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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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 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 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 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 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 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.
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.
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 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 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.