# Laptop won't turn on at all, no LED lights or anything



## CamiKitti (Aug 29, 2011)

Since it won't turn on, here's some info about it:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/toshiba...gold/6128128.p?id=1219191185727&skuId=6128128
Toshiba Satellite E45t-B4204
Windows 8.1
6gb RAM
Bought it on August 11, 2014 at Best Buy. My serial is still under Toshiba's warranty, but I'm not sure about Best Buy.

I turned off my system and went out for a few errands. I come back it not turning on, so I thought I had to plug it in. I plug it in and the LED won't turn on, which means it's not charging. I tried my sister's adapter (Toshiba as well), and no luck. I couldn't find any reset hole on the back. It has an internal battery. I didn't get a chance to backup my files. I don't know how to remove the back cover to access everything. Is this a hardware failure? Will I be able to recover my data from the hard drive? Since this is an ultrabook, I think, is it connected to the motherboard? Am I screwed here? What should I do? Any help is greatly appreciated.


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## Oddba11 (May 13, 2011)

First, it can't be stated enough, ALWAYS make backups.

As it's under warranty, have it serviced. Whether or not you data can be saved will depend upon what exactly failed.

Assuming the HDD is still good, you could remove it and connect it to a different computer to retrieve your data. However, removing it could VOID your warranty.


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## CamiKitti (Aug 29, 2011)

I know, I know. I never learn. I'm thinking about taking it to someone to have it looked at, but I guess I'll tell them not to remove the hard drive just yet. Thank you.


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## valis (Sep 24, 2004)

just to start eliminating things, when you used the sister's adapter, was it for the identical model you have? Also, are you sure that that electrical outlet works? Have you tried more than one?


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## PcPhoenix (Jan 18, 2015)

Even if the computer doesn't turn on, you can almost certainly get any data back from it. Don't worry.

The #1 culprit is the charger. Make sure the charger you're trying to use works. Take the charger that came with your laptop and try to plug it into your sisters laptop. See if you can power her laptop with the charger from your laptop. Does it work?

#2 culprit is that someone did something to your laptop while you were gone. Spilling water, dropping, or something else. Usually if someone did something they won't admit it.

#3 possibility is that there is a bug in the embedded controller firmware that manages the power sequencing and lowest-level function for motherboard. This is rare, but it does happen. Your laptop isn't actually turned off right now. The 11V battery inside is powering the motherboard which has a voltage regulator chip that is producing at least an LDO 3V power line which powers your embedded controller, SPI flash chip, power button...etc. This is how your computer knows when to turn on when you press the button and send a signal to the chip to start power sequencing according to the firmware in the SPI chip.

Anyway, there is a chance that the firmware is buggy and your embedded controller has no idea how to turn your laptop on, and everything has to be reset. Resetting is simple, fully power off your laptop by pulling the battery out (the big battery, not the tiny RTC battery). It sounds like your battery is internal, so you can't pull it out. So you have a few options:

1) Search very hard for a tiny pinhole somewhere you can stick a paperclip in. There might be one on the bottom or even on the side of the laptop. Sticking a paperclip in here could disconnect power from the battery.

2) Keep pressing the powerbutton and wait for the internal battery to die. It will eventually. It might just take a day/days/week or so.

3) Disassemble, unplug internal battery, plug back in, reassemble, turn on. Don't do this though, because on the off chance that there is something seriously wrong with it, you will void your warranty.

My suggestion is to check when you warranty runs out and if it hasn't run out yet, replace with a new laptop. Ask them to transfer your data, they should do it.


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## valis (Sep 24, 2004)

I'm sorry PCPhoenix but I do agree with your assumptions as to the causes here. Why would you assume someone tampered with it?


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## PcPhoenix (Jan 18, 2015)

valis said:


> I'm sorry PCPhoenix but I do agree with your assumptions as to the causes here. Why would you assume someone tampered with it?


You do agree? Or not agree? 

It's a pretty common story i experienced when people brought me laptops to repair. "I just left it for a few hours and it stopped working. Nobody touched it!!". Ok. I start taking it apart. As i remove the keyboard, drops of chocolate milk start dripping on my table.

Phone call.
Me: Ma'am, I'm pretty sure someone damaged your laptop. Do you have kids at home?
Her: No no! I have a son but i know he didn't touch it. It just stopped working.
Me: Well, there is chocolate milk dripping out of your laptop. I can see it right here all over your motherboard.
Her: ....let me talk to my son.
Son: what? i have no idea. I didn't touch anything. deny deny deny deny

Friends, relatives, kids like to play with expensive electronics until they break them. Then it "just broke on it's own".

A mechanical hard disk can fail, sure. But sudden random failure of some chip? Extremely rare, i don't buy it.


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## valis (Sep 24, 2004)

Disagree. Totally. There are so many unknowns at this point that stating unequivocally it is a, b, or c is nothing more than guessing. You very well could be correct, but at this stage it is sorta like saying you have brain cancer because you sneeze thrice every fifth Tuesday.


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## CamiKitti (Aug 29, 2011)

I'm a little frustrated. I bet someone dropped it when I was gone. :| It's not even a year old yet, and this was over $600. There is no pinhole. I got it in August of last year, so the warranty is still there. I'm a hesitant to call Toshiba again because I heard they charge for it, so I hung up after they said something about a credit card. The charger definitely works, I'm sure of it. It works with my sister's computer (also a Toshiba with a similar adapter).
I'm hoping go to an authorized service center to get this dealt with (doesn't void my warranty either). I don't trust their Depot center, but I never thought about asking about a data transfer. Do they do that? Will they do that


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## PcPhoenix (Jan 18, 2015)

CamiKitti said:


> I'm a little frustrated. I bet someone dropped it when I was gone. :| It's not even a year old yet, and this was over $600. There is no pinhole. I got it in August of last year, so the warranty is still there. I'm a hesitant to call Toshiba again because I heard they charge for it, so I hung up after they said something about a credit card. The charger definitely works, I'm sure of it. It works with my sister's computer (also a Toshiba with a similar adapter).
> I'm hoping go to an authorized service center to get this dealt with (doesn't void my warranty either). I don't trust their Depot center, but I never thought about asking about a data transfer. Do they do that? Will they do that


On a computer that does not turn on, the only way to get data off of it is to disassemble it and remove the hard drive physically. From that point, recovering the data is trivial. Buy a USB<->SATA adapter, and you'll be able to plug your removed drive into any computer like a flash drive, and just drag and drop the information you want off of there.

On most modern laptops, especially Ultrabooks, removing the hard drive involves disassembling the entire laptop, whereas in older computers you could just remove one or two screws and the hard drive would just slide out.

Dropping a laptop, unless it was dropped from a few feet onto concrete or something, usually will only damage the hard drive and the LCD screen, it will not stop the laptop from turning on. But anything is possible really. If the laptop was plugged in while it was dropped, the cord could have been pulled really hard and some leveraging action could have damaged the DC jack where you plug in your laptop. This could result in no power going in, or a short. Check, is your DC jack inside the laptop loose at all?

If your laptop really is under full warranty, you shouldn't have to pay anything to get it replaced. Call them and talk to them on the phone. Ask them why they need a card and shouldn't it be free.

At the moment this sounds like a perfect job for a warranty replacement. You bought an expensive laptop that's still under warranty, it randomly dies, you should be able to get a new one.


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## CamiKitti (Aug 29, 2011)

Yes, I remember reading about the USB<->SATA adapter. The warranty is apparently only for the Depot service. The laptop wasn't plugged in when I left it. The DC jack was not loose when I checked. I'll try calling and see what they say.

UPDATE: It was out-of-warranty products that would have to pay for a repair. Phew. As for data backup, they gave me the okay to remove my hard drive, so I'll have a local tech person do that for me. Thank goodness. I hope this gets resolved.

Thank you, PCPhoenix.


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## PcPhoenix (Jan 18, 2015)

No problem. Glad it's all being sorted out.

Take care!


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## CamiKitti (Aug 29, 2011)

Update: Got my hard drive backed up, and guess what? The tech guy told me it's booting up now. He thinks something became loose, which probably caused the no bootup (probably being dropped not on my watch). I already paid for the Toshiba shipping box, so I'll mail it to them just in case there's something else wrong.


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## CamiKitti (Aug 29, 2011)

Update 2: Now, it's saying "Restart to repair drive errors". Oh, great. I researched this before doing anything, and I'm a bit iffy about it.


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