Hardware Analysis - Toshiba A75 turns off randomly, both during normal windows ops, gameplay, and bootup.

Re: Toshiba A75 turns off randomly, both during normal windows ops, gameplay, and bootup.

Russell Julin — 2008-04-13T05:40:23-05:00

I have a Toshiba A75-S211 and I like everyone who has used this model have a cooling problem particularly the fans on the bottom of the computer act like vacuums & the fins on the heat sink attached to the processor get clogged and cause sporadic shutdowns as a safety feature when the processor overheats. This is brings me to an idea I'm looking for input on. What if I were to reverse the polarity on the fans so if I'm thinking correctly the same volume of cooling air would flow through the heat sinks and do the same job however the the clogging of the vents would happen on the rear of the unit where it would be a heck of a lot easier to clean with a Q-Tip and / or a can of air, rather then having to tear down the whole unit just to get in between the fan and the heat sink, where you would use a Q-Tip and can of air. If there is anyone who can give me good reason not to try this let me know?

Thanks

Russell

Re: Toshiba A75 turns off randomly, both during normal windows ops, gameplay, and bootup.

Ken Doty — 2008-01-21T21:02:56-05:00

Trust me on this...

Yes, these computers have an overheating problem (poor design) and I have had this problem.
Yes, these computers have a static electricity problem (poor design) and I have had this problem.

When I first noticed that my computer would freeze up / shut down, I thought that it very strange that it would only happen at a vacation home in the Sierras (of California). This is at a ski resort, so the temperatures in the home can be quite cool and the computer was not running hot. So, scratch that problem. We used central air, a wood stove, and clothing that all combine to create a a large amount of electricity. Fun when you want to shock your ski bud's nose, not fun when you want to use these computers.

The static electricity problem is worse. You can do things to keep it cool (clean the heat sink, maintain the fans, use coolers, etc.). You can not do anything to help with the static electricity problem. Once it starts acting up, it gets progressively worse (I guess the static electricity keeps building up) and the only solution is to take it out of the environment that has all the static electricity. In my case, home. So, my "portable" computer was useless to me when I was on vacation.

I purchased the extended warranty for this when I purchased it from Best Buy. I turned it in for repairs 6 times. Once they replaced one of the fans and cleaned the heat sink. So, this was an overheating problem. Once, the cleaned it again and replaced bad RAM. The next 3 times they cleaned it again, even though I told them about the static electricity problem. The sixth time, I told them I didn't want it back, and to junk it out since the extended warranty has a no lemon clause (they have 3 chances to fix, I gave them 5). Kudos to BB - they took care of me and gave me a credit for a new computer. I got an HP.

My advice - get the static electricity problem fix, as you likely have both problems,

Re: Toshiba A75 turns off randomly, both during normal windows ops, gameplay, and bootup.

William Partin — 2007-12-23T22:49:14-05:00

your heat sink fins are clogged up with dust!!! google toshiba how to repair your computer,and there is a website that will show you how to take the base apart and clean them.I have had the same problem,and cleaned them myself.good luck.

Re: Toshiba A75 turns off randomly, both during normal windows ops, gameplay, and bootup.

Roberto Stasi — 2007-03-20T00:54:39-05:00

First of all, just for the fun of it, since someone said that Toshiba is evil I suggest you think intensely of the Virgin Mary so you clean up any ghost activity. (-:
If your computer is like mine, I have an A70, check that both fans are turning. The first fan on the outer edge of the chassis on you right side, looking from the top is where the processor is. There is a problem on the motherboard and one fan slowly degrades in performance and then it stops turning. I suspect it's a bad thermostat signal on the circuit where that fan is connected. Since I send it in for repair and they still don't seam to recognize this type of issue and they brought it back to me fixing the static problem issue and the power connector issue, than I decided to fix it myself. My warranty is over so I took the non working fan and connected in parallel to the second working fan of the liquid cooled hot sink. Now they both work at same speed, same time, they are silent and the issue is resolved. Toshiba should acknoledge such an issue and act accordingly. When they fix computers they should run games and processor intensive apps to make sure it pass the heat test. My computer now never heats up and it's confortable on my legs and runs any game. The shut down problem is over. Ohh yes! And Mary came to me in a dream and told me I did a good job. (-;

Re: Toshiba A70-75 turns off randomly, both during normal windows ops, gameplay, and bootup.

Aaron Bution — 2006-09-23T17:29:43-05:00

I have a A70 laptop and it has those same problems. And to let every body know its acually just the battery connection in the back off the laptop, what happens is the power unit doesnt get connected with the board so no connection, though i love this modle because of the capability and raw power, it still makes me mad that these problems occur. just to let you guys know over heating should not occur because laptops a made to run cool, the only way it could overheat is if the fans are blocked of you have it on a non hard surface or to much dust gets sucked up by the fans.

Aaron,
Computer specilist

Re: Toshiba A75 turns off randomly, both during normal windows ops, gameplay, and bootup.

Darryl Spears — 2006-08-23T19:34:23-05:00

I recently replaced a screen in a A75-S2112. Very similar to the m35x series, but I think it's relevent to this discussion. The same stuff was happening: the entire machine would shut off. I took it apart and cleaned the heatsink out before I came to a reality check. This particular machine did not cut off as described while the AC power was connected. Further experimentation revealed that if I put pressure on the right side of the trackpoint device that it would cause the machine to cut off everytime. The battery would only charge about half the time on this unit. Since the unit ran fine on AC power, I didn't pursue the issue any further. Do you guys think I had a bad battery or was it a loose connection on the charging system? I think Toshiba has some serious quality control issues. I repair about one a month. Mostly screens, loose connections and failed drives, though. I'm new to this forum. Go easy....

contacting me

R Warner — 2006-03-14T12:08:18-05:00

There has been an expected turn of events. My father was killed in a car accident Friday evening. I will not be able to help with laptop issues for a while. I will keep your e-mail and get back to you when I can. I will do so as soon as possible as I will need some diversion, but for now I have an overwhelming task ahead of me.

In the future, please be sure to send all correspondance to rwarner911@adelphia.net I will not be checking the forum often.

Sincerely,
Randy

Toshiba repaired the problem for me

Marc Petersen — 2006-03-13T00:38:58-05:00

My A75 had the static freeze problem, and also the sound problem (would sometimes boot up with no sound and the speaker icon would be greyed out). After reading the info on this site I called Toshiba support, they shipped me a box and pre-paid shipping labels. I shipped them my laptop, and received it back within one week. From the paperwork it appears they replaced the system board and did a "top cover upgrade" (I assume to fix the static problem). Everything seems to be working fine now. My laptop was still under warranty so luckily I didn't pay anything for the fix.

Re: Toshiba A75 turns off randomly, both during normal windows ops, gameplay, and bootup.

Michael Lee — 2006-03-10T22:30:02-05:00

Hello People,

I had the same problem you all had with my Toshiba A75 S229, freezind up, random shut downs. From reading all these boards it looks like most like it is an overheating problems. Please see this site if you want to fix it yourself...it is the best I have found after hours of searching on the NET...PEACE

http://www.irisvista.com/tech/laptops/ToshibaA75/satA75_1.htm

Please read the forum posts at http://www.hardwareanalysis.com/content/topic/38964/

R Warner — 2006-02-18T04:31:58-05:00

Please read the forum posts at http://www.hardwareanalysis.com/content/topic/38964/

It may be the same problem, but with a different model. I can repair the problem for you if it is the same as with the A75-S226. The details are on the forum. I am also working on a class action against Toshiba for the defect.

Randy Warner

Re: Toshiba A75 turns off randomly, both during normal windows ops, gameplay, and bootup.

Stephen Rayburn — 2006-02-16T13:01:13-05:00

Glad to see Toshiba is bending a little towards it's customers! =)\

You don't need carpet to clog the heatsink fins up, dry skin, pets, even dust, will get it started.

On the static issue, that's the top plastic cover that the keyboard sits on, there should be a semi-lucid plastic (anti-static) sheet with parts visible with the keyboard off. If it isn't visible, Toshiba has a bulletin on it, and should be compelled to cover it, even if out of warranty.

To the prior post about engineers knowing how to design cooling systems....That's Theory, as a former Mech-E myself, I know everything is drafted on paper; practical application and acceptable loss for these laptops are computed later, after they ship. Some models are much better than others as far as design, however I might point out, that like the A75 units, there's a few Toshiba models on the market that evidence similar issues.

I hope the above helps!

Re: Toshiba A75 turns off randomly, both during normal windows ops, gameplay, and bootup.

chris grotewohl — 2006-02-16T03:35:43-05:00

Same problem here with static and weak power jack. I've had the A75 apart twice and will doit one more time to put a new DC jack on the board. The static, I removed he cheap gounding foil completely grounding the speakers. I decided after looking it wasn't needed. I painted the speaker covers and installed. No static problem anymore. I hated tearing into it but said the hell with it. Honestly, if your careful and systematic it's pretty easy.
Becareful pulling the ribbons out of the connectors, they are locked in. Good luck with these miserable things, CG

Re: Toshiba A75 turns off randomly, both during normal windows ops, gameplay, and bootup.

john wayne — 2006-02-15T03:10:12-05:00

Just felt compelled to share a toshiba saga i had recently.
I own a toshiba a70 which has had numerous problems over the last 18 months.
I had the cooling module and battery connection port replaced under warranty, which took 4 weeks! Battery connection port got fixed however in my opinion overheating issues were still unresolved!
I have had constant overheating, and static electricity issues, which reading most of the forums seems commonplace enough, over the course of this laptops existence. I am talking about the machine locking up 6 or 7 times a day. And I live in Australia and don't work or live near any carpet!!!
Then about 4 months out of warranty the whole machine seizes up and won't boot into the bios or windows!
I take it to an authorised toshiba service centre and they tell me they suspect there is a problem with the graphics card, which as it is shared could mean the main board needs replacing.
Anyway to cut a long and increasingly frustrating story a little shorter, there is a cue on all toshiba a70's and the like to replace the upper logic panel anytime they go in for repair. So the service centre orders one of those in and it doesn't fix the problem. So they then inform me that as the main board is out of warranty at a cost of about Aus$1100 I can have it fixed.
At this stage I decided to take on toshiba myself so I got all the details and contacted the customer relations team after doing a little homework on the net.
It turns out that there is a class action going on in the states against toshiba!
After informing them of my ordeals and pointing out the class action they finally decided to replace everyting under warranty as a once off goodwill!!!
So after 7 weeks I have my toshiba back with a new upper logic panel and main board, the heating issues appear better( for now) and the static problem is over although I occasionally get the odd mild electric shock from the right speaker!

Re: Toshiba A75 turns off randomly, both during normal windows ops, gameplay, and bootup.

Tom LaRocca — 2006-01-21T12:17:53-05:00

I had the same problem as everyone else with this computer. Turning off, not rebooting, ect. This is my fix.
I turned over the computer and on the bottom you can see 2 fans. I took my vacuum cleaner hose, cupped my hand around it to enhance the vacuum and put it on the fan. I moved my hand that was wrapped around the hose until the fan spun from the vacuum. Dust was drawn to the grill cover that is over the fan where I was able to pick out a lot of it with a tweezer. The rest of the dirt was drawn in by the vacuum. I did the next fan the same way, started the computer up and have had no problems anymore . The best thing is that you do not have to take anything apart.

I also notice that the fans don't run as much and they stay more in the quiet mode.

Tom

Re: Toshiba A75 turns off randomly, both during normal windows ops, gameplay, and bootup.

Stephen Rayburn — 2006-01-09T13:20:38-05:00

I manage an ASP (Sarcom.com), and I see this issue a LOT. Just a thought here.

Has anyone bothered to spray out the heatsinks with compressed air from from the BACK (not bottom) of the unit with the WiFi door off?

Toshiba has a crappy heatsink/cooling design on the A70-A75 Units, the fans underneath act like little vacuum cleaners, suck in ANY thing, and clog of the heatsinks from the INSIDE of the unit so that heat cannot be transferred out and away via hot air, it just stays in the unit.

It's a dirty little secret that Toshiba isn't really allowed to tell their customers, however one can of compressed air and blowing out both heatsinks (there is a recessed one if you look) fixes this (shutdowns, overheating, random reboot).

This type of cleaning is covered under warranty as well, so if you want the unit disassembled and cleaned, it's a good bet to take it to a Depot for this.

Of course, there's been a few BIOS revisions on this model, keep up on that, it's amazing what that fixes...

I hope that this helps.