Toshiba Satellite P-105 just died, won't turn on

indigozeal · 02-03-2008, 07:16 PM

I have a Toshiba P-105 Satellite laptop. Tonight, while viewing my e-mail, it just...died. It shut off, and I can't get it back on. I plug it in, but the light on the console that indicates it is plugged in doesn't even go on. There's no response to hitting the power button.

It is, of course, two months out of warranty. Might anyone have an idea as to what went wrong here and how much costly a repair it might be?

Thanks in advance for everyone's time and patience.

loudnproud59 · 02-03-2008, 08:45 PM

Does it run on the battery or is the battery dead if so test your ac adapter with a mutimeter to see if there is any output the output should be listed on the adapter,if no output your adapter has failed and you can find one on ebay for a reasonable price,if the power adapter is fine then your mainboard power circuit has failed ,and the cost can be very high to repair or replace your mainboard,again you could try ebay if you need a new mainboard,i hope this helps keep us posted on what you find.

indigozeal · 02-03-2008, 09:20 PM

Hi there; thanks very much for the reply. Yeah, my battery's never had a problem, so I think the most expensive option is probably the right one, unfortunately.

Questions:

1) Is my hard drive in any danger? I did a backup a couple weeks ago, but I have some work-related stuff I've accumulated since that I'm loathe to lose. May I ask if there's any way to access the contents of the drive through another laptop?

2) I note on eBay that some places advertise "motherboard repair", in which they replace/repair broken components as opposed to ripping out the whole motherboard. Obviously, I don't know what's wrong with my motherboard - whether it's the whole board or what, or even if this "just a component" business is crazy talk - and I'm not going to send my unit to an unknown repair shop across the country. Would I be better, though, paying the fee to have a shop look at it and see if they can do the same instead of replacing the motherboard? Or is this "component replacement" just a specialty job, and an average shop would just rip out the motherboard anyhow? (I live in Maine, and good repair shops are hard to find here.)

indigozeal · 02-03-2008, 09:38 PM

Would I be better, though, paying the fee to have a shop look at it and see if they can do the same instead of replacing the motherboard?

Sorry, I should specify here - would I do better to see if a shop can repair the motherboard instead of buying one on eBay in advance?

**TriggerFinger** · 02-03-2008, 10:54 PM

As loudnproud59 suggested... have your adapter tested for the correct output voltage. Based on your post your unit shut down while you were using it. You plugged it in but no power indication can be seen (no LEDs light up). From this I think that you have a discharged battery and a good sign that you do not have external power (from AC).

A discharged battery is an indication that may be you were not running on AC power while you were using it. So given this situation a few things come to mind. First, your power adapter could probably be dead (no output voltage). Second, your DC jack is malfunctioning. Third, you have a malfunctioning component in the motherboard... and the list goes on.

Now before you jump into the most expensive solution, try what loudnproud59 advised to have your AC brick checked for output voltage. A new AC power brick is still cheaper than a battery or mobo from eBay.

indigozeal · 02-03-2008, 11:15 PM

I may be wrong in my understanding of your post but to me your unit shut down while you were using it. You plugged it in but no power indication can be seen (no LEDs light up). Obviously your battery is fully discharged.

Hello; thanks for answering. I would tend to not think it the adapter, as the battery wasn't "due", so to speak, to run out (its power expenditure is reliably consistent) and the shutdown was instant - there wasn't the whole folderol from Windows that always accompanies a low-battery situation on this laptop.

loudnproud59 · 02-04-2008, 10:51 AM

This looks to me like you have a mainboard problem if your laptop refuses to power up ,and having it repaired would be very exspensive your best solution would be to find another mainboard or purchase a new laptop i am not sure what other satellite models are the same so i can not help in that respect i will do some research and try to post what i find for you.sorry i can't be of more help.

indigozeal · 02-17-2008, 04:28 PM

Just for future reference here - I did take the laptop to the repair shop. They removed and put back the RAM, did the same with the battery, and bingo - good as new. I haven't a clue as to what happened, and neither do they.

Thank you all here for the help throughout my teeth-gnashing.

johnny6600 · 06-06-2008, 07:48 PM

Here is the fix my toshiba laptop also wouldent turn on so i called them and here is what you do 1. unplug the laptop
2.take out the battery 3.hold down the power button for 20 seconds (doing this drains any excess power fron the unit) 4.put battery back in 5.plug in laptop 6.try to turn it on
hope this helps
John

kretek · 02-21-2009, 05:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnny6600

Here is the fix my toshiba laptop also wouldent turn on so i called them and here is what you do 1. unplug the laptop
2.take out the battery 3.hold down the power button for 20 seconds (doing this drains any excess power fron the unit) 4.put battery back in 5.plug in laptop 6.try to turn it on
hope this helps
John

Just wanted to reply to this old thread to say that the advice worked on my Toshiba Satellite A100.

THANK YOU johnny6600 for posting. If you're still around (or anyone) - Why did this happen in the first place?

bastee18 · 11-06-2009, 10:50 PM

[ Originally Posted by johnny6600 View Post
Here is the fix my toshiba laptop also wouldent turn on so i called them and here is what you do 1. unplug the laptop
2.take out the battery 3.hold down the power button for 20 seconds (doing this drains any excess power fron the unit) 4.put battery back in 5.plug in laptop 6.try to turn it on
hope this helps
John]

Thanks for this! It worked for my Toshiba laptop too.

02-03-2008, 07:16 PM	#1 (permalink)
indigozeal Registered User Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 24 OS: Windows XP Home	Toshiba Satellite P-105 just died, won't turn on I have a Toshiba P-105 Satellite laptop. Tonight, while viewing my e-mail, it just...died. It shut off, and I can't get it back on. I plug it in, but the light on the console that indicates it is plugged in doesn't even go on. There's no response to hitting the power button. It is, of course, two months out of warranty. Might anyone have an idea as to what went wrong here and how much costly a repair it might be? Thanks in advance for everyone's time and patience.

02-03-2008, 08:45 PM	#2 (permalink)
loudnproud59 Registered User Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 139 OS: win xp pro	Re: Toshiba Satellite P-105 just died, won't turn on Does it run on the battery or is the battery dead if so test your ac adapter with a mutimeter to see if there is any output the output should be listed on the adapter,if no output your adapter has failed and you can find one on ebay for a reasonable price,if the power adapter is fine then your mainboard power circuit has failed ,and the cost can be very high to repair or replace your mainboard,again you could try ebay if you need a new mainboard,i hope this helps keep us posted on what you find.

02-03-2008, 09:20 PM	#3 (permalink)
indigozeal Registered User Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 24 OS: Windows XP Home	Re: Toshiba Satellite P-105 just died, won't turn on Hi there; thanks very much for the reply. Yeah, my battery's never had a problem, so I think the most expensive option is probably the right one, unfortunately. Questions: 1) Is my hard drive in any danger? I did a backup a couple weeks ago, but I have some work-related stuff I've accumulated since that I'm loathe to lose. May I ask if there's any way to access the contents of the drive through another laptop? 2) I note on eBay that some places advertise "motherboard repair", in which they replace/repair broken components as opposed to ripping out the whole motherboard. Obviously, I don't know what's wrong with my motherboard - whether it's the whole board or what, or even if this "just a component" business is crazy talk - and I'm not going to send my unit to an unknown repair shop across the country. Would I be better, though, paying the fee to have a shop look at it and see if they can do the same instead of replacing the motherboard? Or is this "component replacement" just a specialty job, and an average shop would just rip out the motherboard anyhow? (I live in Maine, and good repair shops are hard to find here.)

02-03-2008, 09:38 PM	#4 (permalink)
indigozeal Registered User Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 24 OS: Windows XP Home	Re: Toshiba Satellite P-105 just died, won't turn on Would I be better, though, paying the fee to have a shop look at it and see if they can do the same instead of replacing the motherboard? Sorry, I should specify here - would I do better to see if a shop can repair the motherboard instead of buying one on eBay in advance?

02-03-2008, 10:54 PM	#5 (permalink)
TriggerFinger Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: USA Posts: 11,802 OS: Vista SP1, XP SP3, PCLinuxOS2007	Re: Toshiba Satellite P-105 just died, won't turn on As loudnproud59 suggested... have your adapter tested for the correct output voltage. Based on your post your unit shut down while you were using it. You plugged it in but no power indication can be seen (no LEDs light up). From this I think that you have a discharged battery and a good sign that you do not have external power (from AC). A discharged battery is an indication that may be you were not running on AC power while you were using it. So given this situation a few things come to mind. First, your power adapter could probably be dead (no output voltage). Second, your DC jack is malfunctioning. Third, you have a malfunctioning component in the motherboard... and the list goes on. Now before you jump into the most expensive solution, try what loudnproud59 advised to have your AC brick checked for output voltage. A new AC power brick is still cheaper than a battery or mobo from eBay. Last edited by TriggerFinger; 02-03-2008 at 11:10 PM.

02-03-2008, 11:15 PM	#6 (permalink)
indigozeal Registered User Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 24 OS: Windows XP Home	Re: Toshiba Satellite P-105 just died, won't turn on I may be wrong in my understanding of your post but to me your unit shut down while you were using it. You plugged it in but no power indication can be seen (no LEDs light up). Obviously your battery is fully discharged. Hello; thanks for answering. I would tend to not think it the adapter, as the battery wasn't "due", so to speak, to run out (its power expenditure is reliably consistent) and the shutdown was instant - there wasn't the whole folderol from Windows that always accompanies a low-battery situation on this laptop.

02-04-2008, 10:51 AM	#7 (permalink)
loudnproud59 Registered User Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 139 OS: win xp pro	Re: Toshiba Satellite P-105 just died, won't turn on This looks to me like you have a mainboard problem if your laptop refuses to power up ,and having it repaired would be very exspensive your best solution would be to find another mainboard or purchase a new laptop i am not sure what other satellite models are the same so i can not help in that respect i will do some research and try to post what i find for you.sorry i can't be of more help.

02-17-2008, 04:28 PM	#8 (permalink)
indigozeal Registered User Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 24 OS: Windows XP Home	Re: Toshiba Satellite P-105 just died, won't turn on Just for future reference here - I did take the laptop to the repair shop. They removed and put back the RAM, did the same with the battery, and bingo - good as new. I haven't a clue as to what happened, and neither do they. Thank you all here for the help throughout my teeth-gnashing.

06-06-2008, 07:48 PM	#9 (permalink)
johnny6600 Registered User Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 1 OS: xp	Re: Toshiba Satellite P-105 just died, won't turn on Here is the fix my toshiba laptop also wouldent turn on so i called them and here is what you do 1. unplug the laptop 2.take out the battery 3.hold down the power button for 20 seconds (doing this drains any excess power fron the unit) 4.put battery back in 5.plug in laptop 6.try to turn it on hope this helps John

11-06-2009, 10:50 PM	#11 (permalink)
bastee18 Registered User Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 1 OS: Vista	Re: Toshiba Satellite P-105 just died, won't turn on [ Originally Posted by johnny6600 View Post Here is the fix my toshiba laptop also wouldent turn on so i called them and here is what you do 1. unplug the laptop 2.take out the battery 3.hold down the power button for 20 seconds (doing this drains any excess power fron the unit) 4.put battery back in 5.plug in laptop 6.try to turn it on hope this helps John] Thanks for this! It worked for my Toshiba laptop too. Last edited by bastee18; 11-06-2009 at 10:52 PM.