My laptop keeps shutting off for no reason
I have a Toshiba Satellite A75, the problem I’m having is it keeps shutting off for no reason, I can’t figure it out, but the only way it won’t shut off is if I only use it on a fan. It feels kind of warm but sometimes it doesn’t have to be on for maybe 5 minutes and it happens too. If you could help me with this issue it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
If your laptop shutting off without any reason, then I am almost 100% positive that you are experiencing a laptop overheating problem. This is a very common problem with Toshiba Satellite A70 and A75 laptops and could be easily fixed if you clean the heat sink. Overtime the heat sink gets clogged with lint and dust. It ruins normal air flow inside the heat sink and the heat stops dissipating. As a result – the CPU overheats and the laptop shuts down. In some cases it would be enough just to blow off the heat sink with compressed air to get the laptop back to normal condition. Try to clean it with compressed air first. Sometimes it is necessary to take the laptop apart, so you can access the heat sink and remove all collected overtime dust and lint. I covered overheating problem with more details in this post.
May 13th, 2008 at 5:40 pm
JulieB,
I would go with the fan replacement. By the way, you can download laptop disassembly instruction (for most models) from the Dell website, buy the fan and replace it yourself. Otherwise, you’ll have to take it to the repair shop.
I don’t think that a cooler pad will work in your situation.
May 12th, 2008 at 12:50 pm
I have a Dell Inspiron Laptop and the fan has gone out. Someone suggested purchasing a cooler pad instead of replacing the fan. ??? Is that feasible?
May 12th, 2008 at 5:24 am
Forgot to say that the issue was the bios.
May 12th, 2008 at 5:20 am
You probably already had this problem fixed, but I had the same problem. Called Toshiba tech support and downloaded a fix. One month now and no problem.
May 9th, 2008 at 11:35 am
THERES ONLY ONE THING I CAN SUgGEST
1.THE FAN IS GOT SOME DUST IN IT OR ISN’T WORKING PROPERLY
THIS CAUSES THE CPU (central proccessing unit) TO OVER HEAT
CAUSING THE LAPTOP TO SHUT DOWN
SOMETIMES IT WILL MAKE A HIGH PITCH SOUND BEFORE SHUTTING DOWN
April 7th, 2008 at 3:00 am
This could be a hardware + software related issue, I have an Acer Aspire 5670 and I have encountered this problem quite frequently when playing games on windows XP, (also if I leave it in the desktop).
However, when running Linux Gui (like ubuntu) I sometimes leave it on all night long and I don’t encounter a problem.
My best guess is that the graphics board in the laptop is not being used efficiently by windows and it causes it to overheat and shutdown. I think this happens mostly on laptops hitting their 2nd year as some of its board parts starts to fail such as the temperature monitor.
I found that lifting the laptop by propping a book underneath (without blocking the fan) helps, but doesn’t solve the problem.
April 6th, 2008 at 10:28 am
My new Dell laptop with Vista freezes literally every single time I move it from my lap. I would be eternally grateful to anyone who can explain why and help me resolve this. . . .
If you can solve that one and I decide to keep Vista, my next questions will be: 1) Why does the Vista Service Pak 1 fail to install and 2) Can I get FrontPage 2003 to work on Vista without the system crashing?
April 1st, 2008 at 10:39 pm
Hi, I have a Dell Inspirion 6000 and I have had it for about a year. I have a screan that has been popping up saying Activate Desktop. I have had for about 3 months and I can not change my backround, then a couple of weeks ago my laptop has been freezing on me and then I have to restart. I am able to move my mouse but usually I am on internet explorer and the browswer would turn all white and I cant do anything anymore. Then when I turn it off restarting about 10 minutes later it would freze again constantly and I would have to repeat the process over. I am a girl and dont know much about laptops. My laptop had a problem over last summer and a similar screen had poped up like the Activate Desktop. Any suggestions I could use to fix my problem?
March 29th, 2008 at 4:03 am
Hi, I have a thinkpad x31 and it will not turn on the battery light flashes amber and the main power flashes green I thought the battery was dead and spent a hundred bucks on a new one and still have the same problem any suggestions
March 27th, 2008 at 4:40 pm
umm hi i have a toshiba A100 laptop and it keeps shutting off on me. im a girl so i dont know much about computers, but it tuns for like 10 min then it shuts off. and after i try to turn it on it goes for liek 1 min everytime
March 23rd, 2008 at 8:10 pm
I have a Toshiba A100/A105 laptop that shuts down every time I turn it on. It shuts down when it gets to the main screen. Do you have any idea why this happens?
March 15th, 2008 at 5:44 am
Hi MomaT
If the laptop is only 3 weeks old, why not take it back to the store you got it from?
Flashing the BIOS can be fatal and the shop might not take it back if you mess it up.
wm
March 4th, 2008 at 9:33 pm
MomaT,
Sounds like a hardware related problem.
Here’s what you can try.
1. Check the BIOS version running on your laptop. Press Esc (or F2) as soon as Toshiba logo appears on the screen to enter the BIOS setup menu, find the BIOS version. Find the latest version of BIOS available for your laptop and install it.
2. Back up all personal files and reimage the hard drive back to factory defaults.
If you still experiencing the same problem, you’ll have to send your laptop to Toshiba or take it to the closet authorized center. They’ll fix it at no charge.
March 4th, 2008 at 6:22 pm
Hey Laptop Freak…I’ve got a very similar problem as Lalit, k416M, and Jiming.
The Toshiba Satellite 205D is only 3 weeks old (from the store) and has shut down just as described above, 3 times in the last week. I’m running Vista and this unexpected shut down happened twice while on skype and once after a breif download and execution of Excel.
The CPU useage doesn’t seem to be that high (i.e the harddrive is not working hard at all).
I don’t know the system temperature (is there a way to test this with Vista?) but the fan works intermittently. It comes on every couple min or so for about 30sec then stops (i’m in Fla and the ambient temp is pretty warm).
We plugged in an external monitor and there was no issue, both LCD and monitor worked great. Next time it unexpectedly shuts down we’ll try to plug in the external monitor to see if it works.
Like the others, when it shuts down, all the power lights are on, the system has power, you can even see a slight back light (but the screen is dark/black), but we can’t get any sound or response from the keys…until we power down / up.
Thanks,
MomaT
February 24th, 2008 at 5:43 pm
Hi, I have an IBM T41 and have some problems with it. Whenever I run any game other than flash or shockwave, such as one that may require a bit of duty for the video card, the monitor shuts down, turns black without a back light at random times. This can happen 2 minutes after the game starts or 10 minutes. I can tell that the monitor is not the only thing that is being effected, if the game has a sound, the sound shuts off as well. The ActiveProtection is turned off, so it cant be the cause of the problem, the laptop does not have to be hot or cold, this can happen after running a cold start at the beginning of a cold day or after it has been on for a while. Also, I have to shut down the laptop with the button and it does not come back on right away, if I press power immediately to turn it on, the monitor remains black and the hard drive does not work. I have to usually wait 5 minutes If there are any suggestions, they would be appreciated.
January 30th, 2008 at 7:21 pm
I have a compaq laptop more than 2 yrs old, my wife installed a logitech webcam then after that our laptop keep on shutting down….I’m thinking it just maybe a corrupt file or something with the webcam software, or else bios system?….any of those is possible, am still trign to figure out
January 27th, 2008 at 8:50 pm
EOLS,
Could be heat related issue. Make sure the heatsink is clean, blow off the heatsink with compressed air and try again.
January 24th, 2008 at 3:42 am
Hi,I have a Compaq Evo N610C
I am trying to wipe the Hard Drive by using Blancco.
But it keeps switching off half way through
whereas if I dont attempt to wipe it and I just let it run
it stays on fine.
Any Ideas.
January 21st, 2008 at 5:56 am
I have the same problem…I have a Toshiba Satellite® P205D-S7436 and I was searching this topic today beacause it just happened. The backlight in the monitor still works it just freezes I guess. I tried to see if the keyboard still worked. I clicked the num lock button and saw would the light on the top turn on or off? It didn’t so I thought it just froze. The only thing you could do is restart it manually I think.
January 13th, 2008 at 12:33 am
I have a Compaq Evo N601c that is shutting it self off after using it for a while… I hear noise from the CPU fan, that sounds like a bearing going bad. then the screen flickers. After it makes this noise a couple of times and the screen flickers it just shuts off… I think I need a new CPU fan. Does anyone disagree or agree???
Thanks,
Karl
January 11th, 2008 at 6:08 am
Hello laptop freak,
My Toshiba laptop has been running great for the seven months I’ve had it, but now I have a slight issue. My screen will shut off, just as suggested in previous comments, while the rest of my computer runs. I tap on my touch pad and I just hear a noice like everything is locked and it won’t allow me to access it. I have no idea what to do. The only way to stop it is if I reboot, but then I have to go through the whole safe mode screen and all. Anyhelp would be much appreciated!Thanks so much.
December 14th, 2007 at 6:58 pm
Hi I think I have a similar problem as Lalit Gupta, when I using my laptop the screen suddenly does blank/black, I can’t see any thing, but the engine seems to be stil running. I made a record and found this only happens when:
1) Playing certain games, e.g. Civilization 4
2) When there seems to be a lot of activities in games, although not always true.
3) Probably not an overheating issue, laptop remains at normal temp.
4) My laptop is recently new, Dell XPS1330, Core Duo 2.2, with 2 gbit ram, and GeForce 8400GS graphics card.
I would greatly appreciate any help, many thanks in advance.
December 13th, 2007 at 1:33 pm
hey what-up man i have a problem with my laptop inspiron 6000 it about 1 yrs old just couple days ago i unplug my laptop from the back and it turns off right away i plug it back in and it works i don’t know what is wrong and i’am not too good with computers i google about the problem it said take out the battery start the laptop back up with out the battery then put the battery back in i guess it suppose to reset something but something happen because now it says battery fully charge and my battery light flashes but when i unplug it still turn off so battery still dont work can you help thanks man.
November 26th, 2007 at 11:15 am
To Barry,
The embedded wireless on the T41 will not work well with xp sp2. Don’t fight it, you’ll just pull your hair out. Buy a PCMCIA card.
November 8th, 2007 at 10:45 pm
Josh,
You can call the laptop manufacturer customer service and ask if you can purchase the recovery discs from them, it shouldn’t be very expensive.
By the way, what kind of error message you get? If it’s a missing NTLDR message, this tool can help to fix it.
November 8th, 2007 at 10:36 pm
Barry,
I think you are missing the wireless card drive. You can download this driver from the IBM (Lenovo) website.
November 7th, 2007 at 5:56 pm
I turned my lap top off the ‘wrong way’. I didn’t go to start, shut down. I just held down the power button.
And not when i turn it back on all i get is an error message.
and i dont have any cds or disks, everyone i ask says i need one that it came with. i dont have it, so what do i do?
October 29th, 2007 at 4:18 pm
I just got a IBM T41 and had to reformat the HD. I installed Win XP Pro which loads fine. I am told this model has “built in” wireless, but I cannot figure out how to access it. Do I have to reinstall something? Please help!! TIA
October 20th, 2007 at 12:15 pm
K,
Press on the power button and hold it down for a few seconds. The laptop will turn off.
Unplug the power adapter and remove the battery, then plug the power adapter and try turning it on.
October 20th, 2007 at 11:44 am
PLEASE HELP ME!
I went on my dad’s IBM Thinkpad, I just turned it on for a couple minutes and the computer suddenly went on standby by force and the screen is BLACK now.. i can not see anything
I can’t press anything and the computer wil NOT SHUT OFF
the fan keeps going! I’m so scared
annd i try to press all the keys on the keyboard and it only makes a beep sound
i can’t see anything on the screen and it won’t shut off in anyway!