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General discussion

Spontaneous Powering Off Problem

Mar 28, 2005 10:47AM PST

Hello Everyone-
A Toshiba Satellite, 1.6GHz, P4, 256mb, DVD/CD-RW and 30gb HD with XP Pro just powers off without warning. It will come back on if you reboot the system. A new power cord was purchased to see if that was the problem, but it continued anyhow.

Any ideas. It is a far too new of a computer to not be able to get past this point.

Many thanks
Maria

Discussion is locked

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FYI
Mar 28, 2005 10:54AM PST

Ah, I forgot to mention that this laptop is out of warranty too.

Many thanks... again.
maria

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So, did you blow out the vents and such?
Mar 28, 2005 11:00AM PST

At one year, it is possible that dust or lint has accomulated or the CPU heatsink has lifted off the CPU.

Have you looked at these 2 areas?

In closing, how about spyware and such. What do you do?

Bob

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At Risk of Sounding ...
Mar 28, 2005 11:05AM PST

Hello and thank you for such a speedy reply.
At the risk of sounding foolish, what is a heat sink and how can I tell if he/she has lifted off of the cpu? Hey, I am a people ER nurse, but I do like to learn all the time. Already did the dust thing, run norton internet security, yahoo anti-spy and spyware blaster at present.

Mil grazie-
Maria

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Heat sink
Mar 28, 2005 1:21PM PST

The heat sink is a metal, finned attachment that sits on top of the processor to dissipate heat. If it becomes detached, it will not cool the processor efficiently and overheating can occur.

Does the laptop run on battery at all? Because if the battery no longer works, then a loose power connection on the motherboard could be a culprit here.

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Si, Signore...
Mar 29, 2005 7:02AM PST

Hello Ryan-
Thank you for the query. It does run on battery so the heat sink looks more probable since I have already done the cleaning routine. How would a heat sink issue be handled?

Mil grazie,
Maria

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Solo professionista
Mar 30, 2005 12:54AM PST

I would let a repair shop handle it. If you're not absolutely sure of what you're doing, I wouldn't monkey around inside the laptop.

To me though that seems like a very odd problem, and you'd probably feel the heat of the processor. For example, after you've been using it awhile, does it get very hot on top or bottom? Feel near the vents on the back and side.

I'd love for this to be a simple software issue for you . . . that would be easy and cheap to fix . . . but heat may be the problem.

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Pictures and more about the procedure.
Mar 28, 2005 7:57PM PST
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Mobmeter or Speedfan utilities
Mar 30, 2005 2:14AM PST

It is possible the issue is not thermal related. Google and download/run Mobmeter or speedfan these should both run on your lappy and are free. Pop in a DVD and run the utility to monitor the temps while doing so. If the CPU temp hits 85 C shut the computer off and look to the heatsink/fan assy to be the culprit. Toshibas have also been sent to us and have and do surface RAM slot solder joints, These can cause all of the above symptoms as well as intermittent boot issues, Video problems and such.. These guys know what they are doing but I'm just trying to offer other solutions if the problem is NOT thermal related. Good luck!
ken@ikenfixit.com