“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 17th, 2007 at 8:14 pm
Anut,
I’m afraid you have a problem with the motherboard. I just ordered a new motherboard for a Satellite M45 with exactly the same problem. Man, I hate working on this model.
May 17th, 2007 at 7:39 pm
mike in #458 – IDENTICAL PROBLEM!
Same laptop Toshiba Satellite M45-S331
Will power on for 3 secs and then turn off! Removed ram, hdd, wifi, cleaned heatsink, no change!
What could this be? power related problem? How to diagnose further??
May 16th, 2007 at 8:27 pm
Sean Powell,
You can try notebook hardware control and monitoring software. I believe it works with Satellite A75 laptops.
May 16th, 2007 at 8:24 pm
Mike,
Is it still under warranty? If it is, send it back for repair. I think you got a bad motherboard.
BTW, the high pitched beeping comes from the laptop itself or from the AC adapter? Maybe the AC adapter is bad? You can test it with a voltmeter.
May 16th, 2007 at 8:19 pm
David,
You can find some disassembly instructions for Toshiba laptops I posted on the other site (www.irisvista.com) but I don’t think that in your case cleaning the laptop will help.
You can remove the keyboard cover to access the video cable connector on the motherboard. Try applying a little bit pressure on the connector while the laptop is still running and see if it affects the video. If the video turns back to normal when you are applying some pressure on the connector, probably that’s your problem. Unfortunately this connector is permanently soldered on the motherboard and you cannot replace it yourself.
May 15th, 2007 at 10:26 am
Hello.I have a Toshiba a75-s226.Ihave already taken apart the laptop and cleaned the heatsink and fans.What I need to know ,is there a program or utility that monitors cpu temps,fan speed,etc.,that is compatable with this laptop.Any help would be greatly appreciated.Please email me.THANKS. Sean Powell.
May 15th, 2007 at 2:21 am
i have a satellite M45 and one day it suddenly shuts off. its doesnt seem to be the heatsink or any of that. i checked. to add to the sudden shut down, it wont turn back on. when i plug it in the led lights wont go on so im assuming its ac jack but iono for sure. i didnt really expect any problems to occur cause i jsut got it repaired, whole new motherboard and what not. anyways, when its plugged in i can hear a faint high pitched beeping. i dont know if thats of any help but if anyone can id be much appreciated.
May 15th, 2007 at 12:24 am
Hi There – great site. I have a Toshiba Satellite® P35-S609 the big issue is that the screen has flickering pink-ish (red-ish) vertical lines. The odd thing is that when I press on the body of the laptop it makes the lines disappear and lasts for a few minutes. Different violent acts on the body have similar effect too. Now days I mostly jam the classic small metal pencil sharpener between the screen and body hinges gap. The laptop is over 2 years old, so I can’s get it repaired for free and money is an issue here too. I would like to open it and maybe clean it out, but I am very afraid to do it, with out some kind of instructions or something. What would you recommend?
Many thanks for your help,
David
May 11th, 2007 at 7:08 pm
Charles Hamper,
Thanks for a great advice. I wouldn’t have thought of using the leaf blower without your comment either. I think it’s a great replacement for a powerful air compressor.
May 11th, 2007 at 7:04 pm
thegecko,
Do you think 100 degrees F is too hot?
I think it’s normal or maybe even below the normal operating temperature. My laptop has a Pentium M processor. Right now it runs at 122 degrees F and I know it’s normal for my computer.