HELP - My laptop keeps shutting down for no reason

Hi, Im new to this site and wondered if someone can diagnose a problem for me?

I have a Toshiba Satellite A30-514 laptop and recently it keeps on shutting down without warning, the fan kicks in (quite loudly) and then total loss of power. It comes back on as soon as i press the on button and it doesnt feel too hot. I would really appreciate somebody shedding some light on this for me.

Thanks :angel:

maybe

I don't know much about laptops, but on a desktop, those symptoms would lead me to suspect overheating, esp. the processor. Does your CPU have thermal sensing/protection? My P4 will shut the system down if it gets too hot.

That's just an idea- wait for someone with more laptop smarts to show up.

Welcome to Tech Spot!! :wave: :giddy: :grinthumb

Dust?

Worn fan dying? (Noisy and going too slow probably)

same prob, diff laptop.

Hi there, just had same problem today with my old Advent6480.
but i did have it apart lol.
fan works quietly and feels nie and cool, but the processor is overheating causing laptop to shutdown.
so if cooling fan is ok, what then?
seems like common prob, especially with a laptop with out of production parts.

I think that the heatsink compound might be a bit old and dry then.

thanks Dragon master , will try that and let you know.

Thanks Dragon Master.
the new heatsink compound worked a treat.
Amazing how simple the solution was.

You might also want to try flashing the bios to make sure you have the latest version ,,,,, that seem to take care of a lot of the problems with the Toshiba laptops that I have come across

Raven Master
http://www.hostraven.com

Glad it worked!

Should help, that's what I did with my 1910, fixed a big problem : Y2K support!

what does it look like??

What am i looking for maybe that would also solve my problem?? thanks...

thermal grease. Its a little tube of paste that you stick between the cpu and heatsink to help transfer heat away from the cpu.

hmm...

i dont know if thats the problem now.cause i moved this to the left and my laptop stayed on, but when in the other pos it turns on then shuts off. i only have that and this is not my pic, that heat silver thing i dont have i have something like this.

Not my pic the white thing i moved to the left. with a flat head screwdriver.
http://compreviews.about.com/library/graphics/DIY-CPU1.jpg


this is my heat fan thing
http://www.notebookparts.com/images/thumbnail/1X475_tn.jpg

Laptops are prone to overheating. I would first suspect dust accumulation. Get a couple cans of compressed air and blow out all of your vents.

My g/f had this same problem with her laptop it was a Inspiron 5600 or w/e from dell it would just randomly shut off for no reason and after about 1 month of this continueing it finally just made a squeak noise and the system crashed out and rebooted and it was the HDD burned out or something since installing a new one not one problem.

FYI i hate laptops no space and to hot I also hate Dell and hope there company burns to the ground

Hi- I am having the same issue with a emachines M6811-- what is heatsink, where do I get it and how do I use it?? I know nothing about computers and I can not bring it to a shop as I am in Germany and do not speak German!! Also, I do not think they have a place on post. Is this somehting that I can fix myself?? Thanks for the help--

System shutting down

Hello ya'll, I'm new to this forum today and seems I may have the same problem???? Laptop, Toshiba 5005-S504 running xp home just started shutting off too. Seems though that if I turn it on and just let it sit there without signing on, it wouldn't shut off. I can be on it for a few minutes or upon signing in, and it just shuts off. My battery doesn't show that it is full either so that may be one thing; although I took out the battery and took out the plug, both doing the same?? Any light to shed my way? Thanks alot, see ya'll soon.

your battery may not be holding a charge. Remove it and plug the computer in, if it does not shut off, then you have a bad battery and it should be recycled and replaced.

more help please

Taking out the battery does not help-- mine can be running fine for a few days, while plugged into the wall and suddenly for no reason it will sound like it is reving up and then it will shut down... what could this be?? I have an emachines M6811 by the way-- thanks for the help!!

defective mobe

If your laptop is working good for days then, suddently is crushing down, perhaps is something wrong with your mobo.

Check the mobo and let us know it the results.

Good Luck to you for the future.

When you say shutting down, you mean all the off or it goes into sleep mode? I have an older model Compaq that will do that, after several hours though, not days. I simply just press the power button again and everything is fine.