“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!
December 7th, 2006 at 8:54 am
I was repairing a Toshiba Satellite pro for a friend and found the previous information very helpful.
The cpu and heatsink were glued together and when I pulled out the heatsink, the cpu came out withit and slid off! I did all of the cleaning, put it back together, powered on and…. the fans spun for about three seconds, then the laptop died… It took it apart again and noticed that one of the corner pins on the cpu was bent and laying flat across the base! NOOOOOO!
To remedy this I had to borrow a pin from my girlfriends sewing kit and “very carefully” bend to pin back into position. I then put everything back together, remembering the cpu lock (I forgot the first time) and IT WORKED!!
I am sooo lucky…..
December 4th, 2006 at 5:26 pm
I’ve finally put it back together.
EXCEPT for the batery, it works fine, but only if plugged into the wall.
It doesn’t see the batery anymore
Other than that, I run a set of tests that would have heat and shut it down, but they didn’t.
Any advice on the battery?
December 4th, 2006 at 2:13 pm
Cj2600,
Many thanks! Simply a case of being careless when reconstructing. Sadly, I doubt i’ve learned my lesson…
All the best.
December 3rd, 2006 at 11:02 pm
Frederick,
Here are some common mistakes people make during laptop disassembly/assembly.
1. Make sure the memory module is seated properly. Reseat it just in case.
2. Make sure the video cable is properly connected to the motherboard. Unplug the cable from the motherboard and look inside the video cable connector on the motherboard. Make sure there are no bent pins. If you see bent pins you can straighten them with a very small flathead screwdriver. Be VERY,VERY, VERY careful with pins inside the connector. If one of them gets broken, you are screwed big time. Plug and unplug the video cable very carefully.
3. If for some reason you remove the CPU, make sure to lock in the socket when you install it back. If the CPU is not locked, the laptop will not boot. Test the laptop with an external monitor and if it works fine then CPU is locked and the problem is somewhere else.
December 3rd, 2006 at 10:51 pm
Daniel,
Step 10 on witch disassembly guide?
I think you are talking about wireless card antenna cables – black and white wires coming from the screen. The white wire goes to the “Main” connector on the wireless card, the black wire goes to “Auxiliary” connector.
December 3rd, 2006 at 7:31 pm
Hey guys,
was cleaning out my fans/heatsink as per suggested above to stop this whole ‘shut down every 5 min’ problem – only now i’ve put it all back together i’m not getting anything on the screen! Any suggestions as to what i’ve done wrong?
TOSHIBA SATELLITE A70.
December 3rd, 2006 at 7:01 pm
Step 10 question.
Where do the black&white wires from the monitor connect?
December 2nd, 2006 at 10:44 pm
My computer thanks you… it was about 3 seconds from being flung out the window when I stubbled on your site. Now it’s working like it was new! Great job!
December 2nd, 2006 at 7:52 am
Wonderfull site!
-I managed to clean the heatsink on my Toshiba by pointing an airline into the side vent (the air tank was at about 30psi) – lots of dust came out the fan grill .
A hint : to see how well you’ve done; Go into a darkened room and put a torch onto the fan grill, then look down the side into the heatsink, you should see light through all the silver heatsink vanes.
No shutdowns now
November 28th, 2006 at 7:59 am
I purchased a brand new Toshiba Satelite A-70 notebook in March of 2005. It started overheating and shutting down on it’s own in December 2005. I have returned it for repair in Dec/05, April/06, July/06, Aug/06 and it’s back in for service where I purchased it. At the time of purchase I opted to buy the 3 year extended warranty. Do you think this type of problem is covered under such a warranty (for replacement)?