“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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February 16th, 2009 at 7:44 am
Hi, i have a Toshiba EA60-191 Equium and it says when i turn it on (before it asks for a password or user) a black screen with white text says ‘Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt : /WINDOWS/SYSTEM32/CONFIG/SYSTEM
what should i do?
ps. i’m rubbish with computers and i don’t want to take the laptop apart. can it be fixed?
February 8th, 2009 at 5:49 pm
How do you check or change the bios settings for Toshiba Satellite A215-S4757? What am I looking for in Bios? My husband’s aboved named Toshiba has intermittenly shut-down ever since he’s owned it. He has a cooling fan/pad under it and it never feels as hot as my Inspiron, so I am suspecting something in the Bios. Please help!
February 5th, 2009 at 12:08 pm
my toshiba a60 satellite can not start with a direct a/c adapter without a battery attached.
it starts for 3 / 4 minutes and shuts down with ac and battery support.
it sops sooner as i try to start it again.
it doesnot start again and agian as i try to press the button. instead i am using a dead slow piii hitacchi flora laptop.
ur site is worth informativ and helping.
February 3rd, 2009 at 11:23 am
I have a Toshiba Satellite P105-S9722.
When I turn it on, and leave it idling/sometimes with firefox running, the temperature is 58 degrees celsius.
However, as soon as I start playing (Guild Wars), the temperature jumps up to around 80 degrees celsius, and keeps climbing all the way to 95 degrees, where the overheating shutdown sequence initiates and I have to shut down the whole thing.
I noticed that the fan blowing air out on the left side is not going nearly as strong as the one on the back, ever.
Is there something wrong with the fan control, or could it be clogged and I need to clean it? *Never done it before >_
February 2nd, 2009 at 9:20 pm
ramseer,
On a Toshiba Satellite A75 cooling fans do not work continuously. Both fans start spinning when you turn on the laptop and then both fans go off for a while. They start working again when the laptop is hot and it’s normal. Also, it’s possible that fans will turn on one by one.
February 2nd, 2009 at 9:14 pm
joe,
Could be bad memory module. Try reseating RAM modules. Try removing modules one by one and test the laptop with each module separately. If the laptop fails to boot with one of the modules, most likely it’s a bad one.
February 2nd, 2009 at 1:37 am
i have toshiba satellite A70 s256 model,i want to know about bios settings,especially in cpu fan settings,my cpu fan cannot working continously, cpu fan disabled ,how can i enable my cpu fsn please help me
January 28th, 2009 at 11:17 am
My toshiba satelite m45 wont stay on. When I turn it on the blue light comes on the the fan then a few second go buy and I hear what i think is the dvd drive make a noise like it is starting then shuts off. I do this many times same thing. Every once in a while It turns on and works with no problems. If I turn it off though I have the same problem.
January 27th, 2009 at 10:06 pm
Oscar G,
Why do you think the CPU is bad?
I guess you’ll have to disassemble the laptop again and check the internal connections.
First of all, try reseating the CPU, make sure it’s properly connected to the motherboard.
Disassemble the laptop to the point when everything is removed and you have only motherboard and the CPU with the cooling module attached to it, nothing else. Now connect and external monitor and plug in the power adapter. Press on the power button which is located on the motherboard. If the laptop start fine with the external monitor, start assembling the laptop back installing parts one by one and testing after each part.
If the laptop will not start even when it’s disassembled to the bare bone system, there could be something wrong with the motherboard. If you didn’t remove the CPU during the disassembly process, I don’t think that the CPU is damaged.
By the way, do you have an external memory installed? Before you disassemble the laptop again, try removing/reconnecting the external module. Maybe it’s not seated properly and the laptop will not start because of that.
January 27th, 2009 at 8:13 pm
Tim:
to unscrew the screw you have to use the right screwdriver and use WD-40 put it in for 5 min and after give it some hits slow to do the WD- 40 penetreats in the hole. Be patient after that remove the screw good luck . Oscar