My Toshiba is dying help...

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dacflyer
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My Toshiba is dying help...

Post by dacflyer »

i have a toshiba p755 series satelite.
it's randomly shutting down,, virus scanner doesn't show anything.
and now today, it seems to be running really slow..
Is my MB dying ?
the fan is running,, not clogged.. so it's not overheating..or at least it doesn't seem like it..
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CeaSaR
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Re: My Toshiba is dying help...

Post by CeaSaR »

Just a bit of perspective.

This is what, almost 10 years old, running Win7?
How hard has it been used?
Have you ever reseated any of the connectors?
Is it running on just the power supply or have you been able to consistently be able to replace/rebuild the battery?
HDD health and free space, has it been defrag'd?

Could be lots of things, but I'd start with age related things first.

Lastly, do you have a backup of your data?
Hey, what do I know?
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dacflyer
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Re: My Toshiba is dying help...

Post by dacflyer »

sadly haven't backed up in a while, i never could get everything to be saved..like documents, passwords, history etc.
seems like it just saves mostly windows related things..

As far as the battery is concerned, it's been replaced before, and it still holds a good charge..it's on charger most of the time, it stays in one spot,, i blow it out every few months.
I haven't taken anything apart yet.
sometimes when it quits, it tries to reboot on it's own..sometimes it acts like you hit he power button and shut it down.
I can't get it to consistently fail.. today i was able to use it for over 30 min the screen brightness turned all the way down..but it was running really slow.
i tried a few things and i did a benchmark test and it showed that my graphics card ( it has no card,, it's all onboard you know..)
but it was showing to be running really slow ..
I decided to buy a used MB off of ebay.. I'm almost sure the MB is failing..
I had a PC fail the same way before..when i checked, all the caps around the CPU were bulged.
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CeaSaR
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Re: My Toshiba is dying help...

Post by CeaSaR »

If you can download and put process-explorer onto a USB stick, try to run it. No install needed as it is a standalone program. It's like Task Manager on steriods. I've been using it for years, from Win98 on up. That will at least give you a really good look at all programs and services that are running, and what may potentially be a problem. And if you can, make sure you go in and make a restore disk., then pull off as much important data as possible.

At that point, I hope you have a spare drive to replace the one in the laptop due to it's age, just in case. You can clone/mirror it.
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dacflyer
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Re: My Toshiba is dying help...

Post by dacflyer »

Thanks,, I'm pretty sure the HD is fine..It is not the OEM HD
I have a replacement board on the way..
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Externet
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Re: My Toshiba is dying help...

Post by Externet »

It is not the wonderful clean internet of the nineties any more.
Every web site wants control of your screen and never stop pumping garbage clogging your storage, processing and patience. But they demand to visit their sites pushing acceptance of terms. But we users cannot set our demand terms for them not to disable our equipment with their intrusions.
Google being the worst offender; in the frying pan soon. Hope things will get just.
-Smile, tomorrow will be worse-

Try shutting power off and removing laptop batteries overnight and restart in the morning. Can be surprising !
- Abolish the deciBel ! -
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Re: My Toshiba is dying help...

Post by Janitor Tzap »

Hmmm........

The biggest problem with most laptops for the past 20 odd years, is the HeatSink and Fan assembly.

Since Laptops get bumped and jostled around.
This can loosen, or break the bond of the CPU Paste that goes between the Processor and HeatSink.
Thus, It is no longer transferring the heat away from the CPU as well as it did.
So, the Processor will over heat, and possibly die.

Intel started incorporating a temperature circuit inside a lot of they're Processors.
That will throttle back the CPU when a a certain temp is exceeded, so you can do a controlled shut down.
But the older Processors will just shut down immediately.

So, I'd check if your HeatSink has come loose first.
You may want too "Lap" the contact side of the HeatSink, to improve the heat transfer.

Here's a tear down video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zablv1vS1CI


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dacflyer
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Re: My Toshiba is dying help...

Post by dacflyer »

ok,, here's some more info.. just for shits n giggles.
the laptop has been sitting for almost a week now. no power.
today it starts up..hasn't shut down yet.
But I think i have another issue that i think / hope is a coincidence.
For about the last 3 or 4 days i started getting these emails in my KNOWN SPAM FOLDER ( earthlink web mail )
mail from a FRANK SMITH - Subject. I BEEN RECORDING YOU. Well, i didn't pay it any mind, just select them all and delete.
they came back again, several of the same emails. same thing.. i selected all and deleted.
I got tired of it and contacted my web mail ISP, i asked how i can block this email, and keep it from coming back all the time.
I told them i didn't want to open it in case it is malicious. the lady said i could open it,, just do not reply or open any links ( this i knew not to do )
anyway i opened it and read it. and it's is a extortion letter basically.. threatening ransomware if i do not pay the fee in 3 days...the ransomware will be activated. and that the sender can tell that i read the email. So here i am panicing some and told the lady what can i do.?
she said that she will submit this to the authorities and the email will be blocked from me.
She suggested that i contact my antivirus ( Avast ) and have then scan deeper to see if there is something hidden..
I called then, they looked at things and did a few modified settings for me.. but they said they couldn't find anything either.
So this makes me feel a little better.
But, I'm still worried..because in the letter it showed one of my passwords I've used. But there's no indication of where he may have got it from,
My laptop ?, sites that got hacked ? I do have a firewall up..

I'm really hoping that my laptop failures are not related to this ransomware that i am told that i do not have.
I hope the newer MB comes in soon..

Can anyone recommend a good legit tool to test hard drive health ? freebie maybe ?
or a tool that can test the MB and cpu ?

I never thought that things like this could stress me as much as it has..
MB failing and Ransomware threats / extortion .

Someone tell me something to make me feel more at ease.
Thanks
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Janitor Tzap
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Re: My Toshiba is dying help...

Post by Janitor Tzap »

I've had some attacks that make you think your computer has been compromised.
These are normally attempts to get you to respond, so that they can get they're spyware on to your machine.
Though, I have had attacks where the website had been hacked, and several of the "Buttons" had been "Click Jacked".
Thus, you get diverted to some fake site, that installs a keylogger on your machine. :(
When I realized what happened.
I'd use the "BACK Button" on Firefox, or I just close out Firefox(X Button) to get out of the Web Page.
Then I will Click on the "History Button" {If I just backed out to the previous web page}.
Scroll down to Click on "Clear Recent History".

I also run CCleaner after I get out of Firefox, to do a through clean up of temp, and caching files.
Yes, by cleaning out your website caching, and temp files, it will slow down how fast some Web Pages will load.
But, these are where a lot of these nasty's will hide.
So, it is a good Idea to do a clean up of them, once or twice a week.
Here's where you can get the free version of CCleaner.
https://www.ccleaner.com/ccleaner/download

As for HDD Testing......
I suggest SpeedFan.
https://www.techspot.com/downloads/547-speedfan.html
It has a nice HDD Testing feature that will check the condition of your Drive(s).
Plus, it can do a through testing of your HDD with an online test.
Giving you some idea of the drive's condition.

CHANGE YOUR PASSWORDS!
{If you haven't already.}

Make the Password hard for someone to guess.
Use Strange, or odd characters, plus numbers, and letters{Regular or Capitalized}.
Example: ?!@#$^&()+-_=/><:;"'{}[]|\`~0123456789aAbBcC

Or as some web security companies are saying.
Make the Password a Phrase.
Example: "Hal, open the Pod Bay Doors." :lol:

Hell Yeah, I'm Paranoid!
But it doesn't mean that their still not out to get me!


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Lenp
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Re: My Toshiba is dying help...

Post by Lenp »

Just a tip...

First if you panic, you loose control, and that's exactly what the bad guys want!

If you use Thunderbird, and maybe other email clients, they have a 'View' option that allows you to look behind the email visible text. I also get a spam score from my mail server. When I look at the email addresses, I know pretty quick if it's rubbish or not since it's not even close to legit. It may be something like ..[email protected].!
Just dump it or forward it to the security address for the imitated business.

If you're stuck in a attack that grabs control,like those extortion scares, go to Task Manager (Alt-Ctrl-Del) and open the running application tab then shut the bugger down. Works well for those siren and horn alarms scare B.S.

Last resort, just show them who's the boss. Power down, and for a laptop, take out the battery if possible.
Restart in 'Safe Mode' and run the AV software you like best. Be prepared to restore to a previously know good date.

''The most imortant backup ... is the one you didn't make!'' :shock:
Len

“To invent, you need a good imagination and a big pile of junk.” (T. Edison)
"I must be on the way to success since I already have the junk". (Me)
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Externet
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Re: My Toshiba is dying help...

Post by Externet »

"Someone tell me something to make me feel more at ease." --- Not easy :???:

Am afraid your mainboard will arrive; you will perform a lot of risky surgery; and if everything ends well, the problem will remain. Because the offender lives in the hard drive.
Had to deal with a ransomware once maaany years ago. Was very difficult to cure. Deleted many things that were part of the operative system; later had to reconstruct the OS to restore functionality. It was Windows. Now been on Linux since 2005, that ransomware was one of the multiple reasons to migrate.
Search about the terms in your offending email, will provide clues to cure.

This thing about doing back-ups I take it differently. I used to keep an exact copy of the hard drive when everything worked healthy in a drawer. Trouble? --replace the entire drive- add the files, programs, data kept somewhere else.
When back to normal, erase/format the sick drive and turn it into your next 'insurance' clone drive resting in your drawer.

With Linux; I do not update the OS. I shovel in another hard drive, erase and load the new one. The older hard drive version with everything on it lives in a drawer, always ready to return to if trouble strikes.
- Abolish the deciBel ! -
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Janitor Tzap
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Re: My Toshiba is dying help...

Post by Janitor Tzap »

Hmmm.........

You guy's gave me an idea on how to test Dac's Laptop, too see if there is actually some kind of spyware/ransomware on the Hard drive.
Or if the Main Board Processor is dying.

Run the Laptop off of a "Live CD/USB Stick of Linux"
Here's a site for making one.
https://www.pendrivelinux.com/create-yo ... tribution/

Use the Live CD/USB stick of Linux to boot up the Laptop from, instead of the Hard Drive.
Thus, your bypassing the Windows OS on the HDD.
So, you can test the hardware, and see if it is still slow, or shutting down after 30 minutes.
And you can add a scanning program to the Live CD/USB stick, and run it from there.
Like a scan usb stick for cleaning out virus's or other types of malware.

Just make sure that in the BIO's settings you have multiple boot devices enabled.


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Re: My Toshiba is dying help...

Post by Jastreb_J21 »

Thanks for the tips, I'm not the one who asked but I had a good scare due to a ransomware a dozen years ago, when I was still new to the Internet, and have been wary of them since then, so I'll make sure to follow your advice in case it happens.

dacflyer, best of luck to you, I hope you'll manage to overcome these problems and that nothing bad will happen to you and your data!
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Externet
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Re: My Toshiba is dying help...

Post by Externet »

Using a 'live' CD/USB to boot Linux from, without alteration to the -still present and connected- sick hard drive allows to tamper, delete, modify, erase, repair, fix anything in the sick hard drive; and to save to any external device the precious data, programs, that got impaired.

Explore ----> https://duckduckgo.com/?q=repair+window ... cal&ia=web
- Abolish the deciBel ! -
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dacflyer
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Re: My Toshiba is dying help...

Post by dacflyer »

Janitor Tzap >> for the links.. I had CCleaner , and it had recently updated itself, when the problems started, i thought it might be clashing with my Avast, so i deleted it..
I had an AV before, that when it updated, it caused the AV to disable a lot of my Fn keys to not work.
so that's when i switched AV programs.
I'll try that HDD program as well..
as for doing a lot of the other stuff mentioned, I hate to say it, but a lot of it seems to be over my head..

Could i take my HDD out and have it scanned on another computer ? even tho my AV says it's clean ?

Can a ransomware be timer activated? ( the e-mail said i have 3 days to pay , WHICH I"M NOT )
Also are they really able to tell if i read the email ? ( web mail based )

I need be, i'll try to find someone i can trust to do the job...

The pass phrase is a good idea, but you're limited by so many characters on most sites.
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