“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!
If you find this article useful, please consider making a donation to the author. Thank you!
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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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.