“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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August 2nd, 2007 at 5:08 pm
okay here is the story…i got this laptop that started rebooting a couple of times….and then just stopped working one day. took it apart..cleaned it and replaced the the thermal with artic 5 silver. connected everything up, fired it up and it works…..i dont hear any
sounds while it boots. new hitachi hard drive, and started installing windows xp. it gets to 29 minutes then bam reboots.
i try to load linux….reboots after after 1 minute…and keeps rebooting. i did notice that on the copper heatsink there is a light black square the size of the chip in the center of the cpu. I think maybe my chip is fried…any suggestions ???
I have a Satellite m45
thanks.
July 31st, 2007 at 10:32 pm
Sheldon,
Could be a memory related problem. Today I was troubleshooting a Satellite A105 laptop and tried turning it on without memory installed. It worked exactly the same way as you described in your comment. Light comes on, laptop starts without video for a few seconds and then reboots and everything repeats over and over. Make sure you are using a known good memory stick. Try installing it into another slot.
Try minimizing the system as much as you can. Remove all devices and leave only three main parts: motherboard, CPU (with heatsink and fan) and memory. Do not connect any cables, even the LCD cable and test the laptop with the external screen.
If your laptop doesn’t work even in this basic configuration and you know that the memory module is good, then most likely you have a problem with the motherboard.
July 31st, 2007 at 2:27 pm
Hello all….. This is the best site in the world….
here are my issues: i have a Satellite M45-s331 system. I gave it to my brother a year ago..worked great.
Now it doesn’t work. It started the shutting down thing…and then just refused to start again. I took it apart..cleaned the heat sink put new thermal past on both the CPU and the other chip underneath the silver heat sink. well i put everything back togeter…turned it on and nothing. all i got was the power light blinking blue for about 2 seconds, the heat sink fan turns on and then off. 3 seconds later the power light comes on, the heat sink fan starts and then shuts off again….this goes on for as long as i leave it plugged in for. nothing come up on the screen…no backlight on the screen, no beeps for post…nothing but the light and fan show. hooked it up to an external monitor…same thing…no video and the power light blinks blue for a second and then shuts off…the whole thing keeps cycling…i did the memory swap….i did the all memory out…took the cpu out and reseated it…no bent pins…no missing pins, double checked all connections on the board and still same issue….i’ll keep pulling the CPU out and reseating but i fear that the motherboard is dead…but if thats the case why would i get the cpu fan and powwer for a few??? the green led lights under the F10 andF11 keys flash when the power button deos as well……….can someone give me some opinions or advice?
thanks Sheldon
July 30th, 2007 at 2:49 pm
For those of you that need to replace the DC Jack in the toshiba A70/75 and it is the pin that is broken there is another option. My motherboard was replaced 1ce by toshiba under warranty already, but the DC plug has failed again due to the pin breaking. I stripped the machine down to the motherboard and filled the back of the connection with a drop of solder. Its rock solid now and has not caused anymore problems for 6 months now. Only reason I did this was because toshiba epoxied the dc plug onto the board as well as soldered it so i thought I would give it a try the way I described, seems to be holding.
July 28th, 2007 at 7:36 pm
Hello,
I’ve been having problems with my P35-s609 (3 yrs old and out of warranty) where it will boot, windows xp comes up and then the screen goes blank (black screen). I can see the blue light still on and the hard-drive light stays lit. I’ve even started up in safe mode and does the same thing. I’ve already disassembled to see if the heat sink is clogged, however, it was not. I’ve already had the motherboard replaced approximately 6 months ago. Is it maybe the FL Inverter (need to be replaced)? Is it as simple as putting new thermal grease? Any suggestions would help.
July 27th, 2007 at 4:41 pm
Anyone have any suggestions as to why the touchpad on my
Toshiba Satellite doesn’t repond well?? The cursor either goes wildly all over the screen or goes nowhere at all.
July 25th, 2007 at 10:29 pm
Ronnie,
Try reseating the memory modules. If you have two modules installed, remove them one by one and also test each module in both memory slots. It’s possible that you laptop will not start because of a faulty RAM module.
July 25th, 2007 at 4:54 am
Hey everyone my laptop is 1 month old and ive had to return it it to a toshiba repair center once before(toshiba P105 S9722) I am not located in the US so i spent a load of money to get it there and back.($300 US to be exact )
Basically my laptop wont start. I turn it on, the lights blink and then there is no display on the screen. Ive read all the comments and i would really like some advice because I know if i open it up I will void my warranty.
When I do get the laptop on i have to keep it steady or else it will shut off and sometimes i get a BSOD.
Im really sick and tired of everything and i would just like to hear what you guys think I should do
Thanks for everything
July 24th, 2007 at 10:44 pm
George,
Try this. Unplug the AC adapter, remove the battery. Wait for 1-2 minutes, then plug the AC adapter and try to turn it on again. If it doesn’t help, check the memory module. It’s possible the memory got dislocated and is not making a good contact with the motherboard anymore. Try reseating the memory module.
July 24th, 2007 at 11:40 am
I used my Toshiba laptop in school, and when the class was over I put it in the bag. when I got home I turned it on, the fan runs for a few seconds and stops and the power light will still be on, but nothing will be display on the screen.
what should I do?