Toshiba Satellite P105-S9339 kaleidoscopic screen

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kdotyounging

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Dec 5, 2012
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10,510
So basically my toshiba satellite (windows vista) has been screwing up on the screen after it has been on for about four hours. The screen turns like blue/white all over like little squares on the screen and then goes completely black. I have tried many times to make recovery discs but each time i start the toshiba recovery disc creator it gives me the message of no HDD Recovery Area! and then it continues on to say it can't be launched.

I have also tried holding the "0" key on startup and choosing the full system recovery but that option is not available for me.

I'm completely lost and really not that great with computers. Not exactly sure where to go from here, but was hoping to get some help from this community I have heard so much about.

I have also tried to do a basic system restore but the times it makes available do not go far enough back to where the problem was never occuring.

Thanks for the help in advance!
 

courahee

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Jan 10, 2013
1
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10,510
Hi kdotyounging

I have the same model laptop and have the same issues. The person who gave it to me had given up on using after owning it for 6 years. Apparently her husband was in the habit of resting the laptop on pillows/cushions and using it in bed (which obviously did not help with the - already poor - ventilation).

Apparently the GPU unit is not suited for this business-type model laptop. Poor ventilation and subsequent overheating seems to be the major disadvantage. I read many articles about "baking the GPU" and allowing it just to overheat, but some of the options were either not feasible, practical or just plain did not work.

A colleague of mine flashed the BIOS with the latest available version, which helped a bit a first because it addressed fan speed and operation times, but after a few hours of continuous use the old problem came back. I must mention at this point that I am running Windows 7 Professional (32-bit). The first few times the laptop crashed I was able to recover the OS using the recovery system on the hard drive, but after that I had to switch off the laptop and leave it off for a few days before I could use it again and addition to that I could only recover the OS using the Windows 7 installation disk.

I decided to help out with the cooling by using this gadget:

http://jaycar.co.nz/ShowLargephoto.asp?id=13870&PRODNAME=Foldout%20Twin-Fan%20Notebook%20Cooling%20Pad&IMAGE=

It's not the prettiest or most efficient, but it has helped to keep the temperature of the GPU at around 60°C. I also try not to use the laptop for more than 2 hours at a stretch and have the GPU Meter (with sound alarm) running at all times. I downloaded this from www.addgadgets.com

I also noticed positioning the laptop near the window to try ensuring continuous air flow has contributed to 0 crashes over the past 5 days.

A new graphics card is going to cost your an arm and a leg, even a second-hand is pricey and will eventually (imho) end up giving you the same issues. The card should never have been used in this particular model.

I hope some of this helps you.
 
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