# My Toshiba laptop won't turn on



## helpseeker (Jan 12, 2004)

My daughter's year-old Toshiba Satellite A135-S2246 laptop was working fine. Although it has what we believe to be a good battery, she keeps it plugged into the a/c adapter to the wall supply. It went into sleep mode at night, but when she tried to wake it next morning, it was stone dead. No indicator lights, no beeps, nothing.

I have a theory that the problem may be due to a bad a/c adapter that let the battery drain and not recharge. If that's the cause, I'll simply replace the adapter. 

If that's not the problem, it's probably something inside related to power supply. I've looked online for a downloadable troubleshooting/repair manual, with no luck. I've opened other laptops, but never a Toshiba. How difficult will it be to open it? Any special tricks or tips?

Any ideas where I could view a manual that describes dis-assembly?

Also, if the battery is totally dead or removed, will the computer run on the a/c adapter alone? 

Finally, if I'm able to open the computer, any suggestions as to what I should look for? Could there be an internal fuse or circuit breaker?

Any help would be very much appreciated. Thanks.


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

Remove the battery and see if it will start. Also, hold the power button down for about 10 seconds. The release. Then try to start it.


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## helpseeker (Jan 12, 2004)

AcaCandy said:


> Remove the battery and see if it will start. Also, hold the power button down for about 10 seconds. The release. Then try to start it.


Didn't work. What now?


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

The battery is still out, and it won't start with the power supply only? If not, try a new power supply. 

Had there been any other problems with it recently, like shutting down/overheating?


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## helpseeker (Jan 12, 2004)

AcaCandy said:


> The battery is still out, and it won't start with the power supply only? If not, try a new power supply.
> 
> Had there been any other problems with it recently, like shutting down/overheating?


With battery out, a/c supply connected, still won't start. Total deadness. We're getting the proper voltage from the power supply plug (roughly 20v) that plugs into the computer.

There were no problems or unusual behavior prior to this failure to start.


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

Is it still under warranty per chance?


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## valis (Sep 24, 2004)

if it won't start from the battery OR the a/c power source, chances are rather high something serious has happened to your system board. I think the 'warranty' option is a very viable one about now.....


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## helpseeker (Jan 12, 2004)

AcaCandy said:


> Is it still under warranty per chance?


no such luck.


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## helpseeker (Jan 12, 2004)

valis said:


> if it won't start from the battery OR the a/c power source, chances are rather high something serious has happened to your system board. I think the 'warranty' option is a very viable one about now.....


Being out of warranty it looks like I'll have to try fixing it myself. Any idea how to open one of these buggers?


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

Very carefully.

http://www.irisvista.com/tech/laptops/toshiba-satellite-a135/remove-mainboard-1.htm


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## accat13 (Jun 8, 2005)

One last hope before you take the plunge...If you purchased it with your credit card there is the possibility that you may have extended warranty with the credit card company...I was lucky enough to have this option with a laptop purchased with a master card...


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## helpseeker (Jan 12, 2004)

accat13 said:


> One last hope before you take the plunge...If you purchased it with your credit card there is the possibility that you may have extended warranty with the credit card company...I was lucky enough to have this option with a laptop purchased with a master card...


Great suggestion. I'll ask her to check.


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## valis (Sep 24, 2004)

helpseeker said:


> Being out of warranty it looks like I'll have to try fixing it myself. Any idea how to open one of these buggers?


you got a spare system board laying around????

If not, I'd probably get a second opinion (not from circuit city or someplace like that, but a small mom and pop place who depend on word of mouth for business, and get THEIR view of it.....it could be something very easy that we are overlooking as we can't see the machine, but seeing as how it won't it post from battery or a/c, I'm thinking system board.

as for how to open them, Aca always recommends very carefully, but I've found that a well-placed knock with a 10 pound sledge usually opens them quite easily.

However, that does remove the option of reassembly from the equation.


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

I reserve that method for Compaqs


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## valis (Sep 24, 2004)

heh......my wife did the 'heinekin to the keyboard' test on a compaq from about 99 or 00; got just about everything working again, with the exception of the top left quadrant of the keyboard. 

Currently it's bolted above my workbench in my garage, got it networked to my shared drive with all my music, so I can just sit out there when it's 'my' time (usually 2 or 3 in the morning) and work on whatever projects I have going on.


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