Toshiba laptop troubles

goldberry1goldberry1 Posts: 2,699
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Every now and then my laptop was making a noise like a stuck tape - then the screen went blank one day, the noise got worst and so I switched it off. When I next switched on a box came up saying everything was over - heating and to switch off. What is this likely to be and is it going to be expensive?

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  • radioman2radioman2 Posts: 1,562
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    Sounds to me like the cooling fan is either blocked with dust/hair or the bearings have failed.Fans are cheap but the labour isn't.Laptops are notorious for attracting dust and hair or pet hair and cleaning out the fan and heatsink can be hard given the design of more modern laptops.





    goldberry1 wrote: »
    Every now and then my laptop was making a noise like a stuck tape - then the screen went blank one day, the noise got worst and so I switched it off. When I next switched on a box came up saying everything was over - heating and to switch off. What is this likely to be and is it going to be expensive?
  • goldberry1goldberry1 Posts: 2,699
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    radioman2 wrote: »
    Sounds to me like the cooling fan is either blocked with dust/hair or the bearings have failed.Fans are cheap but the labour isn't.Laptops are notorious for attracting dust and hair or pet hair and cleaning out the fan and heatsink can be hard given the design of more modern laptops.


    I thought it must be the fan and have a cat who moults and am partial to biscuits so it wouldn't surprise me if the fan is clogged up - thanks, confirmed really what I was thinking it maybe was.
  • Knarf44Knarf44 Posts: 4,634
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    What's the exact model number?
  • StigStig Posts: 12,446
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    goldberry1 wrote: »
    I thought it must be the fan and have a cat who moults and am partial to biscuits so it wouldn't surprise me if the fan is clogged up - thanks, confirmed really what I was thinking it maybe was.

    The best cure for clogged fans is a can of compressed air. However, as most people don't have one you can blow hard into the air vents, and/or carefully use the nozzle of a vacuum cleaner.
  • radioman2radioman2 Posts: 1,562
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    Many Satellites have the processor situated in the middle of the system board and if there's too much crud on the heatsink and in the path which the air is supposed to travel along the only remedy is to whip the top off and give it a good going over. You might be able to clear it by removing the keyboard depending on the model concerned. I've done it twice on my old laptop which is still running like a dream after 6 years.



    Stig wrote: »
    The best cure for clogged fans is a can of compressed air. However, as most people don't have one you can blow hard into the air vents, and/or carefully use the nozzle of a vacuum cleaner.
  • jsmith99jsmith99 Posts: 20,382
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    One of the Toshiba modules being opened at startup should be the Toshiba PC Health Monitor. Open this and keep it open (though you can obviously minimise it).

    It'll show the CPU temperature and the fan speed, though only as a percentage of the maximum.
  • goldberry1goldberry1 Posts: 2,699
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    Knarf44 wrote: »
    What's the exact model number?

    toshiba satellite L500-1ZC
    serial - 3a544432k


    FYI - on my ******* old desk top now and it's driving me crazy:rolleyes:
  • Knarf44Knarf44 Posts: 4,634
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    Toshibas are well known for sucking in huge amounts of dust and for the fans to become clogged and fail.

    How confident would you be to strip it down and clean it the correct way? Using a vacuum cleaner on the side vents or blowing compressed air through it won't remove the blanket of dust lodged between the heatsink vanes and fan.

    With a basic set of small Phillips screwdrivers, a couple of plastic spudgers and a pair of tweezers, oh and some thermal paste all of which are available on Amazon pretty cheaply, you could resolve the problem easily yourself for minimal cost.

    Here's a link to a Youtube video showing the basic strip down procedure. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2AcFvd9qjc

    If you take your time, follow some basic precautions to avoid static electricity, keep yourself organised with all the screws you remove etc. Maybe even take digital photos of each stage to help you with the reassembly, it's not as difficult as you might think.

    If not, my experience of having worked in a repair shop in London is that they´d charge anything from 45-60 pounds.
  • LION8TIGERLION8TIGER Posts: 8,484
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    Here's a link to a Youtube video showing the basic strip down procedure.

    Very heavy handed with the thermal paste.
  • Mr DosMr Dos Posts: 3,637
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    LION8TIGER wrote: »
    Very heavy handed with the thermal paste.
    Good point. A 'grain of rice' is my guideline. Too much can act as an insulator and cause overheating. Also the paste may be electrically conductive, so any excess squeezed out onto the board would be disastrous.
  • goldberry1goldberry1 Posts: 2,699
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    A friend of a friend who repairs computers for a living is going to have a look at it and see what he can do, hopefully for a lesser price, or nothing for blowing it through - I wouldn't feel confident enough to open it up and have a go myself.

    Thanks all of you for your replies. :)
  • solwaysolway Posts: 2,132
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    does anybody have a number for UK Toshiba customer service, the website is like wading through traeacle and I can't see it anywhere
  • LION8TIGERLION8TIGER Posts: 8,484
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    solway wrote: »
    does anybody have a number for UK Toshiba customer service, the website is like wading through traeacle and I can't see it anywhere
    Tel: (01932) 84-1600

    http://www.toshiba.co.uk/innovation/generic/contact-us/
  • Si_CreweSi_Crewe Posts: 40,202
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    Must say, I'm not a great fan of trying to dislodge crud with air-blowers.

    Oten crud includes hair and it gets physically tangled around components, dead skin cells contain oil which builds up and coats things in a way that won't easily be moved and,at best you often just dislodge things from places where they've settled and they cause more problems.

    Far better, when possible, to pull the PC apart and try and fish crud out with a toothpick or a q-tip IMO.
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