Toshiba Satellite A30 won't boot / blank screen

snoopy · 01-25-2005, 03:40 PM

Hi, I have my Toshiba Satellite A30 now for more than one year. 8 months ago I upgraded it with a second 256mb RAM brick -non-Toshiba. Everything was working finte until last week. Now I have the following problem:

I switched it on - Blank/Black screen. Fan is running normal speed up to full speed. No HDD LED. There's this click that happens whenever it freezes (it comes from the area where the DVD-Drive is seated.). But this click was normal for every freeze I encountered so far. Power LED and Battery LED on. DVD-Drive reads inserted DVDs.

My search for a solution:
I talked to a friend and he figured it could be a RAM issue. I removed the non-Toshiba module. And yipeee, it booted. But windows was incredibly slow. To test if the non-Toshiba Ram brick is the problem I tried to boot only with this one installed. It worked. After a few times, it stopped working ?!? Ok, I thought, that's it, the RAM module is faulty.
I switched back to the Toshiba 256mb brick. It worked. I reinserted the other supposedly faulty brick (I didn't want to give up) and surprisingly it worked!!!

I switched the laptop off. after cooling down it didn't boot again. So in the end I found out that my laptop needs a "warm-up" phase with one Ram module. After that I can reinsert the 2nd one and it works without problems.
This cannot be the best solution. That's why I had a look at the Bios and disabled "silent boot" i.e. it shows me now the start sequence with the testing of the RAM etc. . Now sometimes without "warm-up" it does these diagnostics, but at the moment of initiation of windows it freezes i.e. black screen with frozen whit mouse arrow; and sometimes it does the diagnostics and then straight into blank screen.

Now I don't know if it is the 2nd RAM bar, the motherboard, BIOS, or the 2nd RAMslot which is faulty.

Does anyone have an idea what's going on? Can anyone help me?

That would be great. Cheers

snoopy · 01-26-2005, 04:13 AM

Today it booted up with both Ram modules from being cold. But after working wih win xp for 4 mins (I wanted to go online) I got a black screen again.

snoopy · 01-31-2005, 11:41 AM

Can anyone help me? Techies? Anyone?

scanplannedit · 02-23-2005, 08:37 PM

I have the same problem on a 1805-s273. It will not boot every time, its like throwing dice to get it to boot, and when it does, it usually freezes on the desktop screen. If you find out what does it (or how to fix, let me know). So far I know that sometimes if I put it in the freezer for 20 minutes or if I push in the ram it will sometimes boot, but neither of these are a given, "every time" fix.

Thomaslewis20 · 02-24-2005, 05:01 AM

Hi,

Go To A Computer Shop And Tell Them What The Problem Is Because It May Be To Do With Your Hard Drive, Software/windows Or The Problem May Be Your Screen.

snoopy · 03-01-2005, 03:16 PM

Hi got a fix for it...
Actually I had to do two things:
1. The non-Toshiba RAM was malfunctioning --> ebay, got a new(used) 256mb bar for 20 Euros
Now it always booted. Yay. But then I had the random shutdowns. --->
2. Over-heating problem: my Toshiba laptop gets its air supply from its base. but its rubber feet are too small --> there is not enough space between the table and the fans too provide for enough cold air --> the table gets hot as well--> not enough cooling--> emergency shut-down
Easy solution --> put something of about 7mm under everyone of the four feet (I'm using 4 empty jewel cases, gotta make something more stylish when I can spare the time)
I also heard that opening the laptop and cleaning the CPU of all the accumulated dust may help as well. I wouldn't do that since my warranty would go void. And noone without enough skill and knowledge (and the right screwdriver) should open a laptop (it's a different story as a desktop)

I hope that could be of help.
Cheers

shutty2k5 · 03-04-2005, 04:38 PM

Hi noticed you had a problem with the laptop overheating. I've got the exact same laptop as you and had the same problem. If you try and open the casing the screws wair out so dont try it (I tried it today and messed them up!) the best solution is to use compressed air (in a can) also known as air duster. You should be able to get this from your local computer shop or on ebay by clicking the following link: [URL=http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=162&item=5170213726&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW]

Once you have the compressed air all you need to do is spray it directly into the heat sink and then underneasth where the fans are. You will see the dust clearing. Before doing it to mine my laptop kept shutting down but now it works perfectly and stays cool! the fan doesnt need to kick in all the time now.

Let me know how you get on by emailing me: shutty2k3@ntlworld.com

01-25-2005, 03:40 PM	#1 (permalink)
snoopy Registered User Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 4 OS: win xp	Toshiba Satellite A30 won't boot / blank screen Hi, I have my Toshiba Satellite A30 now for more than one year. 8 months ago I upgraded it with a second 256mb RAM brick -non-Toshiba. Everything was working finte until last week. Now I have the following problem: I switched it on - Blank/Black screen. Fan is running normal speed up to full speed. No HDD LED. There's this click that happens whenever it freezes (it comes from the area where the DVD-Drive is seated.). But this click was normal for every freeze I encountered so far. Power LED and Battery LED on. DVD-Drive reads inserted DVDs. My search for a solution: I talked to a friend and he figured it could be a RAM issue. I removed the non-Toshiba module. And yipeee, it booted. But windows was incredibly slow. To test if the non-Toshiba Ram brick is the problem I tried to boot only with this one installed. It worked. After a few times, it stopped working ?!? Ok, I thought, that's it, the RAM module is faulty. I switched back to the Toshiba 256mb brick. It worked. I reinserted the other supposedly faulty brick (I didn't want to give up) and surprisingly it worked!!! I switched the laptop off. after cooling down it didn't boot again. So in the end I found out that my laptop needs a "warm-up" phase with one Ram module. After that I can reinsert the 2nd one and it works without problems. This cannot be the best solution. That's why I had a look at the Bios and disabled "silent boot" i.e. it shows me now the start sequence with the testing of the RAM etc. . Now sometimes without "warm-up" it does these diagnostics, but at the moment of initiation of windows it freezes i.e. black screen with frozen whit mouse arrow; and sometimes it does the diagnostics and then straight into blank screen. Now I don't know if it is the 2nd RAM bar, the motherboard, BIOS, or the 2nd RAMslot which is faulty. Does anyone have an idea what's going on? Can anyone help me? That would be great. Cheers

03-04-2005, 04:38 PM	#7 (permalink)
shutty2k5 Registered User Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 1 OS: winxp	Cooling Fan Problem Hi noticed you had a problem with the laptop overheating. I've got the exact same laptop as you and had the same problem. If you try and open the casing the screws wair out so dont try it (I tried it today and messed them up!) the best solution is to use compressed air (in a can) also known as air duster. You should be able to get this from your local computer shop or on ebay by clicking the following link: [URL=http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=162&item=5170213726&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW] Once you have the compressed air all you need to do is spray it directly into the heat sink and then underneasth where the fans are. You will see the dust clearing. Before doing it to mine my laptop kept shutting down but now it works perfectly and stays cool! the fan doesnt need to kick in all the time now. Let me know how you get on by emailing me: shutty2k3@ntlworld.com

01-26-2005, 04:13 AM	#2 (permalink)
snoopy Registered User Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 4 OS: win xp	Today it booted up with both Ram modules from being cold. But after working wih win xp for 4 mins (I wanted to go online) I got a black screen again.

01-31-2005, 11:41 AM	#3 (permalink)
snoopy Registered User Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 4 OS: win xp	Can anyone help me? Techies? Anyone?

02-23-2005, 08:37 PM	#4 (permalink)
scanplannedit Registered User Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 1 OS: xp	I have the same problem on a 1805-s273. It will not boot every time, its like throwing dice to get it to boot, and when it does, it usually freezes on the desktop screen. If you find out what does it (or how to fix, let me know). So far I know that sometimes if I put it in the freezer for 20 minutes or if I push in the ram it will sometimes boot, but neither of these are a given, "every time" fix.

02-24-2005, 05:01 AM	#5 (permalink)
Thomaslewis20 Registered User Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 9 OS: Windows XP	Hi, Go To A Computer Shop And Tell Them What The Problem Is Because It May Be To Do With Your Hard Drive, Software/windows Or The Problem May Be Your Screen.

03-01-2005, 03:16 PM	#6 (permalink)
snoopy Registered User Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 4 OS: win xp	Hi got a fix for it... Actually I had to do two things: 1. The non-Toshiba RAM was malfunctioning --> ebay, got a new(used) 256mb bar for 20 Euros Now it always booted. Yay. But then I had the random shutdowns. ---> 2. Over-heating problem: my Toshiba laptop gets its air supply from its base. but its rubber feet are too small --> there is not enough space between the table and the fans too provide for enough cold air --> the table gets hot as well--> not enough cooling--> emergency shut-down Easy solution --> put something of about 7mm under everyone of the four feet (I'm using 4 empty jewel cases, gotta make something more stylish when I can spare the time) I also heard that opening the laptop and cleaning the CPU of all the accumulated dust may help as well. I wouldn't do that since my warranty would go void. And noone without enough skill and knowledge (and the right screwdriver) should open a laptop (it's a different story as a desktop) I hope that could be of help. Cheers