Why Toshiba Tecra TE2100 laptop locks up or will not boot at all?
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.
Entry Filed under: Toshiba Laptop Problems
247 Responses to “Why Toshiba Tecra TE2100 laptop locks up or will not boot at all?”
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Pages: « 25 … 11 10 9 8 7 [6] 5 4 3 2 1 » Show All
June 5th, 2006 at 10:25 am
#57 I stated that there is nothing wrong with providing advice, however, the opening blurb has made it sound as though ALL TE2100 have an inherent problem.
This is NOT the case.
I asked them to quantify their statements, they have not done so.
We have sold hundreds of these in the past both as new machines as well as used machines.
The problem rate is insignificant probably 3%-5% of the pool of units handled but who knows how insignificant to those that were built and YES he has identified common problems when there are such problem evident within the small percentage.
I was not happy with the representation as if to say that all of these models had THIS problem - that is how I read it, that is how others will read it.
He stated “As a laptop repair technician I see a lot of different problems with this model” and that is a total discreditation of the unit.
Well as a laptop repair technician myself, I DO NOT see a lot of problems with this unit . However whenever a problem unit has been encountered, there is uniformity in the issue but there is no MORE problems inherent with this model than any other make or model of laptop produced.
A statement has been made and I want quantification and clarification so that any person out there pondering the purchase of one of these units in the second hand market does not get misinformation or misrepresentation to make them shy away from purchase of the unit on the basis that they read that this model is riddled with problems.
I don’t think there is any complexity in responding to the questions raised and I still await a response and preferably a correction to the terminology and wording used
May 31st, 2006 at 1:10 pm
Hey Robin,
It is possible that the screen flickers because a connection inside the display assembly is loose. How it flickers? The backlight turns on and off or the data on the screen is on and off? If you loosing the backlight, I would try to reconnect cables on the FL inverter board firs. If you loosing the data, them I would try to reconnect the video cable on the back of the LCD screen and on the system board.
There is a possibility that the hardware is failing (FL inverter, backlight bulb or the video cable). In this case the hardware parts have to be replaced. It’s impossible to say witch part is failing. To narrow it down we usually replace above mentioned parts one-by-one with our test equipment until the problem disappears.
May 31st, 2006 at 12:19 am
The LCD screen on my TE 2100 flickers when I turned it on. However, if I moved the cover up and down, it will sometime return to normal. It has been like that for quite some time until two weeks ago, it starts to fickering becomes non-stop.
When I connect to an external monitor, everything is perfect. Can someone advise me on this. Thanks
May 29th, 2006 at 7:44 pm
Hi Adam, I don’t think cj has done anything wrong. In fact I have two te2100 which performs the same way as the question item 3 and 4 mentioned(which makes me crazy). I would be very keen on trying what CJ has suggested. However if Adam knows anything better, he is more than wellcome to raise his advice. we don’t want someone does nothing but just discourage good people’s warmheart service.
May 28th, 2006 at 10:09 am
In your introductory comment, you have made several sweeping statements that would otherwise make people believe that these machines ALL have inherent faults.
I would like you to be more clear about the number of units with problems in comparison to the number of units in service.
I would also like you to clarify the specific Toshiba part number which you refer to because different units were assembled in different locations and furthermore, it could be that you have experienced a specific batch.
There is also the fact that certain machines released in North America are released in other countries with different builds ie Satellite Pro 1900 and not to mention that this particular model was released as both a TECRA and Satellite Pro with different builds.
I believe that you are entitled to offer advice, however, the advice has to be accurate and not by making generalisations or sweeping statements that make it seem that every one of Toshiba’s TE2100 series has an inherent fault.
That is how I read it, and that is certainly far from the truth.
We service many Laptops but would never say that one particular model had a common regular issue, only that some models have a likely issue if and when certain traits are evident in the unit’s functionality (or non)
As with any laptop, you may get a common problem when there is a problem such as IBM T22 DC Jack failures are more common than motherboard failures but people assume it is the board.
It could well be your intentions are good but your choice of wording could be extending a direputable message about what would otherwise be a reputable machine
Thank you
May 3rd, 2006 at 8:49 pm
Trevis,
The fan controlling circuit is located somewhere on the system board and I have no idea where it is. Just in case try to upgrade or reflash the BIOS. It is possible that the BIOS got corrupted somehow and doesn’t interact properly with the fan. That’s just a guess.
May 3rd, 2006 at 10:33 am
I have a TE2100 and the cooling fan will not come on. I have tested the fan with an external 5V source and it runs fine. Could you tell me what might be the problem with the fan control.
Thank You
April 28th, 2006 at 6:35 pm
Kevin,
Removing and replacing the FL inverter board from Toshiba TE2100 would be almost the same as for Toshiba Tecra 8100. The only difference would be:
1.Toshiba TE2100 LCD mask is secured by four screws. Two on the top and two on the bottom of the LCD mask. You’ll find these screws under the screw seals.
2. The FL inverter board in Toshiba TE2100 is secured by one silver screw in the middle.
That’s it.
April 28th, 2006 at 1:33 pm
Hi there,
Thank you very much for the disassembly guide for TE2100. Mine had the “fainted screen” problem. (you know, the screen blanks, and if you look really closely, it’s actually fainted). I’ve sent my laptop to the repair centre twice for this problem, and they’ve replaced the video board, but nonetheless the problem is still recurring.
After searching around the net, I’ve come across some articles pointing that the problem might be with the FL invertor. There’s a guide on how to pull out the FL inverter on TE8100. I wonder is that the same for TE2100? I’d appreciate it if you could answer my question.
Kevin
April 28th, 2006 at 11:01 am
[…] Toshiba Satellite Pro 6100 disassembly guide will help you completely take apart the notebook to remove and replace the system board, the power board and the video board. Toshiba Satellite Pro 6100 notebook has some known problems very similar to Toshiba Tecra TE2100. Overtime the video card pops up from the connector on the system board causing unpredictable video problems. If you experience a video problem try to press on the video board so it makes a better connection with the system board. Also you can experience a problem with starting the laptop. When you press on the power button the laptop will not start and the power LED flashes orange. Most of the time it happens because of a poor connection between the power board and the system board. In some cased you can fix the problem by reseating the power board. If reseating the board doesn’t help then the system board and the power board has to be replaced. One more problem – you can get the CMOS (RTC) battery error each time you turn on the laptop. If replacing the battery doesn’t fix the problem then it might be also caused a bad connection between the power board and the system board. Try to reseat the power board. […]