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