My Toshiba Satellite A70 laptop will not boot after I replace the power jack on the motherboard
I have a Toshiba A70 that was experiencing the battery won’t recharge issue. I have replaced the DC connecter on the MB and now it shuts down almost immediately after power up. Sometimes it makes it all of the way through POST. There appears to be no errors on the POST screen. I did get it up and running for a bit but am unable to again. After it does this I hear a clicking noise which is the fans trying to spin. The fans also try to spin if I connect the DC with out the battery in place (even if I don’t try to power it up). With out the battery the unit will not power up at all. I am not sure if this is normal. I have stripped down the system to bare bones (no HD or display etc) with the same results. I did read somewhere about disconnecting the power and removing the battery and holding the power button down for 2 minutes although I am unable to confirm if this is a valid step. I have also soldered wires from the power on the MB to connect to the power brick to rule out the new jack being bad with no luck. I have cleaned the heat sink and fans as this is similar to when it was overheating and just powering down by
itself. I am wondering if I could have damaged a heat sensor or something… Does anyone know if there is a fuse on the A-70 MB?At this point I’m stumped and am thinking that the MD may be bad. Any thought or other troubleshooting steps?
When I have a problem like yours I always strip the laptop to bare bones and assemble it outside the laptop case. You have to be very careful when you assemble the system outside the box. If the system works fine outside the case, I carefully put it back together testing after each assembly step.
To boot the laptop with video you only need the system board and the CPU with the cooling module attached. The system board has integrated memory, so you don’t need any extra memory module to be installed. Check if the CPU is seated properly and if the CPU socket is LOCKED. To make sure that the CPU is seated properly unlock the socket, apply little pressure on the CPU and lock the socket. The screw-lock is located on the side of the CPU socket. Do not forget to apply some thermal grease on the processor before you attach the heat sink. Connect an external monitor to the system board, plug the AC adapter and turn it on. You should be able to boot the “laptop” and get Toshiba welcome screen on the monitor. If you still having the same problem then most likely the CPU or the motherboard is damaged. It is also possible that you didn’t solder the power jack correctly.
Before you strip the laptop, make sure that the DC adapter works fine and provides needed voltage.
Usually the fuse is located close to the power jack on the system board but I do not think that the fuse is your problem. If the fuse is bad, you will not get any indication of life on the system board but you say that sometimes you can get it to POST.
June 8th, 2006 at 8:18 am
Thanks for the reply… After much frustration I thought that perhaps my replacement DC jack was faulty so I unsoldered it and tried soldering wires directly to the motherboard and clipping them directly to the DC out from the power brick. At this point I got voltage on the board but it would not power up at all. I figured that it was dead and even started looking at new laptops at Future Shop… As a final attempt I wondered if my connections to the motherboard were good enough so I unsoldered them, cleaned them best I could and tried again. I did the soldering from the side of the board without the processor (so the wires were facing up when it was in its case) and noticed on the other side of the board that it did not look like a good conection. So I added more solder and tried again. This time it worked and all appears to be well. It has been running for a day and a half spread around my bench.
Thanks for all of your help…
/bc
October 17th, 2006 at 3:33 am
I could cheerfully push my A70 up the backside of Mr Toshiba. Total rubbish. My previos Compaq 700 laptop was as bad. doesnt ANYONE make a decent laptop these days? We pay good money for pure junk. Shame on Toshiba.
September 20th, 2007 at 4:07 pm
This satellite is a bullshit machine,…i go 3 months good service out of then the charger jack broke loose from the board….warranty fix….then no startup…again warranty fix…i got to know the geek squad all to well…more broken charger jacks (solder let go with NO ABUSE)…ten when th extended warranty ran out they said the machine starts this shit where it will shut off during turn on or while it is booting…it got worse and worse to where it now will only start after an hour of turning off and own…i paid a $1000 for this thing and would not wish on my worst enemy as it is a piece of shit and the techs who repaired were inept and the store (worst buy…)did not have the balls to get involved between me and the service dept and would not issue a replacement even though the geek squad member said they SHOULD switch it out for a NO-LEMON unit! what a nightmare…doed anyone know anything definitive about repairing this thing (the shut off during startup)?
September 20th, 2007 at 9:36 pm
Chris Gamble,
You are talking about a Satellite A70/A75 notebook? You purchased this laptop in the U.S., right?
For your information, Toshiba extended warranty for this model and you can get a free repair. I believe this extended warranty will end in November 2007, so hurry up. Take your laptop to an authorized repair center or call Toshiba and order a shipping box, they should fix your laptop at no charge.
October 3rd, 2007 at 4:50 pm
To Chris Gamble,
Did u ever figure out why it takes so many attempts for it to boot. My toshiba p205-6267 is doing the same thing?????
Any one else’s advise would be welcome too.
Thanks
October 31st, 2007 at 4:47 pm
Computers are a GIGO system, as in Garbage In – Garbage Out. Although this normally applies to software the same is true for hardware. Treat your machine like crud, neglect it, don’t bother getting it serviced and it will fail, 10 out of 10 times. Its simple, you want a good machine, buy any reputable brand and treat it really well. Then you can join the 90% of consumers out there that have a machine for 3 years without any problems. FYI: 80% of system failures are directly or indirectly CAUSED by the user.
June 23rd, 2008 at 9:44 am
Thanks for your blog, it help save a A70 from the recycle bin!
June 23rd, 2008 at 4:58 pm
I agree Devilguy, however in the case of the A70 series it isn’t abuse but design errors.
The A70 used a P4 CPU intended to go into a desktop box. It consumes more power than a normal laptop type CPU hence the massive “brick” charger and dreadful battery life despite the huge battery.
This power consumption leads to excessive heat. To compensate for that Toshiba were forced to place two fans on the underside of the laptop, where they suck in dust off any surface. These fans cool a massive heat sink, with tight cooling vanes, again required to dissipate the excessive heat.
The dust sucked up by the underside fans blocks the tight heat sink vanes, and the laptop overheats. It’s the most common fault on this model, and it’s a design fault. Nothing to do with the user at all.
The overheating affects the motherboard, weakening the solder on the joints, especially on the power socket at the rear. This quickly fails. This is the second most common fault on this laptop.
No amount of user care or maintenance will get over the fact that Toshiba made a stupid decision when they put that CPU in a laptop, and they struggled to keep it cool.
I will never buy another Toshiba product again.
June 27th, 2008 at 9:58 am
Sorry Ross, its just user abuse/neglect. All I do is fix these darn things. I agree that the P4 is a hot chip but I also know of plenty of A70 / P30 customers who have taken very good care of their units and never had DC jack or overheating issues, in fact, when well looked after they can be pretty good units. Most OEMs at the time sold P4 models, not just Toshiba. Most current high spec models still use desktop CPUs.
The two fans are perfectly acceptable, there are many units, even centrino that have two fans or in some cases more. All machines will suffer from dust build up if not regularly serviced. Most customers will use the unit until it switches off, let it cool and start it up again, which is just asking for trouble. Getting the fans cleaned is like having your engine oil changed.
Most units will turn off due to overheating protection before the solder on the board melts. If Toshiba made any mistake, I would say it was the length of the barrel plug on the AC adapter cable, it allows too much leverage on the DC jack and cracks the power pin solder joint on the board. Once removed, cleaned, re-installed and re-inforced this is no longer an issue.
June 27th, 2008 at 11:08 pm
sorry DJ, that is rubbish.
There was a CLASS ACTION against Toshiba over THESE problems with THIS laptop:
http://www.mommamuse.com/2006/11/14/class-action-lawsuit-against-toshiba/
If it was as you say the problems were caused by user abuse and meglect why did Toshiba extend warranty and give back money. You may well fix laptops, I am an Engineer and trust me, I know what i am talking about. there were serious design faults on to CPU cooling system on this laptop.
June 28th, 2008 at 3:29 am
Ross, a CLASS ACTION is just a collection of STUPID USERS, who all together can’t understand that japanese engineers got the design RIGHT and the customers got the usage WRONG. I too am an engineer and have been involved in law suits based around this model. I challenge you to provide proven technical data to support your claim of a design fault in the cooling system. I don’t mean links to a ‘quote from an official e-mail’.
Toshiba did veriy that some versions of the fan modules had faulty ICs in the fan PCBs, this was addressed with a Engineering Notice requiring replacement of the fans and if required PCB.
Just remember, the squeaky gear gets the oil, doesn’t mean its at fault.
This is why they agree to peace offerings such as warranty extenstions and vouchers.
Take a lesson from Gregory House, people LIE, a lot. Most people claim to have suffered far more hardship from their unit failure than they truly have. Exageration goes well with the initial desire to whinge.
June 28th, 2008 at 4:11 am
I see no point in continuing a discussion on this subject. Clearly we have a difference of opinion on the design of the A70. Thousands of other owners feel the same way that I do. Doubtless they are reassured to read you tell them that they are stupid whiners.
In my personal opinion as an engineer the A70 was poorly designed. The massive number of complains on the internet, the sheer fact that a Class Action was raised and was successful tends to support my opinion. I don’t see much opinion to support your point of view.
June 30th, 2008 at 3:44 am
Agreed, disagreeing is the way to go. However:
“I see no point in continuing a discussion on this subject(1). Clearly we have a difference of opinion on the design of the A70(2). Thousands of other owners feel the same way that I do(3). Doubtless they are reassured to read you tell them that they are stupid whiners(4).”
1. I note you are backing out without providing supporting technical data.
2. You own one of these units, your opinion is biased regardless of your qualification.
3. Thousands? Just out of interest do you know how many of these units they sold and what the perceived percentile of failure was, I do.
4. Some people just need to be told straight. Althought I was not just refering to the case of the A70.
“In my personal opinion as an engineer the A70 was poorly designed(5). The massive number of complains on the internet, the sheer fact that a Class Action was raised and was successful tends to support my opinion(6). I don’t see much opinion to support your point of view(7).”
5. Does that permit you to defame Toshiba products.
6. This is a matter of Public Relations, not of poor product engineering.
7. Is there anywhere on the internet where people actually say anything positive about products, when was the last time you let a company know how much you appreciate their product?
Thank you for this interesting discussion. I wish you well with your future notebooks.
June 6th, 2009 at 1:50 pm
Wow- devilguy works for toshiba? Or just makes millions fixing badly designed laptops? Would you trust this guy to work on your pride and juy?
“Its all your fault you stupid user, laptop makers never make a mistake! Now pay me money for putting the fire out in this laptop!”
What a jerk.
Pushupma
August 10th, 2010 at 8:08 am
I like to try to fix laptops. No good reason, just a retirement hobby. I have some Compaqs, a few thinkpads and one Toshiba A70. After some study on the internet, I have found most posts to be true. The Toshiba I purchased was full of cooling block material, I mean full. After cleaning up this mess, cleaning and applying new cooling grease, putting in a new hdd, a new inverter, ,more memory and purchasing a restore disk, I thought I had it made. Fired right up, looked great worked like a charm, for a few days. Then intermittent problems on start up. Press power button, lights come on, Toshiba splash screen appears, hdd spins up for a second, (led activity light), the nothing. Splash screen stays on, you push F12 or F2 it says entering set up or boot device, and then it just sets there. Lights on, fans running, splash screen on, but that is the end of it’s boot progression. Oddly, If I put in the restore CD, and can get to the boot order, it sometimes will reload the system. Now it does this all the time, refuses to spin up to Windows, just halts at the Toshiba red splash screen.
None of my Ibm machines, or Compaq machines gave me this sort of grief. When it works, it is a nice machine to use. But getting it to post and then boot is a problem.
Any ideas out there?
Thanks