I just found out that my computer keeps overheating...It kept shutting down randomly, so I have a desk fan on it now, and it works fine. What should I do now? Is there dust and junk in it that just needs to be cleaned out or what? Thanks in advance...

Likely a nest of dust-bunnies in there. Take it apart and give it a thorough cleaning.

Took my old one apart a couple of years ago and found the little fan all plugged up with dust. A quick vacumm and a drop of penetrating oil on the shaft and she was good to go.

Most desktop puters have spots for more than one fan, you can go to like a Radio Shack and put in another or replace a bad one.

Its a Toshiba laptop...how hard/complicated is it to pull apart?

laptops can be a bear, your case fan probably croaked. I have a Compaq and I went online and found disassembly instructions when I needed to replace the screen. Just do a google search with make and model for the instructions. If you can't find any, try emailing a repair shop and most of the time they will tell you how. Good luck.

ok thanks GlockMan...I will see if I can find instructions online somewhere...I will probably wait till the end of the semester to do it...in case I screw something up, I'd rather not do it when all of my projects are due and I need my comp....Thanks again!

I'd check the coolant level first!

Just kidding. Go here: Contact Toshiba Tech Support (http://www.csd.toshiba.com/cgi-bin/tais/su/su_navShell.jsp?cf=su_contact.html&BV_SessionID=@@@@2033946107.1114095501@@@@&BV_EngineID=cccdaddegllmidjcgfkceghdgngdgmm.0)

Originally posted by zr580cat@Apr 21 2005, 08:56 AM
I'd check the coolant level first!

Just kidding. Go here: Contact Toshiba Tech Support (http://www.csd.toshiba.com/cgi-bin/tais/su/su_navShell.jsp?cf=su_contact.html&BV_SessionID=@@@@2033946107.1114095501@@@@&BV_EngineID=cccdaddegllmidjcgfkceghdgngdgmm.0)
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That reminds me of something that I told one of my friends. She was bringing her car in for an oil change and I told her to tell the mechanics to check her muffler belt and blinker fluid on her car. She told them and they about died from laughter :lmao: :lmao: :lmao:

As long as you are checking the muffler belt I would check the muffler bearings as well....

Told that to my girlfriend, said to tell her dad that he might want to check them sometime. He told her w/ a straight face that he would check them, but I couldnt stop laughing...

By the way...thanks for the link...

Sorry I never got back to you sooner I have been gone for a bit. I can’t look up any info on the unit as it is a US model and I am in Canada and the units are different. Can you hear the fan spinning? One thing that happens to them all the time is dust and dirt build up on the heat sink and it will make a wall out of dust not letting any of the hot air to blow out from he unit. The heat sink will look like a 5-month-old furnace filter. Take a flash light and shine it in the air grill. You should be able to see the heat sink. Look at it like you are looking into a tunnel and truing to see out the other side. Can you see anything? You might not to see it. If you are unsure and you think it is clogged you can try this. Turn the laptop off; remove the batt so it does not get turned on by mistake. You will need something long and skinny I have a dentist scrapper. Copper wire that you can bend and will hold a shape will work. Make a hook on one end and feed it down the heat sink till it stops and pull it slowly. Is their any dirt or gobs of dust hooked on it? If so keep doing it on ever-different fin of the heat sink. If the fan is not working you will need a new one. I always take it apart tot get the dirt out but I don’t think you should try that. It also might be the thermal compound is dried up and not transferring the heat from the CPU to the heat sink. Let me know how you make out.