“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!
September 19th, 2007 at 9:58 pm
Guy,
White to the main connector
Black to the auxiliary connector (I believe closest to the battery compartment)
But it shouldn’t matter because both antenna cables are identical
September 19th, 2007 at 9:55 pm
DOH!
Found the answer in Response 379.
“The white wire goes to the “Main” connector on the wireless card, the black wire goes to “Auxiliary” connector.”
I had been searching on “Wi-Fi” but then tried “antenna” after my original posting.
Yours is an amazing site! And thanks again,
Guy
September 19th, 2007 at 9:41 pm
Disassembled my Toshiba P35 per the irisvista.com website. Upon reassembly I found I could not recall the proper connections for the Wi-Fi Card cables (disassembly in Step 2). I’ve reviewed the responses for Why my Toshiba laptop suddenly shuts down by itself without warning?”, but didn’t see this addressed.
Can someone please direct me to the proper connections. For example does the black wire connect closest to the battery compartment, or is it the white.
Thanx for all the help,
Guy
September 19th, 2007 at 12:15 pm
What is the website for the class action settlement with the A75?
September 17th, 2007 at 10:24 pm
Brandon,
1. Toshiba extended warranty for Satellite M35X laptops sold in the United States. If you are from the USA, take your laptop to an authorized repair center and they will fix it at no charge or call Toshiba and order a shipping box.
2. You have to remove all screws from the bottom and also do not forget one screw under the keyboard.
September 17th, 2007 at 9:09 pm
hi, i follow the guide for TOSHIBA SATELLITE M35X
Disassembling laptop. i have trouble taking the top part off… is there any more screw from the bottom? i had took out the 2 screws from the back already
September 17th, 2007 at 1:49 pm
also i have this laptop for over 3 years, and the warranty is over already like a few months ago.
September 17th, 2007 at 1:48 pm
i have a satellite m35X-S349, the fan is making some cracking sound n i can smell something like burning, what will be the main cause?? is there a way to fix it??
September 12th, 2007 at 9:08 pm
Adam,
When you take your laptop to a repair center just mention both problems. Everything should be covered and fixed.
September 11th, 2007 at 9:41 pm
So if I have (a) noisy fan(s) on my A75, and I still have the static/speakers problem, would the extended warranty from the class-action settlement still cover both issues (and any others that might pop up before November), or does the settlement only cover repairs of the the static problem?
I’m blowing out the vents on my A75 weekly (canned air), and it’s not even that dusty in my office. The fans are always blasting and at boot, they rattle like a loose handful of chains.
I didn’t find any clarification about the warranty extension and if it covered non-static repairs or not. I know my original warranty is well over. I appreciate any insight. I’ll probably call the settlement administrator number from the website soon.