“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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November 13th, 2006 at 1:58 pm
This could also due to the poorly soldered DC power jack problem….
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 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 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 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 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 laptoprepair101.com.
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!
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
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 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