I dropped my Toshiba Satellite M30 notebook. Everything works fine except for the LCD screen
I dropped my Toshiba Satellite M30 this morning while it was turned off. The only exterior physical damage I observed was at the right corner of the laptop (where the AC power plug is) which showed strained plastic marks. When I turned on my laptop, everything ran fine EXCEPT for the LCD screen. The colors are all inverted (i.e. the black is white and white is black, etc.). It looks like those negatives on a photo film.
I then proceeded to read some related problems on the internet such as one LCD screen being very white, and some guy suggested resetting the flex cable, but I don’t know how to reset a cable. Another guy suggested that the LCD contacts within the cells may have been dislodged in which case a replacement LCD panel is needed (which sucks). I really hope this problem is repairable without having to buy new expensive parts. I have basic experience with electronics, so a detailed (non-laymen) diagnosis would be preferred. Please advice.
I agree with the guy who recommended reseating the flex cable. That’s the first thing that you should try. Not properly seated video cable can cause all kind of weird problems. The video cable has connectors on both sides. One side is connected to the motherboard, you’ll find this connector under the keyboard. The other side is connected to the back of the LCD screen, it would be necessary to open the laptop display. I would attempt reseating the video cable on the motherboard first, because it’s easier to access.
Here’s a guide I’ve created for taking apart Toshiba Satellite M35 notebook (I guess it’s the same as Satellite M30). Follow steps 8,9,10 and 11 to remove the keyboard. It’s not necessary to disconnect the keyboard from the motherboard, just flip it over and place on the palmrest. You can see the video cable on the step 11; it’s a flat black cable. Make sure it’s plugged all the way down into the connector, reseat it if needed. Test the laptop now. If the problem is fixed, you are done. If not, you’ll have to open up the display assembly and reseat the video cable on the screen.
Here’s a guide for Toshiba Satellite M35X display disassembly, it would be different then Satellite M35 but pretty close. Open it up and reseat the video cable on the back of the screen. Take a look at the step 7, it shows the video cable connector. Test it again.
If you still experience the same video issue, then apparently the screen has been damaged and you’ll have to replace the screen.
January 21st, 2012 at 9:14 am
i dropped my toshiba satellite pro c660-21c and the charger was connected. the charger broke so i bought a new one but it still wont charge my laptop. was wondering if u could help? thanks
March 3rd, 2010 at 5:39 am
hey was wondering f anyone could help me … i was rushing downstairs this morning and dropped my laptop… the laptop was on at the time and when i went to check it. it has switched off… the laptop its self seems to be working fine … although the thing that you cds/dvds in has come apart from the laptop… what can i do ? would it cost a lot to fix and would i lose my documents if i sent it away to be fixed?
please help
thanks
June 6th, 2009 at 9:15 pm
Dropped my Toshiba onto wooden floor and everything seems fine.At the end of the day its all down to luck every drop is different you may get no damage or lots of damage
April 4th, 2009 at 7:38 pm
I have a Toshiba Satellite M30, acquired today when someone was going to toss it.
The first problem is with the video. When the machine boots, the Toshiba splash screen sits there (waiting to find a bootable drive which it can’t cause there isn’t one) and eventually gives a message about resetting or booting. That part is understandable and if I press Reset, I get taken to a screen (blue) where I can reset the time. but ….eventually, usually within 30 seconds, the screen displays black vertical stripes, all evenly spaced and about 1/8th inch wide and about 3/4″ apart. The stripes will flash and change colors. Then, the stripes become about 1/4″ wide and each one is multicolored, like vertical rainbows almost, except there is no blending of color, just sections about 1″ long from top to bottom. Then, in the stripey area, you can see what appears to be various characters flashing.
The symptoms are the same on an external monitor. And, each time the machine is rebooted, the screen starts clear as is there is no problem but eventually, whether or not I go to the Reset screen, the stripes appear. Weird. You would think that if the problem was video card related, the stripes would always be there, not just after 30 seconds. I am a software, not hardware person, but this intrigues me.
I took the machine apart, following irisvista’s instructions for an M35 and made sure to reseat both cables, the one from the vga port and the one that goes to the laptop screen. Even though my fingers were crossed the whole time, there was no difference – both screens were still stripey after a while.
There is a very small dent on the front corner, I mean not even 1/4″ wide but a dent is a dent so perhaps there is a fall in this laptop’s history. don’t know.
Anyways, I am wondering if the symptoms I have described sound familiar. Is there something else I can check, like, would a loose solder joint(?) somewhere cause this to happen or is it more complex and requires a MB replacement?
Don’t know if this is relevant, but the fan doesn’t start up right away when the machine is turned on but does come on eventually. Like I said, I am hardware illiterate.
If nothing else, I got 2 512 sticks of RAM, and adapter and wireless card, and DVD player and ….can’t complain. Good for parts if nothing else.
Thanks for any suggestions.
February 12th, 2009 at 10:34 pm
Hi Shan,
The clicking sounds you describe are from the HD.
If you dropped the computer while it was on, it is very likely to happen. This is also probably the reason for the slow boot.
Unfortunately, the only thing you can do is to replace the HD with a new one. In any case, I would recommend first thing (right now) to backup all the important docs you have on the computer, in case the HD will not turn on…
February 11th, 2009 at 1:20 pm
oh and if it helps, my laptop is a toshiba satellite P100.
February 11th, 2009 at 1:16 pm
I have a toshiba satellite computer. It is 2 years and 3 months old. the warrenty was expired after 2 years. I dropped it the other day and it still works. But it takes about 15-20 minutes to turn on, there is a clicking sound for about 10 seconds every 5 minutes. It freezes for a few seconds and i noticed that its really slow when i go to click on new windows. Anyone know how serious this is? I dont really want to take it to get it fixed because then i would have to tell my mom and she would get very angry that i dropped it if she found out.
Any advice??
January 13th, 2009 at 1:28 pm
Hi maybe someone can help me, i think my brother hit my laptop toshiba satellite m30x, and every thing works fine but, on the lcd, appeared a line about 1 pixel width. it looks like ants walking all over that vertical line, and the lcd panel is very lose, i think maybe replacing the flex will solve the problem but a guy told me that it might be a burned dot on the lcd.
thanks (in advance)
Luis Davila
January 3rd, 2009 at 8:00 pm
Hi there,
I have a Toshiba Satellite A205-S4607 laptop. Just an hour ago my little brother was carrying it up our wood floor stairs and dropped it. The computer was turned on as he had been playing a game on it and was transferring it to the upper level of our house. I was not there to see from how high it was dropped. He showed me how high he dropped it (he motioned about a foot from the ground, but knowing my brother I think it was at least 2 feet). The computer turns on fine. My mother reported that it made a loud buzzing noise when she started it up. She removed the battery and put it back in. That didn’t work. It has not made a buzzing noise beyond the first initial start up. There is a bit of a quiet “struggle” where the hard drive is. After discharging electricity from my hands,unplugged the computer, and removed the battery, I carefully took the hard drive out, checked to see if there were any visible problems(it looked just fine) and put it back in. Nothing looks bent, cracked, or broken other than the the hook things that secure the laptop shut when it is closed. I figure something else that I am not able to see /don’t know how to access got jostled or broken. The computer says that it cannot find an operating system. I do believe I have my windows vista cd in the box it came in, but I want to find out as much as I can before trying to put the vista back or possibly ruining the hard drive by doing the former. The files on the hard drive are very important to me. Does it sound like I can fix this problem myself or do I need to go to see my nearest firedog location( which I sadly do not have the money to do)? I thank in advance for your advise and I thank you for your time!
Blessings,
Chelsie
January 1st, 2009 at 10:44 pm
Oren,
I think your problem is related to the LCD screen, it’s dying.
I posted some suggestions in in this post: A vertical row of pixels appeared on the LCD screen.
December 31st, 2008 at 5:32 am
Hello,
1st. of all let me thank you for this wonderful website!
I have a Toshiba laptop (P105-S6084) and I have a problem in the LCD.
Couple of months ago, a vertical row of pixels was shown in yellow, and 2 weeks ago, a 4cm row of pixels on the right side of the LCD was blurred and after couple of days, it went completely white. same this is now happening in the left side, and i’m afraid it will shortly turn into white as well.
Can this be caused by the graphic cable or by the inveretr, or is this the LCD dying on me…?
Thanks a lot,
Oren
December 3rd, 2008 at 6:18 pm
The strap of my computer bag snapped off at the seams, and my computer fell pretty hard on it’s corner, cracking off a bit of the casing. I have a few pictures I can upload of the damage, but I do not know how to do it as a comment. The computer functions, but case won’t close without snapping off. So while I can do work… I cannot fold my laptop for portable use.
It costs $947.00 to repair if I send it in. And it turns out “Hassle Free Repair” does not cover accidental damage. What’s more is that if I do send it in for any damage that is indeed covered (replacing a bad hard drive or battery), they will not touch the computer for fear of liability issues. I was advised to cancel the warranty altogether since they would perform no further repairs while it is in this condition.
I am a student and money is very tight right now. This repair is too expensive to send in ( even though another place will do it for around $600.00), and too expensive replace especially if the computer still “works.”
If I can somehow safely seal up the crack and hole so the laptop would close, I’d be alright.
Ideas on how to fix this?
I have an HP Pavilion Entertainment PC.
October 16th, 2008 at 1:26 pm
Hi, so I have an HP Pavilion dv2000. When I turn it on the screen is black and after about 20 seconds it makes one short loud beep. The keyboard lights work fine but the screen stays black… what can I do to fix this. Just yesterday it was booting up to the HP screen then the Windows XP screen and then going black… my father looked into it and it said Root system.32.hal.dll file is missing or corrupted…. How can I fix this?
September 15th, 2008 at 8:22 am
Hey Ryan – I have the same tablet, and I didn’t drop it, but it’s doing the same thing! I can’t figure out how to fix it. I gets to the boot screen, where I can select hard drive, or DVD (represented by icons, right?) and then once I try to boot anything, I just get the black screen with the flashing cursor. I tried to hook up an external monitor, and all it gets is a flashing cursor and black screen as well.
Found a solution, or can anyone else help?
August 21st, 2008 at 3:25 pm
I have a Toshiba L45 that was dropped and the LCD screen is shattered. i would like to replace it. Do you have instructions to replace my model and would replacing it hurt my hard drive?
Thanks.
August 19th, 2008 at 12:46 pm
Hi,
I dropped my tablet (Toshiba Satellite R10) and when I first attempted to boot it, it would go to windows, but was really slow and could not load even paint. Now when I attempt to boot, it goes to the main Toshiba boot up screen and then to a black screen with a blinking cursor in the upper left corner. I’ve tried to boot from both the recovery disk and an old windows 2000 disk but neither will boot.
Thanks,
Ryan