If your laptop does not start at all or it starts but will not boot properly, it’s possible that you can fix the laptop at home without taking it to a repair center. Here are some troubleshooting tips for you. I’m not sure if I can cover all situation at once, so I will update this post as more examples come into my mind.
Situation 1.
The laptop appears to be dead. You plug the AC adapter but the LEDs (power light, hard drive light, battery charge light, etc…) do not light up and the laptop will not react at all if you press on the power button.
First of all in this situation check the AC adapter. You can test the output voltage with a voltmeter. If you cannot do that, find a known good AC adapter and use it for testing the laptop. It is possible the laptop appears to be dead because the AC adapter is bad (and the battery is discharged). If you know that the AC adapter is working properly and it outputs correct voltage but the laptop is still dead, most likely you have a power issue on the motherboard (or power board on some laptops) and it has to be replaced.
If you have to replace the AC adapter, make sure you use a correct one. The output voltage must be exactly the same as on the original adapter. The output amperage has to be the same as on the original adapter or higher, but not lower.
Situation 2.
When you plug the AC adapter the power LED and the battery charge LED light up. When you press on the power button the laptop powers up but will not start. There is no video on LCD or external monitor.
If the power LED lights up it indicates that the laptop is getting power from the AC adapter. Most likely there is nothing wrong with the adapter but just in case test it with a voltmeter to make sure the output voltage is correct.
Also try this. Unplug the AC adapter, remove the battery and wait for 1-2 minutes. After that plug the AC adapter ans try starting the laptop again. Sometimes this trick helps.
It also could be a memory related problem. Try reseating the memory module, just remove it from the slot on the motherboard and install it back. Try installing the memory module into the other slot (if it’s available). If you have two memory modules installed, try removing them one by one and start the laptop just with one memory module installed.
If the laptop starts fine with one memory module in both slots, but will not start with the second memory module in both slots, the second memory module is faulty. Replace the module.
If the laptop starts fine with both memory modules when they are installed in the slot A, but will not start with both memory modules installed in the slot B, the slot B is faulty and you’ll have to replace the motherboard or use only one memory slot.
Situation 3.
When you press on the power button, the laptop makes a series or short and long beeps and will not start up. There is no video on the screen.
In this situation test the memory module as I described in the situation2. Try installing a known good memory module. Most likely you are getting a beep error because of a faulty memory.
Situation 4.
You start the laptop. It sounds like the laptop is booting normally (hard drive LED is flashing) but there is no video on the screen
In this situation test the laptop with an external monitor. If the external screen works fine but there is no video on the laptop LCD, most likely there is a problem inside the laptop display assembly. Go to my previous post witch covers laptop video problems in more details.
Situation 5.
You start the laptop and it starts making repetitive clicking noise or grinding noise.
Most likely you hear this noise because of a faulty hard drive. You can remove the hard drive and start the laptop without it. If the noise is gone, the hard drive is your problem. Replace it.
If the laptop makes clicking or grinding noises and you still have video on the screen, you can run a hard drive test utility. I usually use Hitachi’s drive fitness test. This test is reliable and easy to use.
Situation 6.
The laptop boots into Windows ans works for a while, but after that it shuts down by itself without any reason or warning. You restart the laptop but the same problem appears again
Most likely it’s a heat related issue. Listen for the cooling fan, make sure it works.
Also this problem might appear because of a faulty memory module, try some tips from the situation 2.
The laptop still boots ans you still can see the screen, so you can run the memory test. I usually use Memtest86+. Run the memory test and if it fails, replace the faulty module.
Situation 6
The laptop starts normally but video on the screen has lines, some strange characters or other defects
It could indicate a problem with the laptop LCD screen, video cable, graphics card or motherboard. Here’s my previous post witch covers troubleshooting bad images on the screen in more details.
Related post: How to troubleshoot dead laptops.
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June 13th, 2007 at 12:19 am
I have a Toshiba Tecra A5 here that won’t continue past POST. The “Press F2 to enter setup…” screen is displayed, but it’s frozen at that point. Is there a key that I can press on power on that will let me view POST in more detail? The Toshiba screen is lovely and all, but not very helpful.
June 12th, 2007 at 6:47 pm
Jemmy,
Check the BIOS version installed on your laptop. Then visit the manufacturer’s website and find if there is a more recent version available for downloads. Upgrade the BIOS and test the laptop again. It might help.
June 10th, 2007 at 7:04 pm
I got almost same problem w/ Satellite M100-164.
After the computer wakes from hibernation by raising the display panel (lid), and the LCD Monitor turns off due to power management settings, the display shows Toshiba logo and does not turn back on after a key is pressed and keyboard is not responding at all.
I Turned-off power & removed battery –no success-.
OS: windows XP HE.
Please I need help.
June 3rd, 2007 at 11:21 pm
Muhammad Faisal,
Remove the battery and try starting the laptop just from the AC power. Is the power LED still blinking?
June 3rd, 2007 at 11:19 pm
Max,
Maybe you have a dead AC adapter? You can test the adapter voltage with a voltmeter, it should be 15V.
Remove the battery and plug the adapter into the laptop. Does the AC power LED (left one) lights up? If not, you have either a bad AC adapter or a problem with the motherboard.
June 2nd, 2007 at 10:15 am
Sir i have a small question i have one laptop Toshiba L20 its blinking the power led when power on but no display and no power on what is the solution.,.,.
May 31st, 2007 at 2:28 pm
Hello, i Have a Toshiba Satellite A105-S4254….i was given it as a gift back in Oct of 2006….it had been working well all the way up until a few days ago, while i was using it, the laptop went into hibernation signifying that i needed to plug in the AC adaptor, and as i went on to plug it in, unlike the other times in the past, this time the laptop did not start back up when i pressed the power button and instead the amber LEDS on the bottom just continually flashed…..i attempted to take out the battery, put it back in again….same problem existed…..and then i attempted to just plug in the adaptor without the battery, and now there were no LEDs flashing at all…im very concerned as to what problem it mite be, the laptop does not start at all. Any suggestions. Thanks.
May 25th, 2007 at 7:35 pm
Thank you. I never expected to get a reply so quickly.
Did you read my post? Isn’t it odd that unplugging and replugging the video into the motherboard will permit the system to boot fully into Windows?
I am a longtime tech in his early 70s about to retire. I leave the software work and desktops to my techs. I now work only on laptops. I complete about one per day. These things never cease to amaze me. Working on laptops is my effort to avoid Alzheimer’s. At your suggestion I will contact Toshiba regarding the extended warranty.
With sincerest appreciation,
Walter
May 25th, 2007 at 7:33 pm
I think there could be a problem with the onboard video and the motherboard has to be replaced. Do you know that Toshiba extended warranty for all Satellite M35X laptops sold in the USA? You can call Toshiba and request a shipping box. They should fix it at no charge.
May 25th, 2007 at 3:27 pm
Toshiba M35X-S149 Notebook — Customer brought this notebook into my repair shop with typical complaint that the system stopped running. Preliminary tests showed correct voltage from AC power adapter. When plugged-in, power jack could rock up and down but not side to side. Pressing ON button gave case lights but no activity. System did not run. Moving AC power connector in jack would cause system to go off. Diagnosis: Cracked solder joint on positive or ground connection of DC Power Jack.
Notebook disassembly and inspection of DC power jack revealed positive post moves up and down in motherboard contact point due to broken solder connection. Positive post is blackened from possible arcing at loose connection. After replacing the defective DC Power Jack and reassembling the notebook the system powered-up for my first test. Everything tested OK. I closed the cover and put all screws in the back. Then when I started the computer I found this mystifying problem.
I press the power button and the system starts up. There are lights on the power button, on the front ON, Battery Charge, and Power Cord indicators. The fan runs for a short time then stops. The Hard Drive indicator gives one blink. No splash screen, NOTHING. All of the mentioned lights remain lighted. The optical drive will not open.
If I depress the Power Button for the required time the system will shut down. Pressing the Power Button again gives the same results as mentioned in the previous paragraph. Now, I unplug the video cable from the motherboard and reinsert it into the outlet; press the Power Button and the system starts-up with video. The screen has proper colors. After running for several minutes the video goes off and all activity ceases except all mentioned indicator lights remain on and the Hard Drive Light remains on. I can repeat the process over and over with the same results.
Duting the time that the system is running in WindowsXP I can turn the notebook off via “Start-Turn Off Computer-Turn Off” mouse clicks. When the system is truned off this way I can press the Power Button to start the system into Windows; then it follows the 2 minute video off routine.
I have tried variations with AC power only, battery only, and plugged in the wall with battery installed. I have started the notebook without the hard drive (after the plug/unplug video) and I get the splash screen followed by searches for drives for 2 minutes then video off routine.
Seems like a video problem on the motherboard. Unplugging the screen might clear some sort of feedback from the inverter. I don’t know. I am mystified.
Walter
Computer Clinic, New Orleans