Toshiba Satellite A10 shutting down

[kal361]

My Toshiba Satellite A10-S177 Laptop with a Pentium 4 Processor that is 2.2Ghz and 1 GB RAM started having a problem of shutting down without warning. Shortly before this problem started, the CPU cooling fan started to make some noise. After it shutdown, I opened the computer and removed the cooling fan, cleaned the heat sink, fan and sprayed a little silicone on the fan motor. Reinstalled the fan and powered up the computer without any more problems. The computer ran without incident for several days and then shutdown again even though the fan seemed to be running normally.
That did it, new fan on order and while I was at it upgraded RAM from 512MB to 1GB. With the new fan, removed the heat sink, cleaned the old thermal compound from the CPU, thoroughly cleaned the heat sink and put everything back together using Arctic Silver 5 on the CPU. The computer powered up and ran for about 15 minutes and shutdown. I removed the heat sink again to check that it was making good contact with the CPU and it looked OK. Reassembled and powered up the computer again. This time it ran for 1½ days before shutting down. During this time I monitored the discharge air temp from the cooling fan and it was approximately 37°C but the CPU and heat sink were a bit warmer. I could put my finger on them and not get burned so I’m not sure just how hot a CPU gets before shutting down. Now, I can’t keep the computer running long enough to download software to monitor the CPU temp.
I have attempted to check the BIOS, but the computer shutdown before I could finish copying the information. I really don’t have a thorough understanding of just what I am looking for here.
Can anyone give some advice as to what should be my next step and what could be the root cause of this problem? I should mention that I do not have any stop messages or error warnings either before or after it shuts down.
Kal361

 

[Tmagic650]

Does it still shut down with the battery removed, and only using the AC adapter?

 

[kal361]

Toshiba Satellite A10 Shutting down.

I have never tried using the computer without the battery in place. Always use the AC adapter whenever it is available.
I took it to a computer shop and was informed I had two possibilities-1. bad cooling fan. 2. bad motherboard. Any comments on this...
When the computer starts up, the cooling fan does not start immediately. Is this normal? I can keep the computer up and running normally by blowing cool air on the CPU to keep it cool.

 

[Tmagic650]

The motherboard was probably damaged before you worked on the fan in the first place. It is the motherboard I'm afraid

 

[kristain]

Hi,

System Restore tool provided on Toshiba Satellite A10 laptop can help you to restore the system to an earlier date. The sudden shut down problem may occur if some important system files are missing. System Restore makes use of the backup copies of important files in the restore point to replace faulty ones that are causing the sudden shut down problem. Restoring the system to an earlier trouble free time will help get rid of the sudden shut down issue in Toshiba Satellite A10 laptop.

 

[kal361]

Thanks to all that have replied. I am presently on a trip and have left my laptop behind due to its unreliablity. I will pick up on these suggestions when I return.

 

[nfiniti9]

Hi,

System Restore tool provided on Toshiba Satellite A10 laptop can help you to restore the system to an earlier date. The sudden shut down problem may occur if some important system files are missing. System Restore makes use of the backup copies of important files in the restore point to replace faulty ones that are causing the sudden shut down problem. Restoring the system to an earlier trouble free time will help get rid of the sudden shut down issue in Toshiba Satellite A10 laptop.

Not really. if the system is shutting down, not rebooting then its doing it to protect itself either from a voltage problem or heat.