Toshiba Satellite P30 and P35 laptops. Removing and cleaning heatsink to fix laptop overheat problem.
Overheating is a very common issue with Toshiba Satellite P30 and P35 laptops. If your laptop suddenly shuts down by itself and the bottom of the laptop base is very hot then most likely the laptop overheats. It happens because the heatsink gets completely clogged with lint and dust and doesn’t disperse the heat properly. Unfortunately, this model doesn’t have a hatch for an easy heatsink access. To remove and clean the heatsink the laptop has to be taken apart completely. Disassembly process is very similar to Toshiba Satellite A70 and A75 model. After you remove and clean the heatsink you should apply new thermal grease on the CPU, do not use old grease. You can buy thermal grease in any local computer shop or online. Artic Silver is a good brand.
If you are not sure that you can take apart the laptop, do not open the case. Try to clean the heatsink and cooling fans with compressed air first. Buy a can of compressed air and blow inside the openings on the bottom of the laptop. If the heatsink is not clogged completely, this measure might be enough to fix the laptop overheating problem.
Need spare parts for your laptop? Search here by the laptop model and part name or number.
August 9th, 2008 at 9:52 pm
hi frnds….i have been to all the steps of disassembly…
after doing all i checked , it it worked or not…it worked 2 times during disassembly…but after fixing everythin it didnt worked…
when i switch on the laptop just the green light in front and blue light of power is switched on…and the fans turn on for 10 seconds n then stops…
nothing happens after that….
pls help me regarding this….it is dead now….wat shud i do?????????????
April 2nd, 2008 at 11:04 pm
Ashley, it could really be a lot of things but since most errors are software (and hence easily repairable), I’d say the first thing you should do is try booting from a Bootable CDROM to see if it works. If it does, then there is a high probability that your problem is an OS booting error and you can fix that easily using the recovery disk provided or reinstalling your OS.
March 30th, 2008 at 6:03 pm
Hi there!
Greetings from South Carolina.
I have a Toshiba L25 Laptop. I cut it off one night before bed, then awoke to it not working. I tried everything I could think of. I took it to Geek Squad in Best Buy, they told me it could MAYBE be the mother board, but they’re unsure.. How reliable they are, huh? Well, I took it to another computer shop, they told me they’re not sure what it could be.. They’re just as reliable.. ANYHOW. My laptop will cut on, will go to the start up where the black screen comes up and says “Toshiba” it’ll act like it’s going to boot up, and then.. IT FREEZES.. It won’t let me do anything. I can cut it on and keep on hitting either F2 or F12 to bring up a boot menu option, but then it freezes after about 5 seconds.
Any advice?
March 25th, 2008 at 12:04 pm
Andrew… Soon you will get 2 black & white thick lines in the monitor so your 17 inch monitor will become 12″
March 13th, 2008 at 7:01 pm
hi there i have i toshiba p35 s6112 recently blue vetical line started to appear on the screen but now it appeasr permanently on the screen but only on half the screen not sure what has happened anyone has any ideas please let me know thanks . Andrew
January 17th, 2008 at 1:16 pm
I knew my P35 was overheating and the compressed air trick didn’t work. I wasn’t going to risk taking apart my laptop without some guide. Thanks alot for the instructions. It saved me a trip to the service center.
October 2nd, 2007 at 1:40 pm
I think the vacuum idea is a neater way to solve the overheating problem, because opening the laptop again and again is cumbersome and increasing the chances of problems.
As far as LCD problems, please see if its something wrong with the cable, my lcd would get greenish every now and then so I tried putting a little pressure on the lcd cable socket (using folded paper) near the keyboard and it fixed the problem. You might however want to get your cable replaced. For DIY instructions for messing with the lcd/cable etc.. for the P30/P35 look here : http://www.irisvista.com/tech/laptops/ToshibaM35X/Satellite-M35X-display-1.htm
July 25th, 2007 at 6:10 am
Hi,
My P35 has a display problem, but I don’t think the LCD is faulty. Sometimes the colors get blury or change hue. If I put a notepad under one of the front rubber feet the display will clear up. I’m thinking I might have a cold solder joint and twisting the base slightly will make it contact again. I was wondering if this was a common problem and where to look on the motherboard for the bad connection. My laptop was purchased in 06/05.
Thanks
Jon
July 20th, 2007 at 11:10 am
Hi, thanks for great advice on the overheating issue. My P30 wouldn’t last 10 minutes before turing off, all cleaned and works fine…. but, seems like I’ve also got a screen fault.. got a 3 inch thin red line at the top of the lcd…. oops
July 16th, 2007 at 1:16 pm
Dear Jeremy
Thanks for your email. My laptop had not overheating problum. motherboared has incorect voltage, so I need to checking to the motherboard power supply. Have somebody give me advise tips, also circuit diagram of power supply A 30 Toshiba laptop.
Thanks
Waseem
July 15th, 2007 at 10:09 am
I have an easier solution then taking the whole computer apart. I just powered off my P30, and sucked all the dust out backwards through the fan using a wide shop-vac hose. Then I used the output to blow air through the back of the unit using a smaller hose. Cycling between sucking and blowing eleminated my overheating problems without having to take the laptop apart. I’m going on about a year after cleaning it out using this method.
July 13th, 2007 at 1:32 pm
I am a tecnition, my custmer have a laptop toshiba modle no is A-30, there is supply fault in the motherboard. CPU is not take a loaqd. I tested the DC socket is ok also voltage is right,fuse is alright. Pleased tell me about that how can i tested properly tips voltage checking in the motherboard, also I wanted this modle diagram.
Thanks
Waseem
July 3rd, 2007 at 8:07 am
do anyone know where to find the clip to hold the flat lcd ribbon cable in place? i broke the 2 prongs on clip
June 29th, 2007 at 11:41 am
hello! great set of photo! it helped a lot. Thanks and keep sharing!
June 14th, 2007 at 6:14 pm
Hi, I have a toshiba satellite p35 overheating and turning off by itself more frequently every time. I’ve read all your advices about cleaning the loptop and want to know how to take it apart, I’ve tried taken all the screws on the back off but, still is not opening. Could you guide me in how to open this toshiba?
June 8th, 2007 at 7:57 pm
Hi, I was reading comments on toshiba p30 and I share most problems with everyone. My LCD has different color vertical lines all along and they keep appearing, so I supose I should change the screen but I wanted to know how long would a new one last if this only lasted a year?
May 20th, 2007 at 12:46 pm
Hi, I am from Italy!
The guide on Irisvista.com it’s fantastic! Now my laptop doesn’t get hot anymore!
Thank you all guys!
May 18th, 2007 at 12:03 pm
hi everybody, this laptop is on it’s way to my house and i wanted to know how often should i use the compressed air to clean it. once a week?, once a month? thanks
May 16th, 2007 at 9:55 am
Guys, my P35 is overheating. Fans aren’t dispensing the heat properly I suppose…I do’nt want to try taking it apart myself, as it seems pretty complicated, and I wouldn’t want to risk damaging anything or not assembling it properly again. How much do you suppose a shop would charge to take it apart and dust it out and clean off the fans? Is this the only source of overheating do you reckon? Dirty or clogged fans?
May 9th, 2007 at 12:48 pm
Having the same overheating/shutdown problem. Unit worked great for over a year. Taking it to a repair shop as I don’t wish to disassemble and have any leftover pieces
May 7th, 2007 at 10:44 pm
Kenshi,
The laptop “cannot see” the hard drive and trying boot from the network. Make sure the hard drive is properly connected to the motherboard. Reconnect the hard drive.
May 7th, 2007 at 8:54 pm
Hello,
I dissembled my toshiba satellite p30 laptop in order to clean out my fans and heatsink. However, when I boot it back up again, I get the following error message over and over:
For Realtek RTL8139(x)/8130/810x PCI Fast Ethernet Controller v2.13 (020326)
PXE-E61: Media test failure, check cable
PXE-M0F: Exiting PXE ROM.
Any ideas on what could potentially be wrong?
April 11th, 2007 at 10:30 am
Hi there
I got a problem with audio wheel I got it out of his place during a dissasembly. And now I don’t know how to put it back in place. Does someone of you got some expirience with this stuff? It looks like there is no place to put it and fix it in a proper place but it continue to unplug and I can not manage to make it work. Please help with some ideas…
Thanks
March 22nd, 2007 at 10:56 pm
Hi,
I have come troubles with my Tecra 9100.
The fan makes noise and hot.
I have opened and checkes the fan.But there is nothing to notice.
How can I fix the problem?
thanx
March 17th, 2007 at 8:03 pm
Gwen,
White – main and black – auxiliary.
March 17th, 2007 at 2:48 pm
Great Site!I took apart and cleaned my p35 and my problem is I dont know where the wires to the wi fi card
(black and white)one side says man.and the other says auto!How do they go?? Thanks Gwen
March 6th, 2007 at 4:13 am
Hi,
Thanks for the advise. After months of persistent involuntary shutdowns in the middle of poker hands
, I took my P30 down to my local Golf Club where they have a high power compressed air shoe cleaner. Blowing into the fan vents dislodged an unbelievable amount of dust and the laptop is now operating as new! A great solution and much cheaper than PC World!
February 27th, 2007 at 9:06 pm
I have a Toshiba satelite A85 that turns itself off after 10 minutes use. The fan makes a noise most of the time. it has been sent back under warranty and had a new fan put in. One month later the same problem. i see that there is a thread going regarding other models. Is anyone else having a problem with this model?
February 7th, 2007 at 5:15 pm
Hi, i just put my laptop together and now it keeps restarting. Any idea why?
January 23rd, 2007 at 10:14 am
I have some dirty pictures to add to anyone’s collection….The grills were really gummed up, after two years in a smoking, dusty location…..the maid quit.
So now, multitasking is quiet, and thermal shutdowns are somewhere in the far future, unless I set it on the bed, without thinking about the air flow. I have a TV dinner-tray that fits the footprint of the P35. So in bed, I set it in the tray, to allow for air flow…
Thanks for your excellent instructions, and pictures!