Laptop suddenly unresponsive

hobiecatter · 10-08-2009, 09:03 AM

I have a Toshiba Laptop 1905-s301 of my mother in-laws. I wanted to upgrade her memory, so I shut the computer down, unplugged the cord, and took off the back cover to the secondary memory slot. Put in the new memory and now it is completely unresponsive

Even when plugged in, there are NO lights on at all on the front panel. Holding the power button does not have any response. All I did was remove the covers on the bottom of the laptop and seated the new stick of ram. Battery was still in, but the cord was not plugged in.

I think that there is a clue but I don't know what it means... The fact that when the power cord is DETACHED with the battery in, there is a quick flash of all of the lights on the front panel when you push the power button. But thats all that happens. When the power cord is plugged in- the lights don't flash when you push the button. No responses at all.

Left plugged in all day and the power supply gets warm like normal, but is still unresponsive.

I have the experience and technical ability to troubleshoot, but am more familiar with desktops and not sure what else to test with this as I'm trying to isolate the problem.

Here is what I've tried...

I took the new stick I just added back out and no changes.
I took the battery and power cord out and held down the power button for 30 seconds and replaced them both, no changes.
I tried the power cord on another laptop and it worked fine on that one.
I tried the power cord from another laptop on this one and it didn't come on.

I haven't removed the original stick of ram at all as this is hard to get to. Since I didn't even touch that one, I didn't think it would be the culprit.

any ideas? Thanks!

dai · 10-08-2009, 10:22 AM

you should have removed the battery before fitting the new ram

try a cmos reset

hobiecatter · 10-08-2009, 11:13 AM

yea, was hoping that wasn't what did it.

Ok, will locate the cmos and reset it.

I will update the results.

Thanks

Still trying to get to the motherboard.

I've taken every screw visible out of this thing and have removed everything but the top bezel. Wish I could find an online guide or service manual.

I'm not sure how to get the rest off and still don't see a cmos battery yet.

dai · 10-09-2009, 07:49 PM

try here

http://tim.id.au/laptops/toshiba/

http://www.irisvista.com/

hobiecatter · 10-12-2009, 08:31 AM

Thanks very much. That was very helpful. The first link worked.

after spending a loooong time tearing this thing down all the way to the motherboard, I finally found the cmos battery and reset it. Put all back together and no changes.

Guess it's off to the laptop repair tech.

Thanks for your help.

dai · 10-12-2009, 10:09 AM

let us know how you get on with it

10-08-2009, 09:03 AM	#1 (permalink)
hobiecatter Registered User Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 3 OS: xp	Laptop suddenly unresponsive I have a Toshiba Laptop 1905-s301 of my mother in-laws. I wanted to upgrade her memory, so I shut the computer down, unplugged the cord, and took off the back cover to the secondary memory slot. Put in the new memory and now it is completely unresponsive Even when plugged in, there are NO lights on at all on the front panel. Holding the power button does not have any response. All I did was remove the covers on the bottom of the laptop and seated the new stick of ram. Battery was still in, but the cord was not plugged in. I think that there is a clue but I don't know what it means... The fact that when the power cord is DETACHED with the battery in, there is a quick flash of all of the lights on the front panel when you push the power button. But thats all that happens. When the power cord is plugged in- the lights don't flash when you push the button. No responses at all. Left plugged in all day and the power supply gets warm like normal, but is still unresponsive. I have the experience and technical ability to troubleshoot, but am more familiar with desktops and not sure what else to test with this as I'm trying to isolate the problem. Here is what I've tried... I took the new stick I just added back out and no changes. I took the battery and power cord out and held down the power button for 30 seconds and replaced them both, no changes. I tried the power cord on another laptop and it worked fine on that one. I tried the power cord from another laptop on this one and it didn't come on. I haven't removed the original stick of ram at all as this is hard to get to. Since I didn't even touch that one, I didn't think it would be the culprit. any ideas? Thanks!

10-08-2009, 10:22 AM	#2 (permalink)
dai Manager, Hardware Forums Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: west australia Posts: 56,629 OS: win 7 32x 64x rtm	Re: Laptop suddenly unresponsive you should have removed the battery before fitting the new ram try a cmos reset __________________

10-08-2009, 11:13 AM	#3 (permalink)
hobiecatter Registered User Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 3 OS: xp	yea, was hoping that wasn't what did it. Ok, will locate the cmos and reset it. I will update the results. Thanks Still trying to get to the motherboard. I've taken every screw visible out of this thing and have removed everything but the top bezel. Wish I could find an online guide or service manual. I'm not sure how to get the rest off and still don't see a cmos battery yet. Last edited by dai; 10-09-2009 at 07:43 PM.

10-09-2009, 07:49 PM	#4 (permalink)
dai Manager, Hardware Forums Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: west australia Posts: 56,629 OS: win 7 32x 64x rtm	Re: Laptop suddenly unresponsive try here http://tim.id.au/laptops/toshiba/ http://www.irisvista.com/ __________________

10-12-2009, 08:31 AM	#5 (permalink)
hobiecatter Registered User Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 3 OS: xp	Re: Laptop suddenly unresponsive Thanks very much. That was very helpful. The first link worked. after spending a loooong time tearing this thing down all the way to the motherboard, I finally found the cmos battery and reset it. Put all back together and no changes. Guess it's off to the laptop repair tech. Thanks for your help.

10-12-2009, 10:09 AM	#6 (permalink)
dai Manager, Hardware Forums Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: west australia Posts: 56,629 OS: win 7 32x 64x rtm	Re: Laptop suddenly unresponsive let us know how you get on with it __________________