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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April 29th, 2007 at 11:46 am
Rob McKnight,
There is no simple answer to this question. The only way to find out is start taking the laptop apart, reseating all internal connections and devices and testing it after each step. That’s what I usually do.
Try reseating the memory module first, move it from one slot to another.
April 26th, 2007 at 3:22 pm
I have a tecra S1, which gives a blank screen and no HDD activity while booting. I have to pick the machine up by either the front right, or left back corner and carefully place it on the desk, then it boots most of the time without a problem, but sometimes I get video interferenxce on screen similar to what happens if a mobile phone rings in close proximity ro a CRT monitor, at which time it hangs and I have to switch off, pick it up by a corner again and reseat on the desk. When I reboot,all is well for a while, until I knock or move it slightly. Is this a hair crack in the motherboard, or could it be a loose connection somewhere???
Sincerely:
Rob McKnight
April 24th, 2007 at 7:39 pm
Jif,
Don’t you see a pattern? Probably it’s a faulty motherboard/power board again. I guess it’s time to think about a new laptop.
April 22nd, 2007 at 10:09 pm
Kariuki,
Did you try replacing or at least reseating the memory module? It also could be a problem with the video card.
April 21st, 2007 at 4:54 am
Hi there!
First off, many thanks for this website. Really done a good job.
I have a TE2100 which is about 5 years old. During this time, I have had it sent out for repair about 4 times, each time the motherboard or system board was replaced for me. Now its out of warranty (of course – warranty for just 3 years only) and the same problem seems to have resurfaced.
I can be using it for long or short periods, it doesnt seem to matter. In fact I’m using it now. But at times, it will just shut down suddenly, and the power light will blink orange.
I have taken it apart using the guide, and put it back together. It worked better for about a day, but the next morning it shut down suddenly again, after using it for just 10 minutes.
I’m really clueless about what the problem!
(oh, and when i run it using just the battery, i’m not sure, but i feel its more stable – but it does shut down as well sometimes)
Any ideas??? Thanks!
April 18th, 2007 at 3:20 am
I have a laptop toshiba satellite 1900 that i cannot load winxp. Each time it tries to load kernel dll files it report an error. The screen shows many horizontal lines that makes me suggest a memory problem. When i try to disable CPU cashe one time those lines disappered but the problem reappears again. Please help
April 16th, 2007 at 11:38 am
I have the tecra 9100 and have a similar problem. Boots but freezes after a few seconds or will try to boot but only a blank screen. Will freeze if i move the laptop. Im going to try and reseat tonight. Let you know of it works
April 14th, 2007 at 2:21 am
I tired your methods and seems i have more problems then most people . i noticed the laptop come on and i do get the check sum error i have reseated power and video to the main board a few time each and i also get lines or wierd objects on screen after playing with the video card sometimes it works without lines but the fan does not work at all , i happen to have a extra fan and tried it and still nothing does this mean the mainboard is definatly bad ? or could that portion be caused by the power board too . seems its not sencing the temperture to turn it on because when i shut it off the fan gets power for a sec only
April 11th, 2007 at 7:16 pm
Xiuqiang Jiang,
You’ll find all my disassembly guides here: http://www.irisvista.com/tech/
If you still cannot access the main page, there is something wrong with your Internet access. You should be able to access my site without any problem, as any other website.
April 11th, 2007 at 5:34 pm
Thanks for quick replying. It still do not work for me.The reason may be that I’m in a foreign country and could not be routed to your network .