Why Toshiba Tecra TE2100 laptop locks up or will not boot at all?
One of our biggest customers use a lot of different Toshiba laptops and one of the models is Toshiba Tecra TE2100. We repaired many of these units and we noticed that some of them had very similar problems:
- Laptop locks up when you move it or sometimes freezes by itself. The video is still on, but the acupoint (keyboard mouse) and the keyboard itself do not work anymore.
- You can start the laptop, but you see CMOS (RTC) battery error on start up. After you clear the error, the laptop boots fine. After you reboot the laptop, you get the same error.
- Laptop will not boot at all. There is no power or power LED blinking. There is no hard drive activity. There is no external or internal video.
- When you press power button, laptop shows some activity, but there is no video on LCD screen.
At the beginning, when we just started working on this model, we tried to fix CMOS (RTC) battery error by replacing the RTC battery. Unfortunately, it didn’t help to fix the problem at all. We found that the main culprit of the problem is a poor connection between the system board and the power board (CMOS battery is connected to the power board). In some cases you can fix the problem by reseating the power board. Carefully disconnect if from the system board and connect it back. Turn on the laptop and see if it fixed your problem. If it didn’t help, most likely you have to replace the system board and the power board. Unfortunately, I cannot say exactly which one is causing the problem, the system board or the power board. The same story with laptop lock ups, try to reseat the power board.
You can fix a video problem by reseating the video card. We noticed, that over time the video board pops up from its connector on the system board and you can get video if you push it back in place.
Conclusion: before you start replacing parts, disassemble the laptop and try to fix the problem by reseating the power board and the VGA board. My disassembly guide for Toshiba Tecra TE2100 can help you to take apart the laptop.
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October 23rd, 2006 at 6:17 am
please help me , i have a laptop tosiba te2100, and nothing hapened when i try to start him, only theyellow power led flashes like this: short-short-long-short-short-long-short-short. anybody can help me what;s mean this code?
i reset the power board but nothing happens .
thank in advance!!
October 18th, 2006 at 10:34 pm
Manne,
You can write this code as 10101010. When the power LED flashes and you want to find what it means, you believe (do not remember exactly) that you have to revert the code and then translate it to HEX. So it would be 01010101=55. Right?
There is a translation for this error and it says: C5V voltage is less than 4.5V when the computer is starting. But I have no idea what it’s all about and what C5V is. I hope it help.
Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong.
October 18th, 2006 at 10:14 pm
Hi!
Can anyone translate what it means when a Tecra 9000 flashes:
Long, short, long, short, long, short, long, short. It won’t start. It was just laying on the table… I am sorry for posting this on the 2100 thread, but I’m desperate…
October 18th, 2006 at 8:13 pm
Manne,
Toshiba Tecra 9100 motherboard actually consists of two different boards: the I/O board and the system board. Take a look at this Tecra 9100 disassembly guide. The I/O board is pictured on the step 17, the system board on the step 20. These two boards are connected by a long narrow connector; you can see this connector on the top of the system board on the step 20. Overtime the screws on the laptop get loose and I/O board (top board) can pop up from the system board (bottom board). As a result the I/O board will not make a good connection with the system board and laptop will not boot up.
When you turn on the laptop and get a flashing orange light it’s usually indicates a major power failure on the motherboard. In Tecra 9100 in might happen because of a bad connection between the I/O board and the system board. I don’t know if you want to try fixing the laptop yourself because it requires laptop disassembly. You can remove the top cover (as shown on the step 10) and push on the I/O board in the area of the connector, to make sure that it’s properly connected to the system board. I’m not sure if it will help you, but that’s what I would try first.
October 17th, 2006 at 12:38 am
Hi CJ!
I have a Toshiba 9000/9100, and it as well is only blinking the power light -> no boot. Taking the battery out does not help. Do you have any suggestions for repair for this kind of device?
October 11th, 2006 at 7:42 pm
Do not waste time in fixing the problem in Toshiba TE2100. This model has a known problem in the motherboard and the power supply. Our company has over ten units of this model , they all finished not working after 1or 2 years. The Toshiba has a special warranty on this model to replace the motherboard free. But we have a few unit busted again after 2-3 replacement of the motherboard. They all end up sitting in our junk bay. So even if you can fix it , it won;t last long. As a result, our company has moved away from Toshiba laptop computers.
October 8th, 2006 at 11:24 am
Nnewton,
A red arrow points to the CPU so you can see where it’s located.
After you unlock the CPU socket on the motherboard by turning the screw into “open” position, lift up the CPU by edges. There should be any problem. There is no glue to hold the chip in.
Be careful, the CPU pins can be easily damaged. When you put it back, make sure that the CPU is positioned correctly. There is only one correct way to put the CPU back into the socket. Make sure that pin layout on the CPU matches holes layout on the socket. When you put the CPU back in place, it should fall down the socket without any pressure. Do not forget to lock the socket after the CPU is back in place or your laptop will not boot.
October 8th, 2006 at 2:42 am
Thanks cj2600, the information you have provided and your website has been extremely helpful, my TE2100 recently would not start due to a power problem, a 72h error.
With your information and from the Whirlpool thread posted by digikiwi:
http://forums.whirlpool.net.au.....m?t=499023
I managed to fix it by soldering pins 41-45 together and reheating pin 46 on the system board connector.
One question about removing the CPU, you indicate on your website that you slide the CPU to the right, I cannot remove mine no matter what I do, I have undone the locking screw and the socket moves back a millimeter or so, but the chip doesn’t move at all. Do they use some sort of glue to hold the chip in?
September 17th, 2006 at 5:54 pm
D Cook,
I think that you should call not to Capital One, but to the company who sold you the warranty on this laptop. It sucks man! I would fight for my money.
The repair would be expensive. As I mentioned before, there is no way to say witch part is failing – the power board or the system board and if you take to a Toshiba repair center they will recommend to replace both parts. To find how much it would cost to buy parts, you can search on Google by the part number. System board: V000010780. Power board: V000010840. And do not forget to add some labor, probably 2 hours at 60-70$/hour. After a quick search I found the system board (exchange) for about $300 and the power board (exchange) for about $160, I guess you can find it cheaper but not much. If you add labor, it takes you to $600. For this money I can buy a brand new laptop with 1 year warranty and much better and faster then Tecra TE2100. Remember, that you cannot buy new parts for TE2100, they would be used – “factory reconditioned”. That means, that you get not more then 30 days warranty and after that they can fail again.
September 16th, 2006 at 11:21 am
CJ2600
I read your post #37 dated April 13,2006 with interest.
I own a TE2100 TECRA. I bought it from internet last October.
The ad said factory warranty was available so I called and bought extended 1 year warranty for 116.10 that was billed thru my Capital One Card. In February the problem you mentioned and I took it to the recommended Toshiba repair service in St. Louis. The tech told me that the condition I mentioned was a known problem and that it would probably need a power board and a main board. The next day he called me and said I had no warranty.
I paid him 80.00 for checking out the laptop and had him return it to the company in California that I bought it from.
They also took it to Toshiba repair in CA. and were told that there was no warranty. They did replace the power board and ran the unit for about a week before sending it back to me along with a bill for 100.00.
I used it for about a week and it lost power again the same as before. The green power light was blinking and it was dead.
I removed the battery and discharged the system as instructed by Toshibas on first go round. The unit booted up and ran for about ten minted when it died again.
I have called every division of Toshiba and get the run around.
They tell me to write letter to Capital One requesting my money back.
WOW !!
I own quite a few Toshiba items and I wonder if you have any advice.
What would the cost of new system board and a Power board be with labor?
I also noted your #40 post. Should I give up and use it for a door stop? Ha Ha
If I knew who was CEO of Toshiba I would ship it to him with a very discouraging letter.