“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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January 22nd, 2008 at 11:45 pm
David Franks,
There is no easy way to access the cooling fan on this model, you’ll have to take the whole thing apart. There is no hatch on the bottom and there no easy access under the keyboard. You’ll have to remove the top cover.
Just find powerful air compressor and blow off the fan/heatsink through the grill on the side.
January 22nd, 2008 at 11:36 pm
Krishna,
If the fan worked before you pulled the connector from the motherboard, them most likely there is nothing wrong with the fan. Maybe you just didn’t solder it properly.
As a last resort you can try soldering fan wires directly to the motherboard. I’ve never tried it myself but it might work.
Unfortunately I cannot give you a better advice without testing the laptop.
Here’s another thread dedicated to Toshiba Satellite A65 laptop problems.
January 22nd, 2008 at 11:27 pm
Frank,
yes, this problem can be related to the overheating. Also, it could be related to faulty memory and bad hard drive. Test memory with Memtest86+ and hard drive with Hitachi’s DFT utility (links in Resources).
You can see fans through the grill on the bottom.
January 22nd, 2008 at 4:13 am
Hello,
I have a Tecra M5 and want to access the fan to clean it. When I had a Tecra M2 you could get to it just underneith the keyboard, with the M5 its all sealed off under keyboard (probably for spillages). Does anyone know how to get to it? Thanks David
January 16th, 2008 at 11:59 pm
i have a satelite laptop with one-side kingspeaker not working.What is the problem?. Can i fix it myself?. How could i go about fixing it myself? I need well explained proceedures along with depicted pictures.
January 16th, 2008 at 8:00 pm
Hi
Let me start with how frustrated I am with the Toshiba A65 laptop.
1. I took apart the laptop,courtesy your dismantling pic guide.
2. I also pulled the black connector where the keyboard ribbon is located
3. I accidently pulled the connector for the heat sink case fan.
But the good news was i was able to clean the lint of the heat sink,shiny new after a day’s work.
4. Now i tried to solder the connector where the fan is connected to the MB, I dont know how good a job i did??
NOw the fan does not turn on at all and the laptop shuts down after 20-30 minutes.
My question is diagnostics?
Do I need to replace the heat sink fan assembly?
How can i determine that the fan works? how can I test whether it still is good?
last but not the least, I feeel after all this trouble I should get the satisfaction that i did not take it to the tech.
Can you guys answer my questions and suggest what I need to do to get it working.
I appreciate your help
Krishna
January 15th, 2008 at 8:08 pm
My Toshiba A35 freezes randomly with whatever is on the screen….but it does not shut down by itself. I’m wondering if this is also related to overheating. The unit does seem hot and I’m not even sure I hear the fan running. Thoughts? Thanks much.
January 11th, 2008 at 12:27 am
justin tatem,
I moved your question to this post: Troubleshooting laptop with backlight failure.
It’s comment 35.
January 10th, 2008 at 6:32 pm
How do I use this laptop! I can navigate around but I really feel like I am not using it to its potential. This is my first computer…I need help:) Thanks Jen
January 10th, 2008 at 10:44 am
I have a toshiba satellie L25 S121. I dropped it and now the backlight isn’t working. I can barely see my desktop. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.