My Toshiba Satellite A85-S107 will not boot
The customer brought his Toshiba Satellite A85-S107 and complained that the laptop will not boot. First of all, I tried to start the laptop with a known good AC adapter, to make sure that the customers AC adapter is not a problem. The laptop didn’t start and there were no LED activity, the unit was “dead”. The good AC adapter wasn’t able to start the laptop. I started removing the laptop components one by one trying to eliminate the problem. I removed the battery, the memory module, the wireless card, the DVD drive and it didn’t fix the problem. I had just very few parts left: the system board, the CPU and the switch board. I remove the keyboard to check the power switch board and found that the switch board cable wasn’t properly connected to the system board, it was half way out. I reseated the cable on the system board and the laptop started properly.
BTW, the system board has 2 memory slots and by default the memory stick is located in the slot hidden under the keyboard. BUT, it is not enough to remove the keyboard if you want to replace the original memory module. After you remove the keyboard, you still will not be able to remove the memory because it is hidden under the top cover. To replace the original memory stick in Toshiba Satellite A85 you have to remove the entire top cover!!! It sucks!
Here’s a disassembly guide that shows how to replace a memory module on Toshiba Satellite A85.
Entry Filed under: Everyday Laptop Repair
February 13th, 2006 at 5:10 pm
Great information. Really usefull. I just came accross your site today. I’ll be sure to bookmark it. Take it easy.
February 26th, 2006 at 12:16 am
Thanks for putting up the guides and information. It has been really helpful.
I have a similar problem with my Tecra 9100. When I press the power on button, the power LED just turns green but the screen reminds black, nothing shows up and there no fan noise or anything. Same thing happens if I uses AC only or Battery only. The LEDs for the AC and battery are working properly. I tried taking out the add-on memory but it didn’t help either. And I also tried pluggin in to an external monitor but still nothing comes up. I am losing faith. Do you think it is a bad system board or CPU?
Thanks in advance.
February 26th, 2006 at 12:40 am
You tried to take out the memory but did you try to install a known good memory? You will not get any video without at lease one memory stick installed into the laptop. I would try to minimize the system – remove the DVD drive, the modem, the hard drive, the battery etc. and start the laptop to see if you can get any video. If it doesn’t help I would try to reseat all internal connectors, I was able to fix some dead units just by reseating internal cables. Also I know that this laptop model often fails because a bad connection between the I/O board (upper board) and the system board (lower board). You can try to disconnect the I/O board from the system board and connect it back. If it doesn’t help, minimize the system completely and leave just the system board, I/O board, CPU and memory. Connect it to an external monitor and try to see if you can get any video. If it doesn’t help then most likely the system board or the I/O board is bad. I cannot narrow it down and usually we replace both boards for these laptops. From my experience I know that a system board fails much more often than a CPU does.
March 5th, 2006 at 1:56 am
I finally found some time to try this out.
I took out everything except for the system, I/O, CPU and memory and now I get an error code 72h from the LED. From what I found out on the web, 72h error means:
“PPV voltage is not more than 0.68V when the computer is booting up.”
I guess something must have blown. I am thinking of investing $80 on a system board to see if this is going to save the laptop. What do you think?
Thanks alot!
March 5th, 2006 at 10:48 am
You are right Abby,
There is an error code 72h listed for Toshiba Tecra 9100.
Toshiba recommends next steps to fix the problem:
1. Check the AC adapter. Replace the AC adapter if it is bad.
2. Disassemble the laptop and check the connection between the AC adapter and the system board. Here is Toshiba Tecra 9100 disassembly guide . Check if the system board is getting power from the AC adapter. I guess you have to use a multimeter.
3. Check if the fuses on the system board are not blown. (I am not sure witch fuses you have to check, never done it myself).
4. Replace the system board.
Good luck.
March 16th, 2006 at 1:58 pm
I just took pictures for Toshiba Satellite A85 laptop disassembly guide. Now I need some time to put everything together. Pretty soon you’ll see the guide on www.irisvista.com
March 23rd, 2006 at 11:13 am
Eu formatei meu satellite a85-s107 TOSHIBA mas eu nao estou conseguindo obter a configuracao do keiboard em portugues. como devo proceder para que meu teclado aceite os sinais graficos da lingua portuguesa.
grata,
Rita
March 23rd, 2006 at 11:27 am
Hi Rita,
To be able to type in Portuguese, you have to do next:
Go to Control Panel – Regional and Language Options – Languages Tab – Details Button – Click Add Button and select your language. Click OK.
Now you can use Left Alt+Shift (default settings) to switch between languages.
I hope I answered your question.
April 14th, 2006 at 12:49 pm
Hello, my questions pretains to the same as listed but my problem is slightly different. I have a toshiba satellite laptop, when you turn the power on it the light just comes on. No post or hardrive, or cd-rom action. When I plug it into a external monitor it comes up fine and the hard drive and cd-rom start working. I can then switch it back to the laptop and it shows on the screen. It will work fine for a couple days, I can leave it on or turn it off and it the laptop will work like normal, but then out of the blue, it will freeze up and once it restarts same thing happens no screen, sometimes when i plug the external in it still wont work and acts like it does’nt see the monitor. Let it sit for a day then it works again. Any Ideas??
Thanks
Shane
April 16th, 2006 at 9:32 am
Hi Shane,
Very strange problem. When you turn on the laptop and see no activity, no video on the LCD or the external monitor I would recommend to test the memory. If you have 2 memory sticks installed, try to remove them one by one and start the laptop.
I cannot understand how connecting the external monitor can help your laptop to boot. The only thing I can guess is a bad connection somewhere inside the laptop. When you connect the external monitor you press on the system board or the video card and make the laptop to boot.
April 17th, 2006 at 6:24 am
Well thanks for the help, on my laptop problem, I know it’s very strange i work for a computer company and there’s a couple guys that have been doing this for a long time, and they never heard of anything like that. Today no matter what I try I can’t get it to boot up at all with external monitor or without. I tried kinda pressing a few spots, to see if i could stop a short, I think it might be the speakers to maybe in some way?? Well I try the ram thanks for the help and timely reply.
Shane
April 26th, 2006 at 1:22 pm
You’re my last hope–at least as far as my Toshiba a65 s1762 is concerned.
I bought it refurbished, and everything was fine for almost a year. The machine has always been a little on the “hot” side, but I use a cooling pad to keep that in check.
The center pin in the ac jack broke off, and I took the notebook apart to get that fixed locally, and put everything back together.
Shortly thereafter (but I’m not at all sure it’s related) I started having shutdowns, which seem to be related to heat (”Temp1″ in Speedfan often ranged very very high, and to avoid a crash I would have to shut the notebook down to cool down). A couple mornings ago, I wake up, go to my notebook, and the power button is slowly flashing yellow. The usb’s are still powering the cooling pad and another device I had connected. I disconnect these and try to restart the laptop without success. Finally, I pulled the cord and the battery, reconnected everything, and tried to restart. No luck. No lights whatsoever, not even the led that indicates the power cord is connected.
I noticed a few websites talking about “MOSF chips” and replacing them, but they don’t explain much more. Besides, they seem a bit suspicious.
Any ideas?
I really appreciate any response,
Dylan
ps. I opened the laptop again to check for noticably burnt capacitors: none that I could tell were leaking or “fat.” While I was in there, I cleaned the heatsink as per your instructions (yes, it was clogged, so Thanks for the how-to!) and doublechecked all the cables, ribbons, cords, etc. Everything is as it should be. Put it all back together. Completely dead. No leds, no power, nothing.
April 26th, 2006 at 2:41 pm
I should also mention that i retested the resistance between the center pin of the jack and the other side of the board, and then between the inside wall of the jack and the other soldered parts, and the resistance was 0, I dont know how to test the voltage of my power adapter, since I’m kind of new at the multimeter.
I dont’ know anyone with a working toshiba cable to test in my laptop, either.
I honestly think something on the board might have just “given out.” But–hypothetically–if the computer stopped getting power, it would have died this way, right? with the blinking yellow light and all? especially since i had the cooling pad and was charging my phone off of usb connections.
April 26th, 2006 at 7:39 pm
Dylan,
First of all check the AC adapter. For Toshiba Satellite A65 it should provide about 19V. You can check it with a multimeter. “-“ is outside and “+” is inside the power plug. If you have no LED activity when you connect the AC adapter into the laptop, then most likely either the system board or the AC adapter has died. If the AC adapter is good, then I would suspect the system board.
May 12th, 2006 at 8:50 am
I have a Satellite A85-S107 (Part No. PAS82U-00R004) as well, and it also won’t boot. I looked at irisvista.com, but didn’t see any guide specific to the A85 line. Will the A75 disassembly guide work as well?
The freezing is sporadic, sometimes it gets all the way to Windows, sometimes freezes on the BIOS splash screen, with or without constant beeping, like a key is stuck. When it does boot, it doesn’t indicate a keyboard failure, but sometimes “n”, sometimes the left arrow, seem to be stuck. Any info would be greatly appreciated.
May 15th, 2006 at 6:03 pm
David, Satellite A85 and A75 laptops are complete different. You cannot use A75 disassembly guide for A85. I will create a disassembly guide for Toshiba Satellite A85 as soon as I get it for repair.
It is possible that the keyboard is causing the problem. You can try to remove the keyboard and turn on the laptop. Is it still freezing up? I would also check the memory and the hard drive.
June 7th, 2006 at 7:18 pm
I also have a Toshiba A85-1072 that I could use some help with. After it has been running for awhile it seems to make a weird high pitched buzzing noise when the keys on the left side are pressed. The sound is not coming for the speakers which I have muted but seems to be coming from under the keyboard. It started with just the left shift key but now seems to be the whole left side of the keyboard. Also, when you push down on the keyboard at a place where there are no keys the same sound is made. I have also noticed that recently the fan has been making some strange noises, just seems to be running a little off. Do you think that these two problems are related?
June 7th, 2006 at 11:21 pm
Melissa,
I think you might have some issues with the system board (main board). I’ve never heard that the laptop keyboard makes high pitched buzzing noise. I guess that when you press on the keyboard you flex the system board and it makes the noise, not sure though. I do not have a straight answer on your question. If the laptop is still under warranty I would recommend taking it to an Authorized Repair Center.
June 16th, 2006 at 1:21 am
I have Toshiba A85 series. The laptop makes high pitched buzzing noise when I start to boot system. It won’t boot up, and the buzzing noise will continue and system is unpluged. any advise is appriciated.
Thanks
June 17th, 2006 at 10:01 am
Kaah,
Is this sound coming from the system board? If you laptop is under warranty, take it to a Toshiba repair center. From my experience, a high pitched buzzing noise might indicate a problem with the system board.
June 19th, 2006 at 7:23 pm
I have a Toshiba Sattellite A65 that has a booting problem..When you switch it on two led lights go on,the “on and the battery light,dvd sounds on and two led lights on the keyboard blinks one or twice and then laptop just runs.Tthere is no video or anything other than you can hear the fan running.Could this be the buit in memory that’s gone bad or just a bad motherboard?I heard stories about the built in memory so I tried a stick of of memoty in the memory slot but I still have tthe same problem.Any information would surely be helpful.
June 19th, 2006 at 10:47 pm
Elroy,
For Toshiba Satellite A65 it doesn’t make a big difference if onboard memory is bad or the system board itself is bad. In both cases the motherboard must be replaced because you cannot replace the onboard memory yourself – it’s a few chips permanently soldered to the system board.
July 17th, 2006 at 2:19 am
how to remove the keyboard is not working model is toshiba satellitev a85-s107
July 17th, 2006 at 10:50 pm
Fazalu,
I attached a link at the end of the post. The link will take you to a Toshiba Satellite A85 memory replacement guide. Steps 6-9 show how to remove the laptop keyboard.
July 29th, 2006 at 7:17 pm
Hey. I’m having a problem with my Toshiba Satellite A85 series laptop. Basically it hasn’t had any major problems in the past, but just a few days ago it stopped booting up. When I plug the AC adapter in, the small LED on the front of the laptop that shows it’s connected to AC power lights up. However, when I open the laptop up and press the power button, nothing happens. What do you think is the problem here? I left it in the car all day by accident a day or so before it happened so I feel like that had something to do it, be it the heat or whatnot. Could this have caused something? Thanks a lot for your help.
July 29th, 2006 at 7:29 pm
Even though you left your laptop in the car, it shouldn’t damage the laptop (unless it was very cold outside). If a laptop doesn’t do anything when you turn it on, I would try to install a test memory first. There is a good chance that it’ll fix the problem.
July 30th, 2006 at 9:20 pm
Given that there’s no opening in the top cover for memory access, this will inevitably require me to take apart the whole lap top then..?
July 30th, 2006 at 9:22 pm
Basically I’m asking if there’s anything else that might be causing the problem - something that wouldn’t require me to take the whole top cover off to fix? Thanks man, I appreciate the help.
July 30th, 2006 at 9:56 pm
If I understand right, you do not get any video when you turn on the laptop. To boot the laptop with video, you need 3 main components – motherboard, CPU and memory. If you get no video, then very likely one of these components is bad.
Satellite A85 is a new model and most likely your laptop is still under warranty. If it is, take the laptop to a repair shop and let them fix it.
July 30th, 2006 at 10:12 pm
Yeah I’m definitely going to go get it checked out tomorrow..I hope it’s still under warranty. But I was just curious as to what the problem was. Basically the computer doesn’t turn on at all - the LED that I was referring to that lights up is the one in the very front (one of four small lights), but when you open the laptop up and push the big power on button, absolutely nothing happens - essentially the computer is “dead”. Like the big LED around the power button doesn’t turn green when I push the on button. I feel like it might have something to do with the battery - is there some other source of power aside from just AC power or the removable battery that works to turn the laptop on?
July 30th, 2006 at 10:27 pm
Laptop is getting power from the AC adapter or from the battery. That’s it. Just in case try to remove the battery, connect the adapter and turn on the laptop (without the battery installed).
Now, when you mentioned that that the power LED on the front lights up but button LED doesn’t, I think that you might have a bigger problem then just a failed memory. The power button LED should light up when you press on the button even with the failed memory module. It might be the system board issue.
You can check if your laptop is still under warranty on the Toshiba website.
August 1st, 2006 at 12:28 pm
I have the A85 as well, about 11months ago.
I bought it with an extended waranty from CompUSA but the next day I brought it back because of sound problems. They subsequently gave me a new laptop but didn’t transfer the warranty, as I was to learn later. So they snagged $200 free money right there. I was a fool to buy it in the first place. Anyway lesson learned. Caveat to all CompUSA buyers
So anyway with 1 month left I can’t find the new proof of purchase, only the old proof of purchase (for the comp with the sound problem) which now belongs to someone named “Dennis”. Unless this turns up, or if I can go through Toshiba in the 21 days left on the 1 yr warranty, I have to fix this by myself.
Problem: I believe I have a resource conflict problem. I have never done one of these. The first thing it says is NIC or (once upon a time) Cardbus conflict, then it crashes and the PCMCIA disappears and the NIC and Wifi NIC become unknown hardware with unfindable drivers. Then subsequent boots gives an Unknown PIC error, which can not be refound.
So am I to take it that there is a conflict between the PCMCIA and the 2 NIC’s both on IRQ 11? Device Manager doesn’t find any conflicts, nor does BIOS have a IRQ assignment features. How then am I supposed to resolve this? Does anyone know what make of these kinds of problems?
August 2nd, 2006 at 11:24 pm
Meadowlark Bradsher,
Do not wait until your warranty expires, call to Toshiba and try to resolve the problem. Even if it takes more then 21 days, you’ll get some records on your case. When you call, take a case number for the future reference. If you registered your laptop, you do not need a proof or purchase. You can check the warranty status on Toshiba website.
It’s hard to say what is causing the problem in your laptop. It might be a bad wireless card, bad socket, or something else… It’s very possible that the system board is bad and must be replaced to resolve the problem.
Call Toshiba, do not wait until it’s too late.
August 27th, 2006 at 6:21 am
My son accidentally broke the LCD screen on his Toshiba A85 S107. For a while we just plugged in an external monitor and all was well. Then he attempted to change screen resolution for a game he was playing and now he can get nothing on the external monitor. (I think he has instructed the computer to only display on the broken LCD). Is there anything I can do to change this command as whatever is shown on the broken LCD cannot be viewed anymore. Any assistance would be appreciated. I am close to putting this laptop on ebay for parts!!
August 30th, 2006 at 10:59 pm
Kim,
The external monitor is black all the time, or it goes black after Toshiba logo is displayed on it? Try to use Fn+F5 key combination. Press and hold down Fn and tap on F5 for a few times. With this key combination you can switch the video output between the internal LCD and external monitors.
If the external monitor goes back after Toshiba logo flashes, you can boot into safe mode by using F8 key (hit it when you see Toshiba logo on the screen). You can try restoring the OS using the system restore utility.
If the external monitor not turning on at all and Fn+F5 key combination doesn’t help, then you might have a hardware related issue.
August 31st, 2006 at 7:17 am
cj2600: thanks for the reply. I have hooked up the external monitor and when I start the laptop, it briefly (nanosecond) flashes toshiba on the external monitor and then immediately goes black with “resuming windows” displayed on the external monitor. It also flashes the resolution display box which then goes away. Hitting the f8 key doesn’t seem to do anything different.
August 31st, 2006 at 4:00 pm
cj2600: I took the laptop into a toshiba service center today to see if they can figure out why the ext. monitor will not work. It is still under warranty until the end of Sept. so rather than chuck it in the trash, I am giving the machine to a service center. Maybe they can get it working with an external monitor..
August 31st, 2006 at 4:06 pm
Kim,
You’ve made the right decision. I didn’t know that the laptop is still under warranty. The cracked screen will not be replaced under warranty, but everything else should be covered.
September 20th, 2006 at 1:07 pm
I dropped my Tecra 9100 last week, and thought I had done permanent damage to my hard drvie because everytime I started the computer up (whether battery or AC only) it would start up normally for about 5 seconds, then shut down and flash a yellow light on the power indicator. After reading the first comment above, I unscrewed my keyboard, detached it from the laptop, and then re-seated it. NOw, it’s powering up normally again! PTL!!
December 11th, 2006 at 5:30 pm
So I took my lap top bakck to the authorized warrantee repair provider and they fixed it. They said they didn’t know what the problem was and hadn’t encountered those symptoms before. They simply replaced my motherboard. This was during the 11th hour of my warantee. Thank you for the advise.
Now I have a new problem. The AC plug keeps popping out of the AC adapter on the back of my laptop. At first it was being slippery but the battery would charge again when I replaced it. Now it never stays in and I have around 23% battery power to work with so I never turn the thing on. I know if I turn it on I had better get whatever I need done quick!
Isn’t power a common problem with Toshiba. Any recommendation. No warantee any more.
January 8th, 2007 at 11:34 pm
I have a satellite A65 (toshiba) notebook. It worked fine until recently. I have two problems now:
1) When I push the power button, the blue light around the button comes on and the LEDs on the key board and in front come on. However there is no activity on the screen and the laptop shuts down soon after. I have put this on direct AC power but no improvements. If I keep trying to boot the laptop I may get lucky and the system will boot normally. Please tell me what may be causing this. Earlier the problem would come up once in a while, now it is every time I try to boot the system
2) The laptop has stopped recognising the BIOS password, I cannot find the CMOS battery or the jumpers on the mother board, please tell me whats a good way to get past the prompt and be able to boot windows
thanks
January 12th, 2007 at 9:02 pm
I had been able to finagle the AC to work until now, so I finally tried to use your guide. It made everything so much easier. I found the the broken plastic widget that made the DC-In recede and super glued it back on. Then I patched the laptop back up but when I got to the third wire near the WiFi and Modem I got stumped. I can’t figure out where I unplugged it from.yesterday night.
Can you tell me where it goes? I linked to the picture that shows it, as my “website”. I have Aux and Main but where does the third wire plug back into??!? I can’t correspond this pic to your “step-by-step” because it was never highlighted in a photo.
January 14th, 2007 at 7:10 pm
Sapan,
To start any laptop with video you need three essential components: motherboard, processor and memory. The blue light around the power button comes on, so most likely there is nothing wrong with the AC adapter. Here’s what you can try. If you have any extra memory module installed remove it and start the laptop just with the base memory (this model comes with onboard memory). If you still have the same problem, there is not much you can do. I would assume that you have either a bad motherboard or bad RAM, but it doesn’t make any difference because RAM is integrated into the motherboard. If you want to fix the problem, most likely you’ll have to replace the motherboard.
January 17th, 2007 at 7:55 pm
Meadowlark Bradsher,
Is this extra wire is brown? May be it’s a Bluetooth antenna cable (usually brown). Sometimes you might have this antenna installed, but there is no Bluetooth module. In this case tape it to the plastic somewhere. There also could be a modem cable, it plugs into the modem (cannot see on the picture). Remove the modem and turn it over, you’ll see the connector on the side.
February 4th, 2007 at 7:54 am
I have the same problem with my A65…anyone know how to fix it? Mine doesn’t even get lucky and boot…:( I push the power button, it lights up, LEDs light up, five to ten seconds go by, and it shuts down. no screen activity, nothing except the sound of it powering up, then down, and the lights. I hadn’t used it for over a year and then fairly recently started using it for some computer-related classes I have. I would also like to know if there is a way to replace the original memory, if I ever get it to work again…Please help, I’d greatly appreciate it.
February 5th, 2007 at 11:29 pm
Twinblade,
Sounds like a system board problem, you’ll have to replace it. You cannot replace the original memory because it’s permanently soldered to the system board.
By the way, it’s possible you have a bad AC adapter. Test it with a voltmeter. Maybe the battery still has some charge, enough just to power up the unit for a few seconds.
February 7th, 2007 at 1:19 pm
thank you for your help, I got it to work, dunno how, but it is probably something simple I did
I also replaced the processor in the laptop…I hated the celeron. The battery itself is toast, hasn’t held a charge since before I stopped using it…actually one of the reasons, too. If anyone is interested, it is possible to switch out the processor…just requires that the FSB is the same, the power requirements are the same or lover, and that the Motherboard can support the processor speed…anywho, thank you for your help!
February 13th, 2007 at 4:30 pm
This is late in the thread and nobody is listening, but my son has this very model and when he had this problem awhile back, he called tech support. They had him remove all power sources, battery & AC for two minutes. Then reattach them and restart. It happened again this evening and he took the battery out and had no success. He forgot to disconnect the pwr cord and finnally did that and it worked.
I hope this helps someone.
CJ
February 19th, 2007 at 7:45 pm
CJ,
Thank you for the information.
Why do you think it’s late? People still have Satellite A85 laptops.
February 28th, 2007 at 12:25 am
i own an A-85 S107 model (2006), it worked fine till last night when i finished work and closed notebook to go in hibernation. Today morning, when i opened the top, expecting the notebook to resume the overnight session, it never resumed. it was on battery. i then connected AC but the result remained same. i noticed “AC source” LED lit-on while “battery” LED did not. So the problem was obviously with battery pack. i ended up in this discussion and used tip by CJ (48) to insert battery pack after 2 minutes. i did and it worked.
Thanks to CJ for quick relief from worry. Does anybody know why it happens and what is philosophy of de-taching the battery for 2 minutes or so???????
May 23rd, 2007 at 4:47 am
I recently bought a upgrade battery for my A85-S107 laptop after the other died. The battery came fully charged,I ran the battery down and now it wont recharge, I already sent a battery back thinking it was the problem. The orange charging light just blinks every five seconds. any suggestions? Toshiba tech support said take it in for repair. I read where this was a problem with their A75 models. he claimed they had no history of A85’s having this problem.
May 24th, 2007 at 8:47 pm
Jim S,
He’s right. Satellite A85 doesn’t fail the same way as Satellite A75.
Does it run from the AC adapter if the battery is removed? If it does, then most likely there is nothing wrong with the AC adapter and you have a motherboard related problem.
May 27th, 2007 at 7:12 am
Yes CJ , It does run from the AC adapter ,My hard drive died and I replaced it at the same time. I wonder if at that time it caused a motherboard problem. Everything else is running good. Thaks for your help.
May 29th, 2007 at 10:02 pm
Jim,
I don’t think that replacing the hard drive would cause the battery charging problem.
You can try upgrading/reflashing the BIOS, it might help.
June 1st, 2007 at 6:07 am
CJ,
Already tried that to no avail, not sure what else to try, I dont really want to change the motherboard.
Thanks for your suggestions.
June 16th, 2007 at 8:35 am
Cj2600,
You’re doing such a great job responding to everyone here. I hadn’t realized that you had responded to my last post. That wire went to the component next to the wifi, the one that is screwed in on kitty corners. The port was so tiny, I kept overlooking it.
For the last month, I have been having data loss problems. In the beginning it was the wifi driver. Then it was other boot records. I had a lot of blue screens, usually after a disk check. When I reinstalled Windows, it would run for a while and then break down again. I remember i had once dropped the HD in a nasty way so I replaced it with another that was lying around (ATA-5 though). I thought I had fixed it and for about a week and a half I had, but now here I am again with the same problems!
Not only that I had broken my headphone jack half loose so that sound quality is always iffy. I tried supergluing it back down but honestly I don’t know how it is supposed to connect; I couldn’t find anything about those. And my adapter tore and was throwing sparks and now I use a cheap one. Perhaps I fried something, if air has greater resistance than wiring that could increase the voltage, right? V=IR?
Do you have any motherboard’s you can sell?
June 17th, 2007 at 11:08 pm
Meadowlark Bradsher,
I do not sell laptop parts. Here’s my post about finding notebook spare parts. It might help you to find a new motherboard for your computer.
June 28th, 2007 at 3:52 pm
I have a toshiba satellite a65 s1064 that I pulled apart. When I took the fan from the video card, I noticed something that looks like thermal paste. Should I apply thermal paste before re-assembling the laptop?
Thanks in advance.
July 1st, 2007 at 11:39 pm
Hakeem Moore,
Yes you should apply thermal paste. As a last resort you can use old paste.
September 6th, 2007 at 9:39 am
Another A85 power problem. We (wife and I) got this computer from a business we purchased. Computer has always been DOA; the LEDs on the front do not even light up when the power cord is plugged in. I took it apart, didn’t notice anything unusal, but I noticed there is a faint humming/ ticking sound coming from the fan or CPU, not sure. Any idea what this might be? I cleaned out the dust from the fan, made sure everything was seated well but no luck. Any ideas/suggestions are appreciated.
September 6th, 2007 at 9:56 am
re: comment 60 I opened her up again and I see that one of the (two?) LEDs for the battery indicator light up and I think that is where the ticking sound is coming from (if that helps with the diagnosis).
Thanks.
September 6th, 2007 at 7:50 pm
HMB,
Find a voltmeter and test the AC adapter first. If the AC adapter is fine and outputs correct voltage, most likely you have a faulty motherboard. I don’t know what else can cause this problem. The adapter plugged directly into the motherboard.
November 4th, 2007 at 7:08 pm
Hi.
I have a Toshiba Satelite A85-S107.
And a few days ago I decided to format my computer.
But since then I cant hear music or nothing just this noise when I’m writing on msn and I backspace too much.
Plz someone e-mail me some help.
Thank you.
November 4th, 2007 at 7:09 pm
Oh I forgot to tell u my e-mail just in case.
omg228@yahoo.com.
November 4th, 2007 at 10:35 pm
Paris,
Did your laptop work fine before reformatting? Did you have sound before?
July 15th, 2008 at 5:16 pm
I can not get my battery to charge. I can plug my adapter cord in and the comp works fine but won’t charge the battery…
PLEASE HELP ME!!!
September 21st, 2008 at 7:55 pm
I have an IBM ThinkPad R51 and it just recently it stopped working. It was working fine and then the screen froze. I did a hard reboot but it does not show anything on the screen (the power and battery light comes on) and it did not go through its POST with no hard drive activity. I turn it on and off and sometimes it will display the IBM screen and I am able to put in the boot up password and I am able to log in to Windows (XP) but after a second or two, it freezes again. I tested the hard drive in my other ThinkPad R51 and it works perfectly for hours. I also replaced the memory in the defective one and it came up for a few minutes and then I get like a small static (for a second or two) on the screen and it freezes again and sometimes the screen will go black and then back to the frozen screen. When I can get the IBM boot screen, (maybe every 15 or 20 tries or if I leave it for a few hours) it will not allow me to get into the BIOS screen because I get that static and it freezes again. The hard drive is working and the memory is OK (I even swapped memory and memory slots). I cannot figure out what is the problem. Is it a video connection (I removed the keyboard and reconnected the video connection)? Would a video problem cause the freezing? Thanks for any help you can provide.
September 21st, 2008 at 11:32 pm
shaolinprince,
It looks like you posted the same question in the other thread and I posted my suggestions in there. Anyway, if you know for sure that the memory module and hard drive are good, most likely you have a problem with the motherboard.
September 28th, 2008 at 3:56 am
My Toshiba will not start it use to start just fine but it stop. It will begin to act like it is starting and even not shut down but nothing shows on it.
September 29th, 2008 at 9:06 pm
latory,
Could be bad memory. If you have two memory modules, you can remove them one by one and test the laptop with each module separately.
Let’s say the laptop works fine with one module but will not start with the second one. That means the second memory module is bad and has to be replaced.
Also, test your laptop with an external monitor. If external monitor is working fine, it’s not memory related problem. Something is wrong with the laptop display.
November 15th, 2008 at 12:07 am
The solution works, thanks a lot. My laptop now turns on by pressing the keys [X,C,V] and the power button. The switch board cable is just underneath those keys.