“My Toshiba laptop suddenly shuts down by itself without any warning. Sometimes it works fine for hours, sometimes it shuts down in 10-15 minutes.” This complaint we hear from our customers over and over again. About 15-20% of all Toshiba laptops we get for repair, suffer from an overheating problem. Yep, OVERHEATING!
This is one of the most common problems with Toshiba laptops we deal with.
Indications of laptop overheating problem:
- The keyboard and the bottom of your laptop are very hot when the laptop is working.
- The CPU fans are working all the time at maximum rotation speed and operate much louder than before.
- The laptop suddenly shuts down by itself without warning. When it just started, the laptop was shutting down after 1-2 hours and how it shuts down after 5-10 minutes of operation.
- The laptop works fine when it runs idle, but shuts down as soon as you start using any memory demanding applications (DVD player, image editing software, video editing software, etc.).
Solution:
If the CPU heatsink is not clogged with dust and lint completely, you can use canned air and just blow it inside the laptop through the openings on the bottom and on the sides. It’s nice as a precaution measure, but it might not work if your laptop already has a problem and the heatsink is completely clogged.
- Open the laptop case, so you can access the CPU fan and the heatsink. In some cases you can access the heatsink through the latch on the bottom of the laptop. Sometimes (for example Toshiba Satellite A70/A75) you have to open the laptop case all the way down.
- Carefully disconnect the fan cables on the system board and remove the fan. If the fan makes unusual sound when it spins (grinding sound), I would recommend to replace the fan.
- Clean the fan and the heatsink with compressed air.
- I would also recommend removing old thermal grease from the CPU and applying new grease for better heat conductivity.
UPDATE: I just received a nice tip from MC N’Colorado. I think it could be useful for all of you with guys:
I decided to use a shop vac to suck the dust out and it worked. I tested it by letting the machine run all night and it worked. It’s been a couple of weeks now and I’m glad I did it. I was ready to take the machine apart, now I’m glad I didn’t. I’d suggest you use a heavy duty shop vac to clean out the fan and heat sinks first.
I agree. Try to fix the problem without taking the laptop apart first but I would recommend using a powerful air compressor instead of a vacuum cleaner.
If your laptop is still under warranty, you can take it to any Toshiba Authorize Service Provider and fix the problem at no charge to you.
Toshiba laptop disassembly guides with pictures and instructions.
Toshiba Satellite A15 Clogged Heatsink
Toshiba Satellite A35 Clogged Heatsink
Toshiba Satellite P15 Clogged Heatsink. Absolute champion!
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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 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 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 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 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 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 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 4th, 2006 at 6:25 pm
I was resigning myself to a laptop repair He…., before I found your very informative site. Thanks!
February 3rd, 2006 at 9:31 pm
this site hits the nail on the head, very good details and instructions. Thank you!
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