Hi gang!

For the past few months I have been having a right old problem with my notebook - a Toshiba P4 running XP. I turn it on with the power connected and it runs for about 1 hour, sometimes less. At this point it simply closes down - sparko, literally shuts down - not in a controlled manner either, it simply goes off, leaving me furios! I am busy doing this thread and cannot guarentee I will finish it!

I have AVG which did detect a virus but killed it - it was a trojan. Somewhere in the Java. I am pretty sure this is eliminated as AVG did not pick it anything up on the last scan. But it does keep happening! Could it be power or RAM related or heat related... btw I have 40 gig HD with 10 gig left.

Any ideas Joe Public?

Yikes in advance!

Big

After the first power-off, does it run ok for another hour or refuse to come back on until its cool?

alche,

refuses to come back on - dunno if this is temp. related though. I leave it a few days and it lets me back on! am i experiencing temp issues? it does tend to whuuur a bit whilst doing non-intensive stuff like just browsing etc.

I got similar problem...runs for a while (an hour or so) then switches off - leave it 5 mins with power plugged in it comes back - guess it is poor battery/power management.

If power is plugged in when first switch on it still does same but can run indefinatly after the 1st shutoff!

Odd.

Toshiba laptops are fairly well known for not lasting when used as desktop replacements. They are more for the occasional out and about use.

Originally posted by bigflesh
alche,

refuses to come back on - dunno if this is temp. related though. I leave it a few days and it lets me back on! am i experiencing temp issues? it does tend to whuuur a bit whilst doing non-intensive stuff like just browsing etc.


Best thing to try is:


When the machine dies next unplug from the mains.

Leave machine for 10-20 mins.

Plug machine in again.


If the machine works, then it is a thermal issue;).

Get a vacuum cleaner, and hoover out the air vents, this often helps the problem, and then see about getting it serviced, you'd be surprised at the amount of crap laptops pick up.

Joel

and run something to monitor the temperature, if you see it steadily rising until it shuts itself down then it's probably heat related.

Also ensure that you aren't using it on a soft surface, legs, duvet, carpet etc...

And as a test, see if it shuts down quicker when heavily loaded (ie run some game and see if it only takes 30 mins).

Originally posted by Lurch
Toshiba laptops are fairly well known for not lasting when used as desktop replacements. They are more for the occasional out and about use.

Toshiba P4 machines were well known for being excellent desktop replacements. I could give you the number of many field sales rep that used them for hours on end without any issues.

Do you have any suporting statements to the contrary?

Chances are this one is suffering from a bit of a clog around the vents and is over heating. thats not a hardware issue more of a maintenance / management one. (Just needs cleaning once in a while( which icidentally all laptop manuals suggest))

Originally posted by RazorSHarp
Do you have any suporting statements to the contrary?
Yep, I've got a worn out Toshiba laptop here that wasn't that old when it failed with motherboard problems. A company I used to work with supplied Toshiba laptops and we had quite a few back, mostly the ones that were being used as desktop replacements. These were mainly the later PIII's and earlier P4's so they may be better now but as they seemed to get no better in the 18 Months I spent replacing\repairing them I decided to avoid them as heavy use machines.

Toshiba laptops to AVOID AT ALL COSTS

Sat Pro 6000 and 6100

Tecra 9000 and 9100

They are the worst, if some one offers you one, run away!!

Gang, what can I say, an absolute applaudable response! I think this is a heat issue - tell u why, I have unplugged the power and am running on the battery on low power mode (50%) and have zero boot out issues and no whirring fans! In fact, my laptop is silent for web browsing whereas before I got a constant temperature cooling whurrr!

I have checked your responses and some g o o g l e y groups under a relevant search string and found that I should de-clog my heat sink, vents and fans of soot etc... Both this site and those group sites tend to agree that running on full power will attract the dust like babies to teletubby reruns.

Therefore, I will continue to run without mains until I can get the time to intervene my dust encounter. Note, the dust build is not visible on the outside so some internal tinkering is required - I shall handle with care.

Again - stupendous applause to you all.

Bigdust

It just so happens I've got a reconditioned Satellite Pro 6000 for sale at a..........


Wait............. come back..................

It just so happens I've got a reconditioned Satellite Pro 6000 for sale at a..........

:hihi: :hihi:

Hi all,

FEEDBACK - problem solved. After much scratching of heed, I decided to "go in". Rolling up my sleeves I placed said laptop into a deep sleep by removing power and battery. I opened her up from behind. Well from behind her exhaust vent, going straight for her fan. After gently removing her screws, I exposed her heatsink which was protruding outwards, hiding her processor. I gently removed the further 4 screws which neatly held her heatsink down over her processor. Removing a little bit of silver tape, I gently tugged her inards and seperated her heat sink to reaveal her cute little "P4" 2.8G Processor.

It was then apparent what her little overheating problem was... she had a think layer of dust (the domestic dryer variety) which must have been choking her exhaust up. Shaking my head from side to side, I remove the said cancer (which came out in one piece) from her and began giving her a series of sharp blows. After blowing her for some time, it became obvious that my deed was nearly complete.

Gently replacing her heatsink and screwing her down in all corners, being careful not to lose anything in her exposed cavity, I then replaced her panels.

After some time out and some thoughts of the procedure I had just undertaken, I carefully turned replaced her battery and began turning her on. After the usual XP startup screens, she loaded up wonderfully and purred like a new kitten.

3 days later and me and the laptop are again enjoying copious amounts of full power surfing, without her konking out halfway through!

Hope this thread has been of use!

Biggy

Anyone else aroused by that?

Originally posted by bigflesh
Hi all,

FEEDBACK - problem solved. After much scratching of heed, I decided to "go in". Rolling up my sleeves I placed said laptop into a deep sleep by removing power and battery. I opened her up from behind. Well from behind her exhaust vent, going straight for her fan. After gently removing her screws, I exposed her heatsink which was protruding outwards, hiding her processor. I gently removed the further 4 screws which neatly held her heatsink down over her processor. Removing a little bit of silver tape, I gently tugged her inards and seperated her heat sink to reaveal her cute little "P4" 2.8G Processor.

It was then apparent what her little overheating problem was... she had a think layer of dust (the domestic dryer variety) which must have been choking her exhaust up. Shaking my head from side to side, I remove the said cancer (which came out in one piece) from her and began giving her a series of sharp blows. After blowing her for some time, it became obvious that my deed was nearly complete.

Gently replacing her heatsink and screwing her down in all corners, being careful not to lose anything in her exposed cavity, I then replaced her panels.

After some time out and some thoughts of the procedure I had just undertaken, I carefully turned replaced her battery and began turning her on. After the usual XP startup screens, she loaded up wonderfully and purred like a new kitten.

3 days later and me and the laptop are again enjoying copious amounts of full power surfing, without her konking out halfway through!

Hope this thread has been of use!

Biggy

What (for the record) aroused by this?

Originally posted by bigflesh
What (for the record) aroused by this?

Er, I wasn't, I was just wondering, that was all. No need to look at me like that, I'm not a pervert.

Originally posted by Lurch
Er, I wasn't, I was just wondering, that was all. No need to look at me like that, I'm not a pervert.

OK