Toshiba laptop guidance please:)

[evadgib]

Hi All,

I'm a non Techie so forgive me if this sounds a bit vague;

An elderly relative in UK purchased a Toshiba laptop around 3 years ago & uses it for basic emails & the odd skype call. In the last few months the computer has taken to shutting itself down unexpectedly, giving a warning along the lines of "necessary to protect the computer". Am I right in assuming this can be fixed by a routine internal service & change of memory or is it something more sinister?

The computer had McAfee but I changed this to Zonealarm during a recent visit. No probs were detected during a deep scan after the change or since. Its running Windows 7, IE, Outlook & Google chrome.

[HeavyDrinker]

Start with malwarebytes which though free offers an amazingly good clean.

Most antivirus companies only offer a year-by-year deal nowadays (at a fair price) so it's possible your relative's defence is way out of date.

[evadgib]

Thanks, The McAfee had indeed waned due to user error, despite being a "paid for" product which is why I installed ZA using my own licence/settings.

[HeavyDrinker]

It still sounds like a malware issue. I can't see what else would close down the computer to protect it unless it was malware trying to avoid being wiped...

I'm reluctant to advise using some of the deep delving malware removers around as they can do more harm than good unless you're an advanced user so get your relative to try a system restore to the earliest possible date as a first step and see how that works.

[IBoldnewguy]

Thanks, The McAfee had indeed waned due to user error, despite being a "paid for" product which is why I installed ZA using my own licence/settings.

Does your relative know how to do basic maintenance plus run the built in diagnostic tools. If not, your relative should take it to a reliable shop to be tuned up and cleaned - closing down can be that its running too hot - a shop would open it up and blow out the dust plus check the fans and run diagnostics on the memory, etc. Computers are not maintenance free devices plus one does not need to be a techy to learn how to do basics any more than you have to be a mechanic to check the fluids on your auto. Which reminds me........need...

[aarn]

Toshiba laptops come with a lot of bloatware that is really annoying, and an ideal target for malware + viruses. But they have a reasonable fail-safe mechanism if things go pear-shape.

As Iboldnewguy says <your relative should take it to a reliable shop to be tuned up and cleaned> unless your relative is up to the task.

There should be a restoration partition present. Google the model number (eg. mine is a Tosh. NB 305) to verify that.

You can do a full reinstall by holding down the 0 (zero) key before powering on, you may have to hold this down for 5+ minutes until you get into the dialogue box to start reinstall/restoration.

It takes some hours, and will require an active www. connection to get security updates. Then you can go through and cleanout all the bloatware. Then google 'how to make windows run faster' and stop all those silly services that turns your machine into a 'dozer. Cheers, AA

[Jiu-Jitsu]

Honestly, what is all this about Malware? It's probably a problem with a rogue Driver.. In fact it's probably written on the Blue Screen as to which process is affected. Probably too late for a System Restore if it's been happening for months. Back up and Restore as above is one option.

[dddave]

I had a Toshiba notebook purchased in 2005 and after less than a years use began doing the same thing; unexpectedly shutting down. Turned out to be a heat issue and a thorough inside cleaning along with the addition of some heat dissipation paste cured the problem. The next year when I could tell it was getting dangerously warm again I tried to do the cleaning myself but could not successfully open the case so again I paid for it. The technician said that the Toshiba design was poor and had many areas near the cooling fan where dust collected and compacted, thus blocking efficient air-flow.

[Dork]

An easy solution for cleaning the dust out of a laptop which doesn't require disassembly is to use a household vacuum cleaner. Place the suction pipe over the air vents and make as good a seal as you can with your hands.

Download a utility like HWMonitor ( http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/hwmonitor.html ), run it before and afterwards and you will be able to see whether it has worked.

[evadgib]

Thanks everyone, I'll pass these tips on:)

[carken]

I have a Toshiba Qosmio G25-AV513 laptop.

Kept shutting down

Turned out to be heat due to a bad fan

[Jiu-Jitsu]

Did you use the McAfee Removal Tool to get rid of McAfee? Do so. ZoneAlarm? Get rid.

[evadgib]

I've had Zone Alarm for 6-8 years & found it to be very good.