Why my Toshiba laptop suddenly shuts down by itself without warning?
“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.).
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!
Entry Filed under: Toshiba Laptop Problems
881 Responses to “Why my Toshiba laptop suddenly shuts down by itself without warning?”
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Pages: « 89 … 65 64 63 62 61 [60] 59 58 57 56 55 … 1 » Show All
August 13th, 2007 at 6:59 am
Just wanted to say thanks for posting so many useful comments about the Toshiba Laptops. I have a overheating problem which I plan to resolve tonight using the methods on this site - I thought I would have to pay vast amounts of money to get it fixed but that doesnt look likely after reading several comments - Thanks Guys
August 12th, 2007 at 2:20 pm
Alex,
Looks like you’ll have to resolder or replaced the power jack. Check out my other post related to a Toshiba Satellite A70/A75 power issue.
August 12th, 2007 at 6:20 am
Hey you all, took me a while to find a decent website that keeps’s up to date. Check this out, my friend has a laptop Toshiba Satellite A70. Before i work on it, i’d rather research because his problem is very particular. When he plugs his power supply, the connection (male) is very fragile, slightes movement, becomes unplug. The other catch, you have 2 leds, the power supply and battery being recharged. At moment of bootup, just pressing hte power button, the led of battery charge turns off. But the power supply stays on. In windows - the battery is simply draining. I noticed that in the plug of power supply into the laptop (female) the little pin right in middle is just slighty wiggly… Not sure that might be cause of problems. Anyways has idea? (first thing in my head - the motherboard has jumped.)
August 4th, 2007 at 4:07 pm
well i’m thinking its possibly a cpu issue…..but a friend of mine has a toshiba..if its a m45 it will swap chips….if his no worky right then i know its the chip…if mine no worky right then i know its the mobo.
best i can do to isolate the issue.
August 3rd, 2007 at 8:55 am
Sheldon,
Not sure what’s going on with your laptop, probably something is wrong with the motherboard.
August 3rd, 2007 at 8:51 am
Farrell,
Is it possible to replace the motherboard yourself? Yes, it is possible but not easy. This disassembly guide will show how to open up the laptop. Follow steps 1-20.
You can find a new motherboard here, just search for “A45 motherboard”. I think you can buy a used board for under $100. Make sure to contact the seller and ask if the board you are buying is compatible with your model.
Be careful and good luck!
August 3rd, 2007 at 8:23 am
I have just learned that the fan on my Toshiba a45-s151 is fried. This happened two weeks after the extended warranty ran out. I have taken it to a repair service who says that to fix it (send it in to Toshiba) would be half the cost of a new one. They themselves cannot fix it and do not know of any one locally who can. The part # (the fan) is psa40v-ocisnv. My questions are: 1. Can I fix this myself? 2. Is there any recourse for compensation for this problem that anyone knows of?
August 3rd, 2007 at 2:12 am
no,…..the fan works fine…..the memory is fine as well.
August 2nd, 2007 at 10:18 pm
Sheldon,
Can you hear the cooling fan? Does it start at all? Maybe the fan is dead (or not connected) and the laptop shuts down because it overheats?
August 2nd, 2007 at 5:43 pm
hy cj i did swap memory chips 333 ones and it fired up. but now i have the problem below.
thanks
sheldon.