchpad on my
Toshiba Satellite doesn’t repond well?? The cursor either goes wildly all over the screen or goes nowhere at all.
July 28th, 2007 at 7:36 pm
Hello,
I’ve been having problems with my P35-s609 (3 yrs old and out of warranty) where it will boot, windows xp comes up and then the screen goes blank (black screen). I can see the blue light still on and the hard-drive light stays lit. I’ve even started up in safe mode and does the same thing. I’ve already disassembled to see if the heat sink is clogged, however, it was not. I’ve already had the motherboard replaced approximately 6 months ago. Is it maybe the FL Inverter (need to be replaced)? Is it as simple as putting new thermal grease? Any suggestions would help.
July 30th, 2007 at 2:49 pm
For those of you that need to replace the DC Jack in the toshiba A70/75 and it is the pin that is broken there is another option. My motherboard was replaced 1ce by toshiba under warranty already, but the DC plug has failed again due to the pin breaking. I stripped the machine down to the motherboard and filled the back of the connection with a drop of solder. Its rock solid now and has not caused anymore problems for 6 months now. Only reason I did this was because toshiba epoxied the dc plug onto the board as well as soldered it so i thought I would give it a try the way I described, seems to be holding.
July 31st, 2007 at 2:27 pm
Hello all….. This is the best site in the world….
here are my issues: i have a Satellite M45-s331 system. I gave it to my brother a year ago..worked great.
Now it doesn’t work. It started the shutting down thing…and then just refused to start again. I took it apart..cleaned the heat sink put new thermal past on both the CPU and the other chip underneath the silver heat sink. well i put everything back togeter…turned it on and nothing. all i got was the power light blinking blue for about 2 seconds, the heat sink fan turns on and then off. 3 seconds later the power light comes on, the heat sink fan starts and then shuts off again….this goes on for as long as i leave it plugged in for. nothing come up on the screen…no backlight on the screen, no beeps for post…nothing but the light and fan show. hooked it up to an external monitor…same thing…no video and the power light blinks blue for a second and then shuts off…the whole thing keeps cycling…i did the memory swap….i did the all memory out…took the cpu out and reseated it…no bent pins…no missing pins, double checked all connections on the board and still same issue….i’ll keep pulling the CPU out and reseating but i fear that the motherboard is dead…but if thats the case why would i get the cpu fan and powwer for a few??? the green led lights under the F10 andF11 keys flash when the power button deos as well……….can someone give me some opinions or advice?
thanks Sheldon
July 31st, 2007 at 10:32 pm
Sheldon,
Could be a memory related problem. Today I was troubleshooting a Satellite A105 laptop and tried turning it on without memory installed. It worked exactly the same way as you described in your comment. Light comes on, laptop starts without video for a few seconds and then reboots and everything repeats over and over. Make sure you are using a known good memory stick. Try installing it into another slot.
Try minimizing the system as much as you can. Remove all devices and leave only three main parts: motherboard, CPU (with heatsink and fan) and memory. Do not connect any cables, even the LCD cable and test the laptop with the external screen.
If your laptop doesn’t work even in this basic configuration and you know that the memory module is good, then most likely you have a problem with the motherboard.
August 2nd, 2007 at 5:08 pm
okay here is the story…i got this laptop that started rebooting a couple of times….and then just stopped working one day. took it apart..cleaned it and replaced the the thermal with artic 5 silver. connected everything up, fired it up and it works…..i dont hear any
sounds while it boots. new hitachi hard drive, and started installing windows xp. it gets to 29 minutes then bam reboots.
i try to load linux….reboots after after 1 minute…and keeps rebooting. i did notice that on the copper heatsink there is a light black square the size of the chip in the center of the cpu. I think maybe my chip is fried…any suggestions ???
I have a Satellite m45
thanks.
August 2nd, 2007 at 5:43 pm
hy cj i did swap memory chips 333 ones and it fired up. but now i have the problem below.
thanks
sheldon.
August 2nd, 2007 at 10:18 pm
Sheldon,
Can you hear the cooling fan? Does it start at all? Maybe the fan is dead (or not connected) and the laptop shuts down because it overheats?
August 3rd, 2007 at 2:12 am
no,…..the fan works fine…..the memory is fine as well.
August 3rd, 2007 at 8:23 am
I have just learned that the fan on my Toshiba a45-s151 is fried. This happened two weeks after the extended warranty ran out. I have taken it to a repair service who says that to fix it (send it in to Toshiba) would be half the cost of a new one. They themselves cannot fix it and do not know of any one locally who can. The part # (the fan) is psa40v-ocisnv. My questions are: 1. Can I fix this myself? 2. Is there any recourse for compensation for this problem that anyone knows of?
August 3rd, 2007 at 8:51 am
Farrell,
Is it possible to replace the motherboard yourself? Yes, it is possible but not easy. This disassembly guide will show how to open up the laptop. Follow steps 1-20.
You can find a new motherboard here, just search for “A45 motherboard”. I think you can buy a used board for under $100. Make sure to contact the seller and ask if the board you are buying is compatible with your model.
Be careful and good luck!
August 3rd, 2007 at 8:55 am
Sheldon,
Not sure what’s going on with your laptop, probably something is wrong with the motherboard.
August 4th, 2007 at 4:07 pm
well i’m thinking its possibly a cpu issue…..but a friend of mine has a toshiba..if its a m45 it will swap chips….if his no worky right then i know its the chip…if mine no worky right then i know its the mobo.
best i can do to isolate the issue.
August 12th, 2007 at 6:20 am
Hey you all, took me a while to find a decent website that keeps’s up to date. Check this out, my friend has a laptop Toshiba Satellite A70. Before i work on it, i’d rather research because his problem is very particular. When he plugs his power supply, the connection (male) is very fragile, slightes movement, becomes unplug. The other catch, you have 2 leds, the power supply and battery being recharged. At moment of bootup, just pressing hte power button, the led of battery charge turns off. But the power supply stays on. In windows - the battery is simply draining. I noticed that in the plug of power supply into the laptop (female) the little pin right in middle is just slighty wiggly… Not sure that might be cause of problems. Anyways has idea? (first thing in my head - the motherboard has jumped.)
August 12th, 2007 at 2:20 pm
Alex,
Looks like you’ll have to resolder or replaced the power jack. Check out my other post related to a Toshiba Satellite A70/A75 power issue.
August 13th, 2007 at 6:59 am
Just wanted to say thanks for posting so many useful comments about the Toshiba Laptops. I have a overheating problem which I plan to resolve tonight using the methods on this site - I thought I would have to pay vast amounts of money to get it fixed but that doesnt look likely after reading several comments - Thanks Guys
August 14th, 2007 at 4:52 am
I’ve got a good story. My A75 had a chronic overheating problem as detailed above - got worse and worse, but the computer could run as long as I propped it up at least 3 inches off a surface for clear air flow. Finally, back in March, it shut down and wouldn’t restart - I thought the power supply had fried because there was no indication it was getting power at all. I kept trying it for a couple of weeks just to make sure, nothing.
I couldn’t afford at the moment to get it fixed as I’d just had to replace my desktop computer, so I got a USB cable to allow me to access the HD and be done with it for the time being.
This past weekend, almost 4 months later, I decided to give the laptop another try. Bam, it suddenly works again. Still overheating like anything, but it’s getting power once more.
Anyway, going to try the tips above - thanks:)
August 22nd, 2007 at 1:31 am
I am facing a problem when i was baking up the information on my system to an external hard drive the lab top shut down then i received the following massege Abort;29005 Result=1 Drive=128 Sectors6292863to6292927 please could you help me to download this sectors to a cd then i will download that to my hard drive so i can start my lab top back.. My labtop is shutting down even with my recovery disk. or can you download an automatic recovery disc so i can solve my problem
August 25th, 2007 at 2:46 pm
hello i need help my toshiba t8200 laptop shut down and now it wont charge can any1 help me
August 26th, 2007 at 10:39 am
hiya its me again my toshiba tecra 8200 laptop wont charge it wont even come on with no battery, is it my ac adaptor plz plz plz help me
August 26th, 2007 at 3:20 pm
stana,
Remove the battery and plug the AC adapter. Does the power LED lights up? Do you see any lights at all?
If the laptop appears to be dead when you plug the AC adapter, it’s possible that you you have a bad AC adapter. You can test it with a voltmeter.
August 28th, 2007 at 4:44 am
Hi i have an A60-181 and the wifi has stopped working i know my router is ok as my ps3 is still logging in, can you help is there an easy test or will i need a new wifi card.
August 31st, 2007 at 12:35 am
i just got my laptop fixed i got it back and i aint got no sound please could u help thanks
August 31st, 2007 at 9:05 am
Hi! i have toshiba laptop A45-S121, Which heats up and the fan start running loudly when u run application(s) and shut down after sometime.
I am planning to take apart my A45 and follow the http://www.irisvista.com/tech/.....nges-1.htm step 1 to step 5. After I clean it do I need any special glue to put the heat sink back on?
pls help i am very new to this and dont want to mess up..
September 5th, 2007 at 5:28 pm
i have a toshiba satellite 2400 which was working fine up until it suddenly turned off. Now when i attempt to turn it on i get the led error code 431 in the plug in light. I tried using a second ac power source and same result. I have remove all peripherals and the battery and such and still no change. Any ideas?
P.S the battery itself has been going downhill for some time and rarely holds a charge but the computer has not given me any grief.
September 5th, 2007 at 5:54 pm
there was a class action lawsuit against toshiba over the a75. google it and you might be able to get them to fix it for free.
September 11th, 2007 at 9:41 pm
So if I have (a) noisy fan(s) on my A75, and I still have the static/speakers problem, would the extended warranty from the class-action settlement still cover both issues (and any others that might pop up before November), or does the settlement only cover repairs of the the static problem?
I’m blowing out the vents on my A75 weekly (canned air), and it’s not even that dusty in my office. The fans are always blasting and at boot, they rattle like a loose handful of chains.
I didn’t find any clarification about the warranty extension and if it covered non-static repairs or not. I know my original warranty is well over. I appreciate any insight. I’ll probably call the settlement administrator number from the website soon.
September 12th, 2007 at 9:08 pm
Adam,
When you take your laptop to a repair center just mention both problems. Everything should be covered and fixed.
September 17th, 2007 at 1:48 pm
i have a satellite m35X-S349, the fan is making some cracking sound n i can smell something like burning, what will be the main cause?? is there a way to fix it??
September 17th, 2007 at 1:49 pm
also i have this laptop for over 3 years, and the warranty is over already like a few months ago.
September 17th, 2007 at 9:09 pm
hi, i follow the guide for TOSHIBA SATELLITE M35X
Disassembling laptop. i have trouble taking the top part off… is there any more screw from the bottom? i had took out the 2 screws from the back already
September 17th, 2007 at 10:24 pm
Brandon,
1. Toshiba extended warranty for Satellite M35X laptops sold in the United States. If you are from the USA, take your laptop to an authorized repair center and they will fix it at no charge or call Toshiba and order a shipping box.
2. You have