About 3 weeks ago I received a comment from a user who described his experience with Toshiba Satellite M35X. Today I got one more for Toshiba Satellite A75. Even though these are completely different models, they have very similar problems: laptop heatsink gets clogged and the laptop overheats, improperly grounded top cover causes the laptop to freeze up and reboot, badly designed DC jack causes the power failure. May be your experience is more positive?
I got the laptop as a Xmas present from my boyfriend in Dec 2004. Shortly after I got it, I got the blue screen of death. Then it began freezing up on me. Toshiba told me this was a problem with a grounding wire in the motherboard. I took it to a service center and they fixed the problem. Within about another 2 months, it started doing hard shut-downs when any load was present – was unable to burn DVDs, view DVDs, play music or even view basic graphics on the internet, as well as shutting down during use of Windows Media Player. The fan was loud! Then, the AC adapter problem. To this day, I have no green light showing at all on the front of my computer. It was fine at first, then started flickering (when I pressed down on silver plate that was replaced at the service center due to the grounding wire problem), the green light would come back on for a short time and then disappear again.
The laptop is getting power while plugged into the wall and the battery is recharging…..but, what’s up with the green light disappearing?
I have a cooling pad underneath my Toshiba that has an external power source – overheating is NOT the problem with this computer. From what I can surmise, the issue is in the CPU. The motherboard probably needs to be replaced and God only knows what’s causing the problem with the LED indicator.
At this point, my computer is now out of warranty, however, because I brought these problems to their attention during the warranty period, they have essentially issued a blank check for me to have “any hardware problems fixed” as an exception to the warranty. They were too quick to authorize this, so my feeling is that these problems are systemic with this model and Toshiba is well aware of them, though why they have never issued a recall is beyond me and does not bode well for Toshiba’s PR department.
It is going in for repairs tomorrow (had to back everything up in case the motherboard has to be replaced) and I will advise what the findings are when I get it back – estimated time for repairs is 2 weeks.
If this computer were not being fixed on Toshiba’s dime, I wouldn’t bother paying to have it fixed – I’d just buy another laptop. I am very upset that I’m unable to use this laptop for any of the features they advertise. I also strongly suspect that Toshiba knew of these problems beforehand and sold the things anyway, looking for Xmas windfall revenue – this computer was introduced in Dec. 2004, if memory serves correctly.
What a sad indictment of corporate greed – this laptop was $1,500 – we’re not talking about a pack of gum, here.
Is your experience with this model any different?
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May 30th, 2006 at 2:16 pm
I wanted to give the readers an update on my laptop, now that I’ve received it back from the repair center. Yes, it was an overheating problem that stems from a very poorly designed fan system. Not only did they replace the fans and clean the heatsink, but replaced the entire motherboard as well. The LED indicator shortage problem was thanks to the last repair I had done to the motherboard when they “fixed” a problem with the grounding wire (computer was freezing up). For those who do get their laptops serviced due to the recall for this freezing problem, if your LED lights start flickering when you get it back, know that the cable wasn’t seated properly.
Toshiba incurred the full cost of this repair, even though my laptop’s warranty had expired. That is because I complained about it non-stop for almost a year before they got the message that there are a lot of very unhappy campers with Toshibas right now. Ironically, when I walked into the repair center, another guy was sitting there with the same model laptop for the same reason……..=(
All said and done, were I to have to pay for these repairs, it would have run me $900. For bad engineering.
I have to give Toshiba some props for doing the right thing. All I ask is that any company stand behind their workmanship….from what I’ve seen out there on the internet, I am the exception to the rule when it comes to dealing with Toshiba’s customer service reps. Don’t deal with their service techs, don’t even deal with the customer service reps. Keep going up the food chain at Toshiba until you reach someone who’s in a position of authority to override their internal protocol and can get your computer fixed.
If you have an overheating problem, get your computer cleaned professionally (if you don’t know what you’re doing). Buy a cooling fan with an external power source and blow forced air in the back and side vents at least once every couple of weeks. I am resigned to having this computer professionally serviced to keep the heatsink cleared on a yearly basis from here on out. That’s an inexpensive maintenance regimen that will save me hundreds on a new motherboard.
Good luck to all and thanks for letting me share this with you!
June 1st, 2006 at 1:57 pm
I own an A70 and the recurring static/grounding problem was supposedly repaired. Unfortunately, I did not realize that part of my problem in restarts was caused by the power jack problem until AFTER my warrantly ran out. I spent over $600 to have the unit repaired and it is still NOT working. It seems that the multiple static discharges have fried somehthing else and Toshiba has told me I am on my own since the warrantly has run out.
I am telling all of my clients to AVOID purchasing a Toshiba of any sort including radios and televisions. The knowingly sold a defective product and hoped that it would not surface until after the warranty ran out….
June 3rd, 2006 at 2:24 am
Hi there,
You think you have it bad. I’m currently writing this post in “safe mode’ Win XP because its the only way my Toshiba Satellite M40 will run. Otherwise in normal mode, is freezes up within 10 minutes of booting up, particularly if the laptop is moved. I’ve had the fan cleaned by authorized Toshiba repair (warranty expired) and replaced the RAM. No difference.
I’m bracing myself for the fact I’ll probably have to buy a new motherboard or CPU. Toshiba sucks.
If anyone has any suggestions, please email me. Thanks.
BG
June 3rd, 2006 at 2:31 pm
Well
i just went thru a75 hell,
Had the overheating issue with a 16 mo old laptop
then the power jack issue
A75-211(post power short machine)
Fixed them both with a little help from a firend with better eyes.
The disaassembly instructions were key to the problem. Only lost 2 screws in taking it apart about 7 times.
there are some fragile components in there some you have to bull some you have to be dainty with (speaker connectors for example)
But i have a semi healthy (I hope ) laptop for now.
June 7th, 2006 at 5:38 pm
sigh….same problem. i got my A70 on Dec 2004 as a Xmas gift and in Feb 2005 it started freezing and i had to reboot. i thought it was my software and cleaned the hell out of this with anti-spyware, Norton, etc…
then i called Toshiba since it was still under warranty and they said to bring it to there Authorized Service Dept and they supposingly added the foil for the static freezing problem. All is well until in March 2006 when my lap started to shut off with no apparant reason. after reading some posts I see that there is a cooling fan/heatsink clogging issue. so now i called again and they just told me to go and they gave me a service code (i think they know the problems) even though my warranty is over.
i’ll keep you posted as now i will not have my lap for at least 3 weeks!
toshiba sucks and i will never recommend this to anyone!
June 8th, 2006 at 8:54 am
From reading the history it is plain Toshiba have known about these problems for a long time, —-03? 04?. I bought mine from Miocrocenter as a result of the glowing testimonial of a Microcenter salesman in May ‘05. when it froze microcenter eventually told me they knew`about it……….. so they too are culpable. i trust they will be joined in the lawsuits. have only lately found out about the shorting top and had assumed it was the digital interface AKA my sausage fingers. Today I cannot play my daughter’s newly recored album becausethe`sound card seems to have died. Don’t you all love the almost useless DVD/CD/RW drive???????
Come on Toshiba, give us all new computers: it will be cheaper in the long run. —- Perhaps you should give us HPs; I hear they do not break down!
June 22nd, 2006 at 8:50 pm
Sounds all too familiar.
About a month after purchasing A75-S213 I changed the power settings to make the processor run at the “low” speed setting in an effort to quieten the notebook’s fans; the noise from which was alarming my classmates and scaring animals within a 3 mile radius. The drop in performance is negligible and this might have saved me from some of the more severe problems that I have read about on the net.
After 10 months of use the machine is still reasonably dependable and I love the way it functions (except for the fan noise), but once every 10 days it will drop dead and refuse to come back to life for around 10 minutes. I think part of me knew that that type of processor doesn’t belong in such a tiny box, but I was willing to put up with extra heat weight and noise to have the power of a desktop in my notebook. I wasn’t willing to have a machine that can have an episode of catalepsy at any moment.
So listen to Andrew Johnston Mr. Toshiba. Upwards of 200 bucks an hour for every lawyer working on the case, a significant portion of which is paying for the lawyers to eat, pee, poop and sign their name on something written by an intern. Is it worth it?
June 25th, 2006 at 8:05 am
I nevr expected Toshiba laptop(Satellite a75 -s231) can be such a waste computer, they looted me ,i purchased it for $1200, and my laptop shuts down after every 15 min.. i cannot install or run any application on it except IE browser. Never in my life i am going to buy any TOSHIAB product.
June 27th, 2006 at 4:55 pm
Yet another disgruntled A75 owner here. Similiar problems…poor engineering has created an extremely dangerous environment for the processor…..I have even tried a USB extermal cooling device to help with the problem..unfortunately, it appears to make it worse
My problems started shortly after purchase… so I find it hard to believe that a cleaning would resolve the issues.
Fair warning to all those considering purchasing Toshiba.
June 28th, 2006 at 8:44 am
Gopal,
It might happen with any computer. I’ve seen a lot of different laptops from different manufacturers and they all suffered from the same problem – overheating. Clean the heatsink and you’ll get it fixed.
June 28th, 2006 at 3:29 pm
Yep, both problems occured to my A75 206. I am encouraged by the above comment about carte blanche fixing. My heat issue occured under warranty. Was without my laptop for two weeks. The tech said that it needed to be cleaned regularly but gave no indication on how to.
I’m very glad to have found this site as the A/C D/C problem has been a depressing part of my computing life. The tech mentioned replacing the motherboard as the only alternative and never again purchasing a laptop. There is just NO $$ for this type of repair right now. Especially on a 1 1/2 yr old machine.
I wish to send an email to Toshiba rather than waste time talking to someone over in SE Asia without any authority to do anything about these known issues, but I’m afraid that’s all I’ll be able to do.
June 29th, 2006 at 11:19 am
Good News Update.
Kudos to the Customer Care Dept. at Toshiba for doing the right thing. I called the 800 number for customer service.
They insisted that I call the nearest Authorized Toshiba Dealer (70 miles from my home) who could deal with the two problems that I described – the past overheating problem for which I had had my computer fixed under warranty last summer, and the DC-In power jack problem that I’ve been struggling with the last 4-5 months. By doing so, I proved that I was willing to make the effort to get things fixed under their terms.
Important note: Whenever dealing with customer support. BE VERY KIND AN PATIENT – never insist it be done your way and never get angry, abusive, or threatening. Be as kind as you can and jump through whatever hoops they give you. They are making sure you aren’t some krank who just wants to take them for a ride. Many fakes have spoiled it for those of us with real problems.
In my call to NW Computer Support of Tukwilla, WA, I found out that the authorized dealers can not access the reference number given to me by Toshiba. The reason seems to be that Toshiba wants to deal directly with the customer and have everything customer initiated. I was also given a direct fax line for the service rep at the NW Computer Support dealer in order for the Toshiba people to contact with any necessary paperwork. The suggestion was to ask for an extended warranty for this problem common to Toshiba laptops.
I once again called Toshiba and explained how I had jumped through their hoops. I was even more patient and thankful for any help they could render.
It was good having a renewed game plan thanks to the NW Comp. service rep. Forwarned is indeed forearmed.
I was asked to hang on for a conference call with a Customer Care rep. I would have to wait about three minutes, I was told. “That’s fine, thank you,” I said.
After a while I was indeed transferred to the Care rep. who listened to my problem and also how I had researched the issue on the Internet and wished to not be involved in the pending class action suits. I mentioned that all I wanted was to get my computer fixed.
She immediately told me that they would issue an approval for fixing my computer at NW Comp. Support, if that was where I wanted to take the computer. I gave the special fax number and the name of the rep. there. She said she would fax it within ten minutes.
I got a return call from the NW Comp. rep about fifteen minutes. He was astounded at how fast I was taken care of. He asked how I did it. I told him that I just followed his fine advice as to how to proceed.
The fax gave instructions that the required parts must be ordered by them within 7 days. This would the show Toshiba that I was serious about getting it fixed and that I had once again gone through the right channels.
A comment on the pending class action suits – the only winners are the lawyers.
July 17th, 2006 at 6:58 pm
A class action lawsuit is long overdue. Most of the problems with the A75 arise from an engineering SNAFU that does not take rocket science to figure out: a 3.33 desktop processor crammed into a laptop chassis!… duhhh!
Ohh, it overheated… duhhh!
Oh, it shut down… duhhh!
Oh, the blue screen of death… duhhhh!
Unfortunately, I was one of the first few who bought into this bleeding-edge technology, without realizing the incompatibility earlier on… double duhhhh!!!
- TJ
July 20th, 2006 at 4:13 pm
I find it amazing reading all this that Toshiba isn’t fixing the KNOWN non-warrANTY issues.. I too have an a75 that had the case issue, overheating issue AND the power plug issue.. I had the case rplaced under warranty but was told they wouldn’t fix the adapter jack because the piece of crap usb ports are intermittent. (this was a vendor in Orlando). Now why the usb ports (of questionable quality) determine why they can’t replace the motherboard is beyond me. I just sent it in to Toshiba and they sent the unit back not fixed saying the motherboard was bad. With all of these known bad laptops I would think a class action lawsuit would teach toshiba a lesson.. Any lawyers out there that would be interested? I am so pissed. I am no longer a toshiba fan.
July 29th, 2006 at 8:19 pm
Seems a lot of people experience overheating problems with Toshiba Satellite A75. Me too. Or at least I did. I have big dogs, hair and dust everywhere. My A75 started overheating and shutting down at random times. I finally looked underneath and saw the fans were full of dog hair and dust. Used a vacuum cleaner and thought it would be ok….but no, it still overheated. Got out my air compressor and set it at 80 psi. A few blasts through the fans and through the heat sink fins and all kinds of crap came flying out. Cured the overheating problem. Now I routinely blast it with high-pressure air every couple of months and never have a heat problem, even with the 95 degree temperatures we have been having lately.
August 4th, 2006 at 11:42 am
i wish i stumble upon this website before i had my laptop.
i have toshiba A70 and im having the same problem with the ac jack. it flickers and wont charge the battery.
im so afraid to do fix it myself but not stupid enough to pay 200$ to pay for a repair.
i wish toshiba would bother a little to make their products better than selling a laptop worth 1,500$ with a bunch of garbage in them.
August 5th, 2006 at 8:56 pm
see #11 and #12 below for parts 1 and 2.
My laptop is fixed. Paid for under an extended warranty by Toshiba. I still think the real reason for taking care of me was that I was courteous, I had my research done (much in part to previous posters on this site, and I did what they asked.
1) I contacted the Toshiba approved Support center. 2) Had the Toshiba approved Support center fax the information back to them and contact them myself again. (The support center told me that Toshiba wants all requests to come from the customer.) 3) Respectfully request an extended warranty to fix the loose AC adapter contact.
I jumped through their hoops in a respectful manner and they fixed the known problems.
Will I buy another laptop without an extended warranty from Beast Buy, Circuit Bitty, or CostCrow? Nope. Will I buy another laptop? Nope.
August 14th, 2006 at 5:04 pm
I don’t want to write a long blog, but I just want to extend upon everyone’s grief with this laptop. I just got off the phone about a half hour ago to experience that Toshiba didn’t want to help with my over-heating problem because the warranty is expired. If this laptop has a design problem, they should recall this model and find a solution. Looks like I’ll follow the advice from above and airblow the heat sinks and fans….. fun!
August 14th, 2006 at 7:55 pm
Hey Vince,
You’ll find more info and tips on laptop overheating here.
September 1st, 2006 at 7:42 am
Recently we bought a Toshiba Satelite laptop from the Computer Fair in Singapore, after 1 week, the monitor could not be turned on. It took Toshiba 4 weeks to repair due to motherboard problem. One week after the laptop was brought to USA the same problem appeared. Can you imagine how devastating it was to experience such unbelievably problem a consumer has to bear with?
September 8th, 2006 at 6:58 am
All above all true statement, A75-S206 is a garbage, not only waste your time to have it repair running back and forth.
-Overheating, shut down your Laptop
-Loose ground, system lockup
-Loose ground, BSOD
September 8th, 2006 at 9:43 pm
same exact experience here – usb ports that are loose and intermittant, power plugin port also.
THEN there are the fans that seem to suck dirt into the heatsink like black holes devouring the universe. I’ve even taped extremely fine mesh fabric over mine to “pre-filter” the dirt!
Satellite A75 – S206
it sucks, radically. And of course, any fixes that might have been covered required a minimum 5-10 days without a laptop. I’ll never buy another Toshiba again.
at least I haven’t had the shorting out. The dirt on the heatsink definitely overheats the computer. Mine’s long out of warranty, so I just took the damn thing apart myself and cleaned it. 7 hours later and with a bad case of TMJ, it has stopped over heating, but I regularly do a reverse suck of the fans with the vacuum cleaner (weekly) and then, there’s the mesh pre-filter.
Right now, the big thing tonight is the way the power cord just seems to disconnect at the actual laptop — something not noticed until the alarm goes off when battery power gets critical. Oh, yeah. and I’m down to just the two back usb ports.
No, wait… there’s the little thingie that ejects the PCMCIA card — that fell out and got lost about 3 months after buying this piece of junk!
DO NOT BUY ONE OF THESE.
September 12th, 2006 at 7:16 pm
I joined a class action lawsuit. Please do the same: http://www.lorisklar.com/toshad.htm. These computers should have been recalled. I have read hundred of reviews with the same problem.
September 16th, 2006 at 9:30 pm
My toshiba A75-S229 would over heat and suddenly shut off, I was able to avoid this problem by cleaning it with pressurized can of air every 2-3 months. Then every once in a while the blue death screen of a serious error would appear and suddenly shut the damn laptop, I was never able to figure what caused it. ABout two weeks ago the ac pack would not charge the battery unless I would wiggle the damn connector around.. So looked online for people having problems with their Toshibas and ended reading all the information on this website. I dreaded calling Toshiba since I knew my laptops was past its manufacturer warranty. After searching for a certified Toshiba repair center in my area from the Toshiba info page I called the tech in the center. He told me that they would repair the laptop for free, but was told not to waste any time and to bring the laptop in ASAP. I guess Toshiba has OK repairing these problems with their laptop.. I took it in on Tuesday and had my laptop back and running on Friday. SO far so good im keeping my fingers crossed. In the future I will search for possible problems with laptops I might consider buying and that will be a major factor on which company I decide to purchase my next laptop from.
September 18th, 2006 at 1:58 pm
My toshiba M35 has the same problem. I brought it on sale at Best Buys. First the monitor was not working. I had to send back through Best Buys. When the laptop came back, they lost my battery and they had to order again. Now the laptop cannot be used on AC. It has to be charged first before it can be used. On the other, if I use it for a little more than an hour the laptop just shutdown by itself. What a piece of junk. I will never buy Toshiba again. So much for the Japanese technology.
September 26th, 2006 at 12:20 am
I truly feel everyones pain. I sent in mine for repair because it was still under warranty and thought the problem was fixed, to find out after my warranty expired 4 months later, it started acting up by shutting down again in the middle of a movie, recording music and while playing several different games of course not all at the same time. I called Toshiba tech-support and they said they could not help me because the laptop is out of warranty. I’m very unhappy with Toshiba and their poor customer service in resolving this issue.
September 26th, 2006 at 8:04 pm
C. DeBose,
Buy a can of compressed air and blow out the heatsink and fan. It should take care of your problem. I think your laptop shuts down because it overheats.
September 30th, 2006 at 10:52 pm
I got problems with my A75-S231 because of the badly designed DC jack causes the power failure. I buy the Laptop 1 year ago and my warranty gone, so i made it fix with a computer shop… to expensive charge me 150 dlls and now is fine but it hurt loss that kind of money.
Anyway i am planning to upgrade this computer, (I know its a troblesome laptop but it is a good one)
I will put more Ram memory (1Gig) but i dont know about if i can upgrade the graphic card, can any body tell me if i can? the crusial memory page tell me it is integrate so they dont know if i can upgrade it, i wish i can so can play games or put the new vista windows in the future.
September 30th, 2006 at 11:42 pm
Charly,
You cannot upgrade the graphic card on Satellite A75 laptop because it’s integrated into the system board. It’s a part of the system board and cannot be removed or replaced.
October 2nd, 2006 at 10:49 am
I was wondering if anyone was having the same problem I was with a A75. I dont have overheating problems but there seems to be a problem with a fan. Its gotten progressively worst over the pass couple of months. its causing loud noise and vibrations that i can feel on the keyboard that didn’t exist that before. Any ideas?
October 2nd, 2006 at 10:59 am
Thomas,
Yep, I’ve seen it before many times. Most likely just a bad fan. If you want to get rid of the noise and vibration, you’ll have to replace it. Just in case if you want do it yourself, you’ll find disassembly instructions for Satellite A75 on http://www.irisvista.com. You can find a new fan for your laptop if you google by the part number: K000016310
October 2nd, 2006 at 12:32 pm
I have a P30. Problems with overheating just outside warranty, had it cleaned, (and do so every 6 months now to keep it running). The DC jack problem, yep- got it too. Now half my screen has gone, perfectly down the middle, one side black (sometimes some vertical lines) and the other side fine. So, now it is plugged into an external monitor and no longer qualifies as a laptop. And by fine on the half mpnitor I mean sort of fine… always had disappearing pixels here adn there…
Never buy any Toshiba product again. Don’t even get me started on their MP3 player… grrrrr.
October 2nd, 2006 at 12:35 pm
I was also wondering if it dealt with maintance cause this problem occurred previously about 8 months after i bought it and got it repaired since it was still under warranty but now 6 monhts later after the repairs its happening again. Could dust be a cause or something else?
October 11th, 2006 at 9:26 am
Had all the overheating & melted DC power solder problems just out of warranty. After hours on the phone with the local shop & Toshiba service in India, and a couple weeks in the shop, I got a free motherboard replacement. The DC issue seems to be solved.
The problem now is, the heat seems to have prematurely killed my hard drive, it’s dead after about 18 months of ownership.
I will never buy a Toshiba again. Too bad the class actions only cover the static problems, I sure hope someone raises a lawsuit regarding the overheating issues. Toshiba sucks.
October 11th, 2006 at 9:28 am
PS – forgot to mention, the “replacment” motherboard was actually a refurbished motherboard. You should hear the rattle out of the fans on the new board, sounds like the impellers are going to fly apart any second. What a piece of junk, what a terrible company.
October 12th, 2006 at 6:17 pm
My brother and I both have a 75. My was the 1st to go with the overheating then his. I had mine fixed at an authorized Toshiba repair shop and it happened again no longer than 3 months later. I have spent so much time and energy talking and dealing with people from Toshiba to get nothing back. I will never buy anything from Toshiba again!
October 22nd, 2006 at 11:40 pm
I hate Toshiba.
I have an A75. The overheating problem started about 6 months after I bought it. I finally read up online and figured out what it was. So now I vacuum my computer every month. It’s obnoxious, but it has solved the problem.
Just within the last month I have been having the problem with the power cord. It’s getting worse and worse and I really don’t know what to do about it. I don’t want to get into a battle with Toshiba customer service and I can’t be without my computer for more than a couple of days.
So… yeah. I hate Toshiba.
October 24th, 2006 at 10:06 am
Hey everybody,
I was wondering, I have a Satellite A75-S229 and here’s the situation. Downloaded the spec sheet and the guide so I could add more memory (ram) to it. Well in the spec sheet it says my model has (2) Expansion memory slots. So I purchased 2 more 512mb chips to max out the ram. Well I found the one (underneath the memory cover) Where’s the other slot? Are both slots there and I don’t see it? or Should I return both chips and just get a 1gb chip to max out? Much appreciated fellas…thx.
October 24th, 2006 at 2:51 pm
Charles,
Toshiba Satellite A75 has only one expansion memory slot available for upgrades. One memory stick is permanently soldered to the motherboard and you cannot remove or upgrade it. You should buy only one chip, because you have only ONE slot that you can use.
October 24th, 2006 at 3:56 pm
Thx again
October 24th, 2006 at 7:03 pm
I am the not so proud user of an A70 as well, luckally it was leased to me by my post secondary institution (sait) with the option to buy it out at the end of my program. I think I have spent more time with the schools loner laptops then my own because its spent more time away for repairs then in my hands (and im on my third from them) whats up with this machine! the soundcard never works, its always over heating (regardless of how often i blow out the heatsinks etc) and i think the power jack on the motherboard might be made out of playdough cause 2 have been sent off because its been damaged… obviously i dont plan on buying this out at the end of the semester, what im wondering now is, is this represetative of all toshiba laptops? because ill be in the market for a new laptop soon and right now toshiba is not my first (to fifth) choice!
October 27th, 2006 at 8:38 am
I have a toshiba A75 laptop it has been sent back twice once for the mother board once for the screen and it is now out of wartine by 2weeks and the problems have started again and toshiba dont want to hear it
October 27th, 2006 at 12:01 pm
Richard,
Try calling Toshiba again. I think you can get a different response, it depends on the person you are talking to. One guy had a situation similar to yours; his Satellite A75 was one week out of warranty. He called Toshiba and they rejected his request but after he called the second time, his laptop was accepted for repair. I don’t know what he told them, but it worked for him.
October 29th, 2006 at 12:24 pm
Guys, I’ve toshiba A75 S206, with battery charging problem ( wouldn’t work from AC power, and can’t get the battery to charge). Reading thru this post, one of the users( Carlos) mentioned that the certified Toshiba were able to fix the issue for free of cost. Can u please post contact info for that Toshiba Repair Center ?
Are you happy with the fix now ?
Thanks !
October 29th, 2006 at 1:02 pm
Paritosh,
Here’s the information you are looking for. Visit Toshiba tech support site (follow the link) and use Global ASP locator to find a service center in your area.
November 5th, 2006 at 3:24 pm
I have had three motherboards installed on my A75-S209 because of power suppily issues. This is the worst comp I have ever delt with. I will never buy another Toshiba again. Beware they are able to offer great prices when compaired to other manufactures because they use cheap parts. You are wasting yout time with the service center because they put cheap parts right back in after it breaks the first time.
November 6th, 2006 at 10:20 pm
I have an extended warranty with Circuit City. When I contacted them about the problem with my A75 S209 they stated that I would have to rum the Disc Recovery to determan if the problem was hardware or software (they had me run the machine in bios for 12 hours and it didn’t shut down durring that). So, while the recovery disc was wiping my hard drive, the system froze and crashed.
What has pissed me off the most so far is that everyone I spoke to at Toshiba have given me different answers. Also, everyone I spoke to at Toshiba acted as if I was the first person they have heard from who has had this problem. Then it was like pulling teeth to get the lady at Toshiba to tell me all of my options.
Unfortunately I only started searching to see if others had similar problems tonight after the computer crashed.
I don’t mind paying a fair price for a product, as long as that product performs as expected. I guess I have to read all the reviews before buying anything nowadays. the problem with waiting for computers is that by the time all those who baught the computer have chimed in, the next generation is on the store shelf
November 7th, 2006 at 8:48 pm
Howdy all! Is there a class action lawsuit in Canada? Does anyone know? I’ve HAD IT with my Satellite A70 piece o’ crap. It’s a 2005 model and I’m getting ready to take it in for repair…what? #4? I’ve lost track.
Overheating – Bluescreen of Death – Shutting Down for No Known Reason – the list continues.
I will be going with IBM or Sony next time.
Thanks in advance on the lawsuit info.
*buggers*
November 9th, 2006 at 12:37 pm
my a75-s206 has line down the side of the screen!!!!
toshiba wont talk out of warrenty! use clothes pin to keep lines off screen? cheap top? any whay to make them pay?
November 11th, 2006 at 4:34 pm
I’ve already had the power cord problem,(fixed last year) and now have the shut down problem,as well.I tried using the compressed air solution,but that only helps for about 24 hours.This is the first time I’ve heard of the electrostatic issue and the class-action suit.(I got a letter in the mail today about it…)
All I can say is I WILL NEVER BUY ANOTHER TOSHIBA.
Btw,the most you will recieve from the suit is a $25 payment or a $50 credit voucher.Gee.Thanks….
November 13th, 2006 at 10:06 am
I have a 3-yr extended warranty on my A75-S206 from Best Buy. Took in it to fix the DC jack problem and they sent it to their repiar center in Baltimore (I’m in Philly). I didn’t get it back for 3 weeks, and to top it off they didn’t even repair the problem! The paperwork said they couldn’t simulate the problem. Hey, how about a phone call to me for some clarification! Idiots! Now I am considering trying to resolder the jack on my own, even though my warranty is still good for another 9 months.
November 13th, 2006 at 1:49 pm
So there was a Class Action lawsuit against Toshiba for their Toshiba Satellite® A70, A75, M30X and M35X notebook computers and here are the results:
check out these sites for information on the lawsuit and the settlement:
http://www.lorisklar.com/
http://www.a70m30xsettlement.com/
http://www.a70m30xsettlement.com/notice.pdf
basically they have given a 12 month extension to the warranty. So now you can send it in for full repairs. and you can get up to 50$ if u sent it in and they didn’t fix your laptop.
according to the web sites, the 12 month extension starts November 7, 2006. I have not called in yet to see if in fact they are accepting. but if the site says so, it must be true.
If anyone has had time to call Toshiba and ask for their laptops to be repaired under this 12 month extension, please share your results.
Thank you
November 17th, 2006 at 6:44 am
I have aa A75-S226 that I purchased in July of ‘04. Had the shutting down and sound (or sometimes lack of any ) issues. Sent it to Toshiba for repair Feb. ‘05. They had it for nearly 3 mos. I called constantly and they kept saying the part (motherboard) was backordered.
When I finally got it back, I ask them to extend my warranty for the 3 mos. since I had no use of it then and was originally told the turn-around time for the repair would be about a week. That was a no go with them, I would have to purchase any extended warranty. I said NO WAY!
So I learned to live with the problems as they came back fairly quickly (after the warranty was up). And I’d spent $1700+ for the darned thing.
Anyway, the power plug in back of the PC recently went on the fritz so I was forced to call a repairman. Was hoping it would be a simple thing of just putting in a new power port adapter. He called to order the part (which cost $1000 by the way) and they then told him about the settlement of the class action. ( I was aware of the lawsuit but not of the settlement). So the warranty started again Nov. 7, ‘06 and goes to Nov.6, ‘07. And they’re going to fix everything that’s wrong with it!!!
They sent me a box to send the PC to their repair depot, postage paid. And also all the paperwork about the lawsuit and claim forms for $25 cash or $50 credit voucher at Toshiba for each instance you sent it in and didn’t get a ‘Top Cover’ repair. Plus you get a $35 credit voucher if you purchased an extended warranty and it expires After Nov.7 ‘06. Apparently they only inform you of this if you call or go to their website.
So I guess it was a good thing that I had a new problem that forced me to call a repairman in so that I could find out about this at the beginning of the new warranty period.
The wesite to go to to find out about your new warranty is:
http://www.A70M30Xsettlement.com
Hopefully everyone who still has them can finally get them fixed.
November 23rd, 2006 at 6:44 pm
Wow! Finally I have some info on just why my A70 laptop has been in the shop 6 times since it was given to me as a gift 23 months ago. It’s had its motherboard replaced once and has been in because the screen locked up once. It has been in the other times to have the connection plug soddered because I was not maintaining a connection. It has been a very frustrating piece of junk. I do not have the box–should I just send it in without it? do you think they will still fix it? Thanks
November 26th, 2006 at 6:43 pm
Michael,
It looks like Toshiba extended warranty for Satellite M30X, M35X, A70 and A75 laptops sold in the USA for 12 months, so probably they will fix it even if the laptop is not under warranty anymore.
I wouldn’t because the laptop can get damaged. Call Toshiba and ask them for a laptop box, I believe you’ll have to pay for the box.
November 26th, 2006 at 7:54 pm
since my a75 laptop went out of warranty, i got it locally repaired (solder power socket). do you think I can send my laptop to toshiba now under this new warranty extension (i have new problems) or will they reject my laptop now because I serviced it at a place that wasn’t a authorized repair shop?
November 26th, 2006 at 10:54 pm
Jack,
Why not?
How can they find it out?
I think there is nothing wrong if you fix your laptop at a repair center you like. Now Toshiba issued a warranty extension so you can take it back to Toshiba center.
December 1st, 2006 at 5:35 am
I received my A75 back from the Toshiba depot yesterday for my repair under the new settlement warranty.
It was gone for 2 weeks and that was during Thanksgiving. So I was pleased with the turnaround time, esp. after the last time.
They did a top cover repair, new motherboard, new fans, new AC plug in back and even replaced the touchpad.
It seems to be running great tho it’s only been a day. (It wouldn’t even turn on when I sent it in).They did a fresh install of the OS so it got a good workout yesterday as I had to set everything up and reinstall all of my extra programs.
Hopefully it’ll be good to go now, but I feel better knowing I have 11 more mos. on that new warranty.
They sent me a free laptop box with the shipping prepaid to send it in to them. So I didn’t spend one dime.
We called first, described the problems. They assigned a case # then sent the box, which I got in 2 days.
So it’s really worth the time to ship it off and get it fixed.
December 1st, 2006 at 7:59 am
Am I still eligble for lawsuit warranty if I haven’t sent my M35X to repair shop?
December 1st, 2006 at 10:20 am
Do you recommend to send it to the Toshiba Depot (free shipping) or take it to a premier service center?
thanks,
December 2nd, 2006 at 5:51 am
In my area of NC, there’s only one recommended service repair center nearby, and they stay weeks behind, so for me, sending it in was the much better option. Plus they only work on Toshibas at their Depot and should have better and quicker resources for the parts. So even if I had better options, I would probably still send mine to the Depot.
As far as the new warranty… when they sent me all the info about it, you get a standard limited warranty, as tho you just bought a new computer. I wouldn’t worry about it if you’ve had it repaired outside their realm while it was out of warranty. I’d just call, get a case #, put it in the box they send you and send it in. What have you got to lose?
When I filled out the form that came with the box, I wrote every single problem with the laptop down even tho I ran out of room and had to write in a circle around the margins. LOL!! And that went way beyond what was designated to be fixed by the case #. And it seems they fixed it all. So far so good..
So….Good luck!!!.
December 3rd, 2006 at 7:59 pm
I also have an A70 that has overheating problems. We took it apart and cleaned it last night (what a chore) and it is working wonderfully now but I don’t know for how long. I did find the information about the class action lawsuit but after reading the fine print, I realized my serial number doesn’t match their list. It seems that this is a well known problem, even with older Satelites. Has anyone been able to get the extended warranty if the serial numbers don’t match? I bought mine in Feb of 2005.
December 7th, 2006 at 7:45 pm
Is anyone planning on NOT joining the lawsuit/settlement?? Frankly, I don’t feel that it is fair. I have had my pc for 2 years this month. It was a xmas gift that cost $1350, and has been in the shop 4 times already! Since it gave me so many problems initially, I got the extended warranty last Dec, so my warranty is already covering this period. Frankly, a rinky-dink voucher does not help my cause, especially if every couple of months I have to take it into the shop. Has anyone tried complaining to the BBB and to the Attorney General’s office? I want this piece of junk replaced!
December 8th, 2006 at 1:46 pm
After many months of dealing with one service tech after another, I gave up/got mad/ and sent my Toshiba A75-S206 in the provided box and labels to ship my computer to City Advantage to get my computer repaired. Got it back the next day with a notice that my computer would not be repaired. Their excuse was that a “liquid” had gptten into the computer and that they had pictures of the “liquid” – which they did not share with me. Not even a chance, and I’m very protective of my computer. The last week or so I received notice of a class action suite against Toshiba. Does anyone else have input on this topic?
December 10th, 2006 at 11:11 am
I have a hp pavilion zx5000 that was given to me cause the last guy said the DC power jack was taken out and need a new one soldered, bought a new one for 8.99 from Ebay and i order the soldering gun kit, i been reading your post about the DC Jack issue with the toshiba laptop that tony s. posted but i like to know what else i need to make sure i do this without shocking the board. please give me a email so i can send a pic of how the board looks and you can then tell me if the board can have the new jack on it. please forgive this is my first time trying to repair a DC Jack and want it to be a smooth transaction
December 10th, 2006 at 12:32 pm
Hi all,
I just heard about the lawsuit and ungrounded cover failures on the Satellite laptops for the first time. I have an A75-s231 and it does match the serial numbers listed. Unfortunately, I have misplaced my receipt and warranty paperwork from time of purchase, so I’m pretty sure I can’t get this fixed through the normal routes. (Not to mention, it’s my sole computer, so it would be a big problem for me to ship it off anyway).
Has anyone come accross any tutorials or the like with instructions on how to fix the cover oneself?
I *really* appreciate any input that you might have…
January 6th, 2007 at 3:42 pm
What about the warranty extension / credit voucher in Canada?
January 13th, 2007 at 3:22 am
I have had the same shut down trouble with my A70 which is just a year old. I noticed someone asked about the warranty covering Canada too but did not see any answer to the question. I was just about to take mine into Future Shop to have it looked at but don’t think I will do that now. Also had the charging problem and jack problem. Guess we now know why they aren’t making them anymore.
January 18th, 2007 at 4:42 am
I had a customer with a similar problem. It turned out that the laptop was both overheating and had a bad battery; both problems independantly caused a shut down. For the heating problem, I ended up cleaning the heatsink, which wasn’t real dirty, but that was not the real problem. The computer had been serviced before, the fans were replaced by Toshiba. They had apparantly removed the heatsink and did not re-apply dielectic grease to the top of the processor. The remaining grease was dried up and mostly gone. Re-applying the grease very generously and using higher quality grease worked very well. At first, I thought the fans were broken because they almost never came on, but I used an app to monitor the cpu temp and it was consistantly very low, even if left on overnight. I would say that it is now better than new.
January 21st, 2007 at 4:51 pm
Hello. I bought my Satellite A70 SP213 in Lima Peru after a serious study of lab tops alternatives. After 15 months it has started overheating and shutting down, also (I´m not an expert lab top user) I always had the feeling that something was wrong with my lab top due to the excess noise it was making without using the DVD unit. I called the Toshiba Global Support Centre this week and I was shocked to know that these problems are caused by the low quality of the product and that Toshiba has extended the time guaranty to an additional year, they have informed me about 2 authorized repair services in Lima to do the change of mainboard. I found this blog very useful, hope that my lab top will be repaired but my fear is how it will work after being repaired?. I will be checking your information and informing other peruvian people about it.
January 22nd, 2007 at 12:13 pm
My A70 began locking up about 2 months after I bought it 2 years ago — the static problem. I shipped it to the Toshiba repair center where it took 5 weeks to process it. Afterwards, the keyboard static sensitivity seemed reduced, but inserting a PC card was a guaranteed method of making it lock up. The sound system on it was flakey — it worked intermittently and unpredictably. I never had heat problems with it, although it did run hot and the fans were always making load noises. Finally, it just crapped out entirely one day, unable to boot. It would simply cycle endlessly through the BSOD with meaningless gibberish displayed as the error. Based on these experiences, I trashed it instead of having it repaired with the extended warranty offer that was the outcome of the class action suit. I bought an HP Pavillion, and I’m quite pleased with it — no static lockup, no overheating, no loud fan. Too bad about Toshiba — the A70 was the ninth Toshiba notebook I’d owned in 12 years. The other 8 were pretty rock solid. I’ll never buy another Toshiba, however, because their customer serivice is non-existent. I couldn’t even find a way to email them a complaint.
February 3rd, 2007 at 6:36 am
I’ve had the M35X for about two years, and the first problem (not caused by me) was the power failure. After two years of constant use, I was expecting something like that. As I’m sure you can see on this website, it is fixable, which I’m about to do.
The laptop does get hot, but not hot enough to bother you through pants. If you’re wearing shorts or your skin is bear, just put something under it.
My laptop has worked well for me. It’s done everything I asked. I did a lot of stuff, too. I played Sims, used it for school, work, and internet. I’ve abused it, and it it’s still fine. The person you’re quoting may have had a bad experience, but I haven’t.
I hope I helped a bit.
~toodles.
February 19th, 2007 at 10:14 am
I have an a75-s231 which already had the mother board replaced to overheating. the top of my laptop is warped from the heat, now the powersuply is shot . I need it for work and shoudl be on it right now working but it is dead. I am very disheartened to find that this is a universal problem wtih toshiba.
I want to complain to toshiba but I am going to leave my hubby to do that as he is technical and can fight a good fight for me. or we may just try to fix it outsevles.
anyone out there with any good suggestions for a replacement laptop..not toshiba???
oh ..
February 20th, 2007 at 12:18 am
Virginia,
Check out this post, you might get a free repair from Toshiba.
February 26th, 2007 at 8:12 am
I hate Toshiba, I really do. I bought a 1500 € laptop, Satellite M60-176 in december 2005. It has never ever done all the things they promised it would do (the speakers don’t work for one thing) I had it six months when the battery refused to reload. I took it back to the shop, they did repair it (the battery thing, not the speakers) However now seven months later, with the warrranty expired the same bloody thing happened. The wost about it. NO CUSTOMER SERVICE. That is to say, they do have a customer service but… you have to pay (0, 34 euro a minute!) to speak to them on the phone. This in France The person who answers your call is without any knowledge and does not solve the problem. What a bunch of thieves!
February 28th, 2007 at 3:17 am
I live in Australia and bought an A75 during Jan 2006. It has been nothing but a nightmare! I was very happy with it for the first 3 months before it started acting very slow.
For a computer that has a 3.2 GHz processor, Toshiba don’t leave enough RAM for integrated graphics, Windows XP (which is a entirely different problem itself) and the amount of pointless software that Toshiba requires for the system to function properly.
Then the physical problems started. First, the power adapter broke which was not related to the computer. I bought a new adapter from Toshiba that had an an adapter on the plug because the adapter’s plug was too big to fit my A75. This has created a leverage problem with the power jack and now it brakes every few weeks. I have taken it in three times now and the same guy has done everything he can possibly do to stop it from happening. The computer is so badly engineered though that it just keeps braking.
Apart from this, there have been numerous other problems such as the speakers not working, randomly rebooting for no reason, fans not working…etc, etc, etc…
I am a student and paid $2000 AU for this laptop. I don’t have the money for another laptop and no one seems to care that I was sold an unreliable product.
My advise is DON’T buy a Toshiba Laptop. They are known for making good quality products but they obvious have the odd laptop that is poorly designed. When something does go wrong, you will be left out in the cold with no help what so ever.
March 4th, 2007 at 1:53 pm
hi,
i find your site very interesting and helpful.. i also want to seek your help with my toshiba a60 laptop.. i have upgraded the RAM from 256 to 512 i also want to upgrade my video RAM from 64MB to 128MB how do i go about changing my video RAM from 64 to 128? hope you can help me with my dilemma…]
thanks in advance
March 4th, 2007 at 2:56 pm
tiffany,
you cannot upgrade the video RAM size. 64MB is maximum.
March 4th, 2007 at 5:07 pm
actually i have a a75 model and it can share up to 128 mb for video ram
just got it repaired under the new settlement thing. they fixed everything for free which made me happy. sent it to the depot got it back in exatly 7 days including shipping to and back from toshiba.
i bought this laptop about 3 years ago after hearing so many good things about toshiba and it turned out to be a POS. at leasat now they have ackgnowleded that and are repairing it for free (for a year only tho).
they replaced the motherboard, fans, and battery. and all problems i described were fixed. on top of that, i upgraded the ram to 1.5 gb on my own and now i feel like im using a brand new laptop now.
March 4th, 2007 at 6:57 pm
thank you for a very prompt reply..
im just confused though..if my memory serves me right, my video RAM used to be 128MB and and i changed it to 64MB…now i want to change it back to 128MB…im not just sure if i mix things up…but i do remember doing that..its just that i forgot how I did it..
hope you could enlighten me more…
thanks again
tiffany
March 9th, 2007 at 8:50 am
It has been quite a shock to find this website and read through these comments! I bought my Satellite Pro M30 in 2005. I loved it from the start, with its beautiful appearance and its Centrino wireless capability. I never had a single problem with it, and so I did not bother to extend the warranty after the year was up.
TWO WEEKS after the warranty expired, so did the Tosh. My friends in the pc dept at work looked at it, and told me that the motherboard was defunct. A new motherboard in the UK would cost me about £375. So, they talked to our IT team in the USA, who eventually fixed it for me at a total cost to me of £280. It worked fine again…for ten months!
Now I have horrendous problems with the video display, which shows lots of flickering vertical lines, and the laptop does not allow me the option to put it into ‘Save’ mode; it is just ‘Logout’ or ‘Shut Down’.
Well, I never turn it off now, because restarting is always a nail-biting experience of “will it, won’t it?” boot successfully.
I am waiting to see if Toshiba will admit that the motherboard for this model is defective, and replace it for me for free. I am not holding my breath, however.
March 17th, 2007 at 9:06 am
My A75-S2292 was just returned for the third time, to the Toshiba Service Depot in Louisville, KY. The unit was purchased in 12/04 and worked good for one year. Then the hard shutdown. Their on phone support said use recovery disc. Worked for about 9 months. Then the CPU started overheating and shutting down on 2/12/07. Sent unit to Depot on 2/28 and was returned on 3/6/07 with new board and new CD burner. Unit ran one day and then went to black screen telling me to reboot. No response, only the black screen with “reboot”. Returned to Depot on 3/8 and returned to me on 3/15. Opened box and front edge of unit destroyed from being dropped on the edge while lid was open at their depot in Louisville. Returned on 3/17. Note, I watched UPS pack this unit each time it was shipped as Toshiba provides free shipping on repairs. UPS is not the problem. My return shipment is by Toshiba and there is no damage on their box.
NOW FOR THE REAL ISSUE! When I returned to my UPS store in Naples, FL this morning. My A75 will be the seventh Toshiba shipped from that store THIS WEEK! They said prior to Nov. they were lucky to get one a month.
March 21st, 2007 at 8:44 am
Bill Greene:
Did you ever figure out what the problem was with your Toshiba M40? My girlfriend is having the same problem now as well, and it’s not the fan, memory, or hard disk.
Any help would be great
March 24th, 2007 at 4:45 am
My P15-479 did the sudden shutdown thing and unreliable power supply/battery thing. Now something has gone wrong with the keyboard. If the replacement keyboard does is a bear to install I will send it back and, for the first time since the late 90s, I will purchase a non-Toshiba laptop and I will NOT LOOK BACK!
My Satellite P15-479 and my Satellite 2805-s301 sucked. Both needed to be serviced twice. I purchased a crude Zenith data system laptop in 1995 and even though it is now normally unused I am amazed by its reliability. It works the same now as day one. I have no confidence in Toshiba’s ability to make a dependable laptop.
April 1st, 2007 at 8:39 pm
I too have an A75 and had the overheating problem. Only took me one time calling, sent it in, they had it fixed, and here we are 2 years later and haven’t had a single other problem with it yet!! (Cross my fingers) I just may be a lucky one. My question is if any of you may be able to answer this…I was wondering if it were possible to purchase a new motherboard and processor with an Intel Core 2 Duo that will fit in this case to replace the P4? Trying to avoid buying a whole new unit.
April 8th, 2007 at 6:53 pm
I wouldn’g buy another toshiba laptop if they had them on sale for a dollar. I’ve had the same problems with my Satellite A75…defective ac jack; overheating, freezing, etc. I recently found out about the extended warranty that Toshiba was forced to offer. But of course they have figured ways to get around that. After sending mine in, they had it for ten days and never contacted me. After waiting two hours!!! I was able to speak with a real person who informed me that they would not honor the warranty because of “owner abuse”! I had previously opened the body and resoldered the loose ac connector but because I was not authorized to do so, it voided the warranty! Pretty slick, Toshiba. At least the friggin ac connector worked when I got done with it! They are a multi billion dollar company and they still try to weasel out of helping their customers….and, their so-called Customer Relations department is as cold and unsympathetic as one could imagine. I have several Toshiba products but will NEVER ever buy another!
April 9th, 2007 at 6:03 am
I was the unfortunate friend of a A-75 owner. The initial problem was a beer spill. This shorted out several parts and after eventually replacing them The unit fired back up. After disassembly and chemical bath and blow dry inspection found
U44 Dual OP AMP Blown. (cooling fan). This would sometimes keep the unit off, or freeze up, or STOP. After IC removal and replacement found deeper underlying problem.
A week later he brings it back saying there was no sound. So under microscopic inspection I noticed a blown pad under an IC and a blown lead on a diode (in audio section).
The toughest part of fixing Toshiba is that the part vendors do not provide any details, nor a schematic or use standard number identification. So I had to ‘guess’ the value. And there are so many bugs and technical design flaws and shortcuts that I have practically removed TOSHIBA’s from my repair list. (the blown diode (D44) is just above the U44 Dual OP AMP)
Not shown in initial picture, but virtually unable to see the top lead without double magnifiying glass.
A little 1- 2 hour job became a 22+ hour re-engineering feat. I will attempt to keep you posted on the progress.
April 16th, 2007 at 4:38 am
I have a S209 that now has been back to CompUSA twice for the battery never charging (with no replacement). Shutting down for no apparent reason, the mouse pad not working, the screen fading in and out and now the keys are sticking. The wireless antenna works with the wireless modem only if I am sitting in the same room as it. I knew nothing about the extend warranty or the class action lawsuit that has been filed until I took the computer back. They told me 4 weeks to get it back. 2 weeks to get the computer fixed then another two weeks to send it back out to get a battery replacement. So we are looking at a whole month without a computer. This sucks. I will not buy another Toshiba computer. And the sad part is that when it does decide to work all at once it is great.
April 18th, 2007 at 10:30 pm
THANK YOU This one really needs a big round of applause. Thanks Adnan!!!! I called Toshiba and they said yes that they will grant the warranty. The ask me to register the laptop and when I bought it. After that they gave me an local authorize repair shop (Alphanumeric System) that I took it too. I was told there that they will replaced the motherboard. My problem was the AC adapter on the laptop was causing to shut down the computer.
April 20th, 2007 at 10:54 am
I think that serious problems (in one form or another) such as you describe extend to other Toshiba product lines in their Satellite laptop series, among others.
These problems are serious enough to require product recall and major repair or warranty extension as has been the case with the particular models (Satellite A75, etc.) referenced herein that are the subject of this thread.
I’m afraid that some of these problems haven’t been fully addressed nor disclosed by the company to the buying public and probably caused much grief to Toshiba laptop purchasers.
Take, for example, the Satellite A60/65 Series. If you are the unfortunate purchaser/owner of one of these portable “desktop replacement” models … say, for example … a Satellite A65-S1067, you would expect the charging circuitry on the motherboard of the laptop to supply ‘juice’ to the battery and charge it while it is running or turned off.
Instead, apparently, there were problems with the charging circuitry on the motherboard which denied power to the battery. Apparently, the charging circuitry on defective motherboards didn’t work.
The result was that your battery wouldn’t charge. You couldn’t run your “portable” laptop off of battery power. Ironically, it was a ‘true’ desktop replacement as it would only function off of AC Power like any desktop machine – not as a portable laptop would!!
Any new replacement battery would run only as long as there was a pre-existing charge in it.
If your new ‘out-of-the-box’ laptop’s battery didn’t have much, if any, of a charge … and needed charging, it would never run your laptop even once on battery power simply because the laptop wouldn’t charge.
It was easy to be fooled to think that the laptop was charging the battery simply because the ‘amber to green’ battery light on a timer suggested that it was.
Batteries would be subject to “rapid battery depletion” or “wouldn’t hold a charge” because they weren’t being recharged by your machine. Any good battery wasn’t receiving any ‘juice.’
Unfortunately, the problem mimicked a bad battery for this model in need of recall, but the real problem was “defective charging circuitry on the motherboard” requiring motherboard replacement.
This model also apparently had a problem with AC adapters and/or plug-in jacks. Perhaps, similar to the A-75 Series, etc. They may also have come with some bad batteries as well.
The sad part is that the System indicator battery panel light is on a timer. It glows green (suggesting that your battery is fully charged after a couple of hours or so) from amber.
This misleads you to think that the battery is being charged or fully charged when it is nothing more than a dummy light that is triggered by the length of time your unit is on.
This fools a buyer to thinking they have a bad battery and must hassle with the time and expense of battery replacement — when it won’t cure the problem.
So far, there is no indication of a recall by Toshiba of this Satellite A60/65 Series and making good on their seemingly defective manufacturing and/or component sourcing practices that apparently led to all of this.
Please share any problems you have had with this unit. I’m interested to know how prevalent this problem has been?
April 20th, 2007 at 9:53 pm
Nate, This is truly awful. I have had many problems with my A75 and through the help of this site, I have been able to permanently fix my broken power jack by attaching a completely separate device to the case instead of the motherboard.
Hearing what Toshiba has done with the A60/A65 however makes my blood boil. What right does Toshiba have to treat their customers like this? why should we have to put up with it?
I am a student and have lost $2000 in buying this laptop. Because I am a student, I can’t afford to buy another laptop which i need for my study. The court settlement doesn’t even help me because I bought my laptop in Australia.
Isn’t there anything that we can do? It’s not fair that we have to put up with this.
April 22nd, 2007 at 3:59 pm
I have the exact problem you just described Nate with my circuitry charging…and for some reason or another noone including Toshiba has been able to know how to fix it? Would the whole motherboard have to be replaced or can it be fixed or does anyone even know?
April 24th, 2007 at 7:21 pm
Nate,
I’ve repaired many Toshiba Satellite A60/A65 laptops and here are most common failures I can recall.
1. Overheating. If you use your Satellite A60/A65 laptop a lot and never blow off the heatsink and fans, probably you’ll experience this problem. The heatsink collects a lot of dust and has to be cleaned. You can lift up the keyboard and blow off the heatsink with compressed air.
2. Bad onboard memory (memory integrated into the motherboard). If the onboard memory fails, the laptop either will not boot at all or will boot with defective video on the LCD screen (because it’s using a part of the onoboard memory for video purposes). You can get video with vertical lines, weird characters, etc… something like shown on the example 3 in this post. In this case you’ll have to replace the whole motherboard.
3. The pin inside the power jack breaks off, but it’s not a very common problem. In this case you’ll have to remove the motherboard and resolder the power jack.
May 4th, 2007 at 6:59 pm
I recognized the problems after 2-3 months of use (which was too late to return to the store for a refund). Luckily I bought a 2 Year warranty on the laptop and sent it in for repair (this was early 2006). They replaced the Motherboard, fans, and hard disk, and grounded the speakers. Nonetheless, the unit still had overheating problems and audio on/off issues.
I found out that toshiba extended their warranty so I called them up. I told them all the issues and told the customer rep that these problems are COMMON and Toshiba knows that theses issues exist. The guy was pretty friendly and told me to take it to my local UPS Store. So, Toshiba paid for the shipping and repair. Four days later, I get a call from a Customer Service rep saying that my laptop was fix and already on its way back (UPS 2nd day air).
I hope they resolved everything
May 11th, 2007 at 11:31 pm
Ok I recieved the laptop from their repair center last week. GOOD NEWS. Toshiba replaced my motherboard and fixed all the issues. As of now, the fan is completely quiet. The laptop runs MUCH cooler, and I’m impressed with their prompt repair.
So a tip to everyone with A75 problems, call toshiba’s repair center (heres the # 800-457-7777) and tell them your problems. They’ll ask for a serial # and check it up. Now all you have to do after that is take it to a “participating UPS Store” (they’ll give you the info) and you take your laptop there. I’m glad they paid for shipping (2nd day air) and fixed my laptop faster than I expected! A lady from Toshiba even gave me a call telling me that my laptop was on its way back to my home. Amazing…
May 17th, 2007 at 4:49 am
Well the Class Action is still pending a finalization of a fairness hearing. The Hearing was rescheduled for May 10th, 2007 but I have not seen anything new come out yet. To Johnny I hope they fixed your unit. I have returned mine 5 times, 4 of which have been in the last 6 months. They have replaced 3 lcd screens,2 motherboards, fans twice, speakers, top cover (they dropped it and cracked the cover), 1 battery. They also sent the laptop back to me after the motherboard- USBs fried could not back up system/speakers/case repair BUT did not ground the computer. When I got it back it shocked me, and I started having memory error problems kick up on the screen. I immediately contacted them back about the shock issue and memory issues. They said it was not an issue and that it should work fine. I said No I wanted this fixed and you did not fix any issues other than throwing in a new board along with the stuff you broke. Well when I continued to stress the need for this to be fixed the Rep. Mrs. Tux. Said she would allow for the laptop to be returned but would put in the system that the hard drive needed to be wiped and reformatted. I told her no way, let me speak to a supervisor. She said if all you are going to do is complain is I hang up. I said I want this fixed I have already lost the use of my laptop for over two months due to these issues. “Not my problem, you send back we look at and reformat make work”
I sent it back after talking to another rep three days later. I sent it in and they did a check and said my memory was bad and that was the cause of the issues. I said that was not possible since I just got the laptop back and your previous check showed it was working perfectly and is stated as such in your repair log online. She said that since it was not purchased with the laptop from Toshiba it was not their responsibility to repair and I would have to suck up the cost of repair, Oh and we are going to wipe your hard drive. I told them to cease immediately and do nothing until I speak with their corporate office. I spoke to the corporate office and it took 55 minutes to get this idiot to understand how an ungrounded system can fry memory, processors, motherboards. They finally got it. They siad well get back with you within 48 hours. NO CALL – So after 4 days I called back (during this time fielding calls from their repair center saying they were going to wipe my drive which I had to tell them to continue to hold till corporate gets this worked out).
I finally talked again with this CSR and they got the OK to replace the memory and told threpair center to hold the unit till the memory is installed to do a recheck. Well the repair facility decided they were done with me and just sent the laptop back non-repaired but at least the hard drive was not wiped. I got the laptop opened it up and it had a BOX cutter in the box banging around inside the box and on my laptop, and they did not use cushion this time they used a plastic wrap card board piece to hold they laptop down. They taped the 1 gig memory I had installed to the top of the laptop cover. I did take pictures of the whole thing. Two weeks later I just received the 1gb memory stick to replace the one they trashed but my system is still not functioning right and needs to be sent back AGAIN. I have tried to back everything up but the usbs are still not fully functional. I HATE TOSHIBA! So Now I have so much more to do. I have already left messages for corporate to contact me back. I hope this fairness hearing makes Toshiba repurchase these laptops so I can end my dealings with these A-Holes. I will literally have lost use of my laptop for over 3 months due to these problems. Good luck to all of you that own these P.O.S. !!!!
May 24th, 2007 at 10:11 pm
Well, I just have to say that I am happy with my A75-S2112 and had no problems with it for two years. Oh, yes, it did overheat couple of days after I got it, but I use it only on flat surface since then and it never happened again when I use it that way. Couple of months ago it’s performance slowed down, but I know that this is due to a lot of programs loaded and unloaded, free software trials and other crap I had to load while going to school. I purchased my first Toshiba about 5 years ago and was happy with that one as well, although I had to get A75 since processor (Celeron) and ram (256) couldn’t handle programming compilers on the old one. Besides having good experience with my old Toshiba, the new one fit my budget as well so it was an easy choice.
The only issue both Toshibas had was that every now and then they would not come back up from hibernation. Removing and replacing the battery on the old one did the trick, the new one has to be forced-shut-down on the button. It is much more rare occurrence on the new one and rare enough that it doesn’t really bother me.
May 27th, 2007 at 7:23 pm
Well, it’s been over a week now, and my laptop’s running fine. (yeah..I left it on all day and night) and NO problems of any sort!
and Bill, I don’t know what’s going on with those reps. Because the two reps I talked to was really prompt and took under 10 minutes? Maybe an unlucky few are just jerks.
Good luck everyone :O
July 14th, 2007 at 10:50 am
Well here i go with my question i hope somebody can please help. My problem is this, when i’m viewing screen and i go to scroll down my page jumps like one page at a time. I recently reformated my dell laptop, and since then its like maybe my graphic card didn’t caught. Any tips or pointers would be great.
Thanks Jason
July 14th, 2007 at 11:30 pm
Jason,
After you reinstall the operating system, you have to install correct device drivers. Install the video driver and it should fix your problem, right now you are using a generic driver witch comes with the operating system. You can get it from the second Dell CD or download from the Dell website.
August 1st, 2007 at 5:28 pm
I have an A75 and mine doesn’t overheat but the fans are noisy sometimes. They aren’t just loud, it almost sounds like a loose fan or something, does this kind of thing happen
August 1st, 2007 at 9:38 pm
Sean,
Sure it happens, I replaced hundreds fans like that. Most likley you have a failing fan (unless you have a loose screw inside it
). Even though it’s not loud at this time, it will be more noisy in the future.
If it doesn’t bother you, leave this fan alone. If it does, you’ll have to replace the fan.
August 16th, 2007 at 1:08 am
I have a Toshiba a60 for just over 2 years in Australia and over-heating has been a problem from new, the on-board sound is crap and all I can say is that if I wasn’t able to repare it myself I wouldn’t have another one as a gift.
August 29th, 2007 at 4:21 am
It seems people in US are starting to see repairs, does anyone have advice for people in the UK?
November 4th, 2007 at 5:48 pm
i have the a75-s229 with dc power problems – does not charge the battery unless lid is closed, fan rattles, bsod relating to atheros wireless card – this went away after i removed it. and it sometimes resets or hibernates if i move the laptop while its on.
lets see if its not too late to take advantage of the warranty extension.
November 4th, 2007 at 10:40 pm
JusMe,
You still have two days left. I believe November 6, 2007 is the last day.
November 13th, 2007 at 7:22 am
Well, here it is a few days after the extended warranty on my Toshiba M35X and my hard drive completely died. I had it replaced not even a month ago. I spent alot of money on this computer and now I have to find the money to purchase another computer? I have read so many postings of how bad Toshiba customer service is and I am not sure I want to aggravate myself. I sent e-mails to local consumer reporters and one to Consumer Affairs. I did not know about ANY class action lawsuit until I found the information on this website. So now the date has expired. What are all the Toshiba M35X customers supposed to do now?
December 1st, 2007 at 12:26 pm
So I am just reading this now, I bought my laptop in May 05′ for about $1200.00 from Circuit City. I have had the heating problem very bad for the last two years. Now I have the power jack problem very bad as well. My Circuit Sh%^ty contract went up in May 07′ and as I just seen the Toshiba extended “settlement to fix our F-up” warranty went up on the 6th of this month. SO, I am basically screwed on this thing? Battery has no life, shuts off when I move it sometimes, dosen’t turn on sometimes(power problem), and overheats very very easily(if I am spening over a grand on a laptop, I don’t want to have to flip it over and vaccum out the damn fans! Yet I still do).
December 8th, 2007 at 10:10 pm
My son also has one of these and it started the problem after the suit, and they never were ever notified of a suit or problems with these computers. He missed the dead line, however if there was a problem and they knew it, I personally feel they should have sent a registered letter to each purchaser as they would have the name of any that were registered. I for one would not buy one from Toshiba if this is how they treat their customers. As for me, I do the hp thing and have had no problems on mine.
December 29th, 2007 at 12:17 pm
Glad to see I’m not the only doofus who bought one of these machines, nothing but trouble since day one, best buy real good at body swerves till warrantee ran out.
Persistent shut downs overheating etc, Christmas day A75 finally shut down with error message PCI network conflict etc et.
Managed to get to Safe Mode before overheating shut it down,
uninstalled wireless card, booted back up and microsoft software warned of malicious software (zonebac) removed.
Still same old problem exists, to start A75 have to go to safe mode uninstall wireless device and restart……
Works but what a pain.
January 6th, 2008 at 3:44 pm
Wowzer. seems we had a wire problem on the mother board, a geek took a look at it and noticed the problem, soldered it and lo and behold it has been working fine. Totally unbelievable luck I guess. Also my son bought a new electical cord for it, I think he got a generic one from radio shack and while still expensive not near the cost what Toshiba was asking. Crossing my fingers but it has been running on a daily basis since I have had it just around
a week before Christmas!
January 11th, 2008 at 12:46 am
My A70 has produced dangerous voltages at all exposed metal points on the frame. I measured the voltage to be over 100Volts AC.
I only noticed AFTER I recieved an electric shock.
February 12th, 2008 at 7:39 am
I have a m55 bought from Office Depot, seemed like a good deal
at the time but turned out to be the biggest wast of money ever.
About 7 months later and the thing started crapping out on me,
not wanting to boot up, and when I would finaly get it to boot
(After 15-30 minuts mind you) It would run for a little while and
then just freeze up or give me a BSOD. And here’s the kicker
It only had a 6 month limited warranty (You timed it just right
Toshiba, Jerk’s!!!) I also was led to believe that it came with a
standard 12 month warranty by some jerk at Office Depot.
Anyhow needless to say I will never buy a Toshiba product
again, and for that matter nor will I shop at Office Depot!!!
February 13th, 2008 at 6:09 am
Brad Cagle,
Are you sure that your laptop has only 6 month warranty? Usually Toshiba laptops have one year warranty. Was it a refurbished laptop?
March 14th, 2008 at 12:51 pm
I purchased a Toshiba laptop and the first day the screen turned blue. I thought it was something I did so I ignored it for a while until the screen turned blue and restarting wouldn’t help it. That’s about half a year down the road. Since then it’s been going into the repair shop. I wanted Toshiba to refund me my money but they refused. As of a week ago, now a year and a half old, my lap top is simply dead. When you turn it on it restarts itself every 2-3seconds so it turns itself on and off constantly. It just simply sucks and I paid $1,500.00 for the lap top as well. I will never buy another Toshiba product again. Oh and this Dell pc I purchased 6 years ago, for 450$ still works.!!! Go figure! So I’ll be going home tonight, calling Toshiba clientele and taking my anger out on them until something happens!!!
March 18th, 2008 at 5:33 am
Hi there,
I recently bought a toshiba satellite A210. The piece of junk runs well for a little while then just doesn’t run at all. I am sick of it already. I was using my notebook only 10 minutes ago when all of a subben the screen went black and that was it, there wasn’t a thing i could do. Then to top it off i have to wait for the battery to die so i can reboot or i have to turn it off manually, which i am told may harm the CPU, I don’t think i have a choice in the matter. Anyhow what do you think, it’s under warranty i will ring Toshiba tomorrow, hopefully i won’t get some little korean guy trying to sell me a mobile phone you know the sort huh… otherwise i will throw it out the window and send them the bill… any help from your end would be nice. Cheers, Leslie
March 19th, 2008 at 10:02 pm
Leslie,
it shouldn’t harm the CPU.
I would suggest taking your laptop to a repair center because it sounds like a hardware related problem. You can try troubleshooting your laptop at home but it means you’ll have to open it up and swap some parts witch you probably don’t have.
Just take your laptop to a repair center. You can drop off the laptop at local UPS store, they will ship it to Toshiba.
March 22nd, 2008 at 11:28 pm
I have a Toshiba Satellite A75-S231 and I can’t see the cd/rw. I’ve try everything possible and the dammmm computer doesn’t see the cd/rw. Even bought a bran new cd/rw and it doesn’t see the new one cd/rw..I can’t install drivers on it, because its suppose to be plug and play, right?
Help……!!!!
March 22nd, 2008 at 11:34 pm
Jaime,
You do not see the CD/RW in My Computer? Try removing Upper and Lower filters from the registry as it mentioned in this post.
April 2nd, 2008 at 1:46 pm
Glad to see I’m not the only doofus who bought one of these shit of a machines, nothing but trouble since day one,
Persistent shut downs overheating etc, Christmas day A75 finally shut down with error message PCI network conflict etc et.
Managed to get to Safe Mode before overheating shut it down,
Still same old problem exists, to start A75 have to go to safe mode uninstall wireless device and restart……
Works but what a pain.
April 8th, 2008 at 10:25 am
Anyone have any idea why my screen changes colors from normal to red (no black). I installed a new motherboard thinking it was a problem with the on board video, but I’m still having troubles. Every now and then it will be become and then go right back to having a weird display. Thanks.
April 9th, 2008 at 9:41 pm
Don Morrison,
The whole screen turns completely red or only black color turns red?
Did you test the laptop with an external monitor. The external video turns red too or it happens only on the laptop LCD screen?
April 15th, 2008 at 12:53 pm
same problems with my A75,the guy only forgot to add the mouse pad that tends to freeze your cursor sometimes.TOSHIBA LAPTOPS SUCKS
April 15th, 2008 at 4:57 pm
don,
if the cursor freezes when you touch the mouse pad or the top cover, most likely this problem is related to another known issue with this model. You’ll find more information regarding cursor freezing in this post.
May 8th, 2008 at 7:53 pm
I have a P35-S611 that appears to be very similar to these models, particularly the A75. It has the same freezing problems already mentioned in many of the posts. I have run tests on various parts of the system – processor, disk, memory – with no errors, disassembled the machine and used compressed air to clear the heatsinks and fans of dust, and restored from the factory disc. The machine *still* freezes. I have also tried installing w/xp from other discs, and have found various installation errors as well as the system powering off unexpectedly.
What is exceptionally interesting to note is that if I install linux on it or use linux-based tools, the machine is perfectly stable.
Anyone have anything to suggest? Personally, I would leave linux on it, but my client would prefer to have the machine back – with w/xp on it.
May 17th, 2008 at 4:47 am
the lcd connector under the top silver cover connection where its connected to motherboard is loose. causing the screen to look like colors are scrambled. have checked repair options,too expensive. if thats the problem,like mine, i just wedged a small piece of cardboard to keep the connector in place,works great. you have to choose to keep repairing or buy new,sorry. for self repair go to[ LAPTOPKA.COM] see the on screen guide for repairs. GOOD LUCK
May 24th, 2008 at 2:30 am
i need oftwrear drive my laptop toshiba satellite m100-188
please help my
August 3rd, 2008 at 2:00 am
i have a toshiba satelliteA70-S249 model .it started overheating problem two months back.I have lost almost half of its price for its repair,wasted month and a half by visiting small and big repair shops. lost valueable data and the fault still persist .not a good experience .will toshiba take care of it ?
October 18th, 2008 at 7:06 pm
IT JUST HAPPENED TO ME !!! TWO TIMES IN A ROW!!!
October 27th, 2008 at 1:14 am
It seems to me that Toshiba should recall the Satellites, not tell people that their warranty has run out so too bad.
Anyone agree?
November 13th, 2008 at 9:35 pm
TOSHIBA SUCKS..I BOUGHT TOSHIBA A75 S206 BEFORE WITH THE SAME PRICE OF $1500 PLUS THE PROTECTION PLAN THAT COST ME ALMOST $2000 AFTER 1 MONTH AND HALF OF USING IT I GOT THE SAME PROBLEMS..
December 26th, 2008 at 11:36 pm
Regarding: My toshiba M70 laptop, and the woman who complains about the Toshiba A75 Laptop.
My Toshiba, laptop screen broke the second month, I bought it after dropping only one foot from my bed. It only slipped down the soft blanket, but easily broke. In contrast, my MacBook Pro servived, a horrendous, drop in a motorcycle crash.
I found the form and function of my laptop very good, compared to my expensive Apple Macbook pro which cost 3 times as much as my $1,000 Toshiba. My Apple Macbook Pro has 2 big advantages over the Toshiba M70. One, is the software, is Unix and thus difficult to virus, by the British military in Canada. Two, the display is not easy to break.
I found the Toshiba telephone service very helpfull when I want to reinstall the operating system on my notebook which was frequently virus while on the internet. I want to replace this disk which was stolen in Thailand by a Thai terrorist, who stole most of my Mac, and Toshiba disks. I hope that Toshiba, will sell my a new disk so I can clean out the virus on my computer which has disabled the USB ports, and display drivers.
My only complaint with Toshiba software, is its Microsoft, and therefore, easy to virus. In my option, no laptop, except British, should have Microsoft software. It should all be Unix based, like free open source Linux or Mac OS.
I recommend to Toshiba, to include a Linux distro, in there new Laptops, so we can safely use their computers on the internet, as well, as warnings, how fragile, their screens are to shock.
Last, the woman who says that the problems of the notebook, are a problem of the Toshiba design, I think, she is wrong. Thailand has one of the most hot and humid climates in the world. The air is full of dust, dirt and corrosive natural chemicals. I can see, the screws, and metal corroding on the furniture, and yet my Toshiba notebook, still survives.
It is unfortunate, you cannot get software easily for the MacBook Pro, or else, I would highly recommend this computer over the Toshiba laptops. If I get Linux up and running on my Toshiba, then, I expect, this notebook, will be a very valuable tool in my assenal to deal with British terrorists in Thailand. Good luck Toshiba, on improving your laptop computers.
February 18th, 2009 at 9:27 pm
I’ve had an A75 for 5 years now and it has caused me enough heartache to fill this web page. Overheating is the worst, I have to prop the piece of crap up to allow air to circulate underneath the machine, which only works half the time. There is no more embarrassing feeling than explaining the prop trick to a customer only to have the machine overheat and shot down in the middle of a presentation.
To top it off my ac jack has come loose. Now the damn thing won’t even start. At least the overheating gave me a window of opportunity to get some work done.
So I cracked the case to fix the jack, but soon lost ambition. What will all of my effort be for? The computer is torn apart but as useful as it was put together.
Thanks for the thread. It has helped me cope.
February 22nd, 2009 at 10:43 pm
I have a A75-S226 laptop. Can someone tell me how to change the video ram from 64mb to 128mb and vice versa. I’ve tried looking at the bios but couldn’t find anything.
March 20th, 2009 at 11:31 pm
i have a Toshiba a75. It turns on but when the operating system start i showed me blue screen and then right after blue screen i t shut down.
i tried to troubleshot with every thing that i can. i test the hard drive, cd rom, rams, wireless card, screen… every thing seems to be fine but i don’t really know what the problem is…
if any one helps …. i really appreciate that…
thanks,
Saad
April 21st, 2009 at 6:36 am
Can I say something? Here’s the thing- My Toshiba A75 yes I said it! has a Pen IV and 3.2 Ghz! I had a Sony Viao- also a Pen 4, well 2 of them, 1 stolen from me, and then a cheap version. I have used dell,s Hp’s and the compaq (which is what I’m using while I repair or should I say re-build? my toshiba. Other than The Acer- yea an Acer, This 2004 old beat up (was refurbished all ready when I got it) laptop works very hard for me and until I read all the comments, thought it was a good little trooper! I believe 2 things- the keyboard and the speed are what make using one fun! (then the graphic’s) Keyboard being 1st because your fingers, wrist, & elbows notice, and if it takes more than 30 seconds to change pages- then I’m off to another thin-g- I told myself I would save the toshiba no matter what! Here is the run down- I have changed the DC/AC 3 times- it shuts its self off whenever it wants to, it has 2 white dots on the center of the sceen,but I hide them with one of the Icons, ok maybe 3. And because those little screws get striped I have had to dill 3 out! (I have had the thing apart so many times I can put it back together in my sleep- Oh and the part on the motherboad that the DVD slips into- slipped off! But I got a brand new battey when toshiba did the recall only my Toshiba won’t charge it.(well it really tells me its not even there) It’s got the blue cover! but has 4 or 5 dents. So with my thoughts said- I can’t save it can I? It’s sitting under the stool my cat uses to go out the window, and many a day I have sent group text’s, saying I threw it out the window again. So tell me this- and quick please because I am looking at getting her a new motherboard! but can’t find a hannStar J MV-49u – Where or what MB can I put the pen 4 in, and have it fit in what ? L30-134 case? or not? 3.2 ghz is the only thing I know- Oh and did I mention I’m broke now too? Can’t live with them can’t live without- Ms Donna
May 26th, 2009 at 2:53 pm
I have a Satellite A70. It will not turn off, instead it restarts?? What could be the problem??
July 5th, 2009 at 11:47 am
my toshiba satellite was so annoying. the noise it made from the fan was so loud that if i was on the phone and in the same room with the laptop people would ask what that strange noise was. It kind of sounded like i was in an airplan and the jet engines were roaring at full speed. It was always so slow to start up, my programs were slow, it would randomly turn off, it would lock up or freeze ALL THE TIME, now i turn it on and it shuts down after 5 seconds, i can’t even keep it on long enough to start windows. it’s going to the computer recycling plant next week, completely unsellable. OH, AND I BOUGHT AN IMAC last year and it’s PERFECT!!! Going laptop shopping today and i definitely won’t be getting a toshiba.
July 22nd, 2009 at 10:24 pm
That letter is rather hilarious. “overheating is NOT the problem with this computer.” Oh yeah? Wanna bet? cause you loose. See, there is a thermal diode built into the core of your processor. It, as its name would suggest, is to monitor the temperature of whatever its mounted on, in this case, the CPU core. When the thermal diode detects enough heat, it tells the CPU to turn the fans on to compensate for the heat being produced. When the core gets hot enough, it usually triggers a thermal shutdown, which halts all execution in the core, and shuts down the processor. That’s what causes the random shutdowns. the core of the CPU is overheating, and shutting its self down so it doesn’t scald people, or blow the core to kingdom come. If you want to see what would happen if your processor didn’t shut down when it got too hot, Google exploding Pentium 4. That’s also why they come with heat syncs and fans and thermal paste on the CPU core.
September 4th, 2009 at 8:26 pm
hay when i turn on my computer its all black the only thing there is asking for some password.if its asking for the password i dont now it i forgot it.
September 9th, 2009 at 4:18 pm
I have a Toshiba Satellite Pro A210/A215 and whenever I start it up It comesup with a blue box that asks for some kind of DOS password. I took it to get repaired and I got it back and it still is doing the same thing. some body help me
September 28th, 2009 at 12:13 pm
I had the pre-existing Sat. A75 problem six months ago, brought it in for repair which definitely was not free, and now the same problem is starting again. They said they will fix it for free this time but what good is that? I will never buy Toshiba again ever ever ever. I am looking at ACER.
October 1st, 2009 at 6:14 pm
no2toshiba,
You can choose any brand, but if you plan to keep the laptop for more than 2 years, I would recommend buying an extended warranty. Out-of-warranty repair is not cheap.