“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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January 4th, 2010 at 5:49 pm
hi i have a toshiba satellite P305D-s8828 1 1/2 years old for some reason i turn it on and work fine for a while after 10 or 20 minutes turn off wait for few minutes turn back on but no display please some one tell me what can cause this problem the heat sink cooling fan or motherboard or display thank you for all your help please let me know
January 3rd, 2010 at 9:42 pm
okay idk the model but ive found its not a heating issue with me but the same problem. i think its more of a power issue. when the laptop is not plugged in it will run until it dies no problem but if it is plugged in it will blank the screen and stop operation after maybe 10 mins
December 15th, 2009 at 2:29 pm
I have a Toshiba Satellite Pro 4270ZDVD. It is intermittently shutting down similar to but not identical to a dirty fan/heatsink overheating problem. I have swept and blown it out real good already; it seemed as though the fan was freewheeling. Sometimes upon initial start up, it will run normally for a hour or more but then it just up and shuts down (just like the dirt clogged fan/heatsink scenario). The fan isn’t working often or hard at all. The fan usually comes on and off for 4 short quick cycles and then it shuts down. Is there a fan controller or a board that has a tendency to cause this or…?
December 14th, 2009 at 6:37 pm
hi i have a toshiba a105 and we have had an overheating problem for awhile and never took immediate action to try to fix it. Just recently the fan stopped working. is there anything wecan do to try to fix it?
December 6th, 2009 at 7:10 am
My Toshiba L25 s1192 has crashed 3 months ago and an IT looked at it ande said it was the monitor and the after a while i tried it and worked for a month and half and then crashed again any ideas?:)
December 2nd, 2009 at 7:59 am
I have Toshiba Satellite Mxx some number i cant remember, however once it shuts down it doesn’t start back up unless i wait for about 20 minutes. After that waiting, i turn on the laptop and it works fine. Can anyone tell me if that cpu issue or heating problem? if overheating issue, what can i do in order to fix it? Your reply would be a great help -
December 2nd, 2009 at 6:06 am
I have toshiba satelitte M40X-237, i think it has overjheating problem and it shuts up it self after half an hour after switch on…i have been using this for 4years without a problem and problem of switch off it self started last month
amazingly when i sit outside in the wind near the ocean it doesnt shut down
can you advise what to do
November 29th, 2009 at 10:54 pm
Johannes,
Sounds like a problem with the hard drive.
1. Try reconnecting the hard drive.
2. Try replacing the hard drive.
November 29th, 2009 at 9:45 pm
Kathleen,
I don’t think that your problem is related to overheating.
Your problem sounds more like the motherboard failure.
November 25th, 2009 at 6:20 pm
I have a toshiba A135 it’s about 3 years old and has worked great until last week. Then it shut down and I didn’t have any power to the computer. I opened it up and cleaned it out and it started back up again. I used it for about three days and then the computer shut down and no AC power light again. I waited about 3 hours and then the AC light came back on. The battery was OK and it would start with the battery. Do you think this might be a fan problem with overheating? Any suggestions would be great.
Thanks