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Toshiba Satellite A100 spontainiously set...




By r0chelle on Oct 10, 2007

" "
Hi, my A100 shut down by itself and when i restarted it said that it had a error and the core duo 2 failed to start and then asked if i wanted to load defults or enter set up, well, as i am not a newbe, but, did not realy understand what was going on i selected enter set up, but, then that was the end of my lappy as i knew it. It has spontainiously set the setup password as i have owned this laptop for over a year and never set one, i rang the toshiba service center and they said to send it to them with my proof of purchase and they would fix it. my problem is that because it is not cvered by a warrenty any more, and apparenly password are not covered anyway, i realy just cannot afford it, silly aye. i have reaserched ithe whole thing as much as i can and back door passwords do not work, i have taken it appart and found the cmos battery, but i am not realy sure if i tried to remove it if i was doing it right, so would anyone have some tech advice for me and i would love to know where the jumpers or switch for the cmos are. Please someone help me out with this nightmare!! Thanks
Comments:

Oct 11, 2007

- Well after a week of hell, i have solved it, no thanks to anyone here!!!!!... so if you would like the answer here it is. Toshiba has a known problem with this model of laptop. It has been known to set its bios password by itself. It is a simple fix, but should be done by a proffesional. There is no charge for this repair at a toshiba repair center.
If you want, this is what needs to be done. Remove the piece of plastic above the keyboard. Unscrew the 2 screws in the keyboard and lift the keyboard up( No reason to disconnect it ) Unscrew and remove the modem card in the center. There is 2 solder points c88 on the system board. You need to short those 2 points out while you press the power button on. This will reset the bios password. This should take someone about 5 minutes to do.

Dec 06, 2007

- r0chelle here.
Whatever nightshifter. the repair centers donot want to know about it without any $$$. I spent hours and here is the solution for everyone to share. Not line any pockets. I hope this helps many, the modem card is a little rectangle component directly under the keyboard on the mother board. it comes out kind of like a piece of ram

Dec 06, 2007

- Nightshifter, they will not fix for free!!! i tell you now!!

I will tell you this for free, the modem card is under keyboard and looks like a rectangle component and is removed kind of like a piece of ram. Keep it or share it. this is free

Clarification Request

Posted by tonyb969 on May 23, 2009

what does it reset the password to?

Same Problem

May 16, 2009

-   I can find C88 but it isnt under that card, and I have tried shorting it with no luck, all it does is shutdown the pc! -   hoopna

Apr 18, 2009

-   i have a a215 which one do i short out to reset my bios password?
-   nikkimor19

Apr 18, 2009

-   i have a toshiba sat. a215 which one do i short out to reset my bios password?
-   nikkimor19

Apr 04, 2009

-   hello i have toshiba equium a210-1as and the same problem, is this thing whith removing keyabord will work? please help me Justin. -   PRARASTAS

Mar 25, 2009

-   I had exactly the same issue with an A100-147 model and problem solved. Thanks a lot for your posted solution! -   florin71

Best Solution

posted on Jan 23, 2009
Very Helpful)

Thewyzewun

Rank: Apprentice 
Rating: 100%, 2 votes
I had the same problem, muchos gracias! The hardest part is removing the piece of plastic. I jammed the tip of a very small flat headed screwdriver underneath the black edge facing the keyboard, directly beyond the F1-F12 keys. There are 5 clips along that edge, you need to make them click out. There are no clips along the side or back edges. The black plastic covering the screen hinges are part of the same piece of plastic, and these each have one clip on them, so after all 5 (evenly spread) clips along the front edge have come out, tilt your screen back its full extent - on my laptop, it goes flat, and then tilt the plastic front edge of the plastic up a few degrees; a little less than a 35 degree angle, and then whilst keeping that front edge at the same distance away from the computer; not without lowering it more than perhaps a little, put your fingers underneath and gently lift the back edge and the hinges away from the computer, be gentle as the clips on the hinges are the same thin clips you can now see along the front edge.
Once you have removed this, undo the two screws, and do not unplug the keyboard - it's not too difficult to plug back in, but adds unnecessary work. To remove the small card under which the C88 solder points may be found, pull the silver metal clip that is holding it in left, away from the board. I did this with a flat headed screwdriver again, but that's unnecessarily brutish. Do not remove the two wires, you won't be able to re-attach them without a little solder (or I suppose, cellotape!). Under the board you will find two neat rectangle blobs of solder, and just to make doubly sure, they're labelled C88 just above them, but as they're the only solder points in sight it's quite obvious :).
Thanks very much for this solution Rochelle (I won't say r0chelle; I assume the name you wanted was already taken!).

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Solution #2

posted on Sep 16, 2008
Very Helpful)

Guest

Rank: Apprentice 
Rating: 0%, 0 votes
Worked great after I scraped away some of the covering off of the two solder joints.

Thanks

Rock

Solution #3

posted on Aug 31, 2008
Very Helpful)

Guest

Rank: Apprentice 
Rating: 0%, 0 votes
Rochelle,

Just to let you know that shorting c88 does work.

Thank you!

Solution #4

posted on Jul 09, 2008
Very Helpful)

Murders10

Rank: Apprentice 
Rating: 100%, 3 votes
your the man r0chelle Thanx
My laptop toshiba A100 it's lock about 6 month
and now it's Working Good .
Magdi

Comments:

Jul 09, 2008

- your the man r0chelle Thanx
My laptop Toshiba A100 it's lock about 6 month's
and now it's working good :)
Thanx
magdi
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Solution #5

posted on Dec 06, 2007
Very Helpful)

Guest

Rank: Apprentice 
Rating: 0%, 0 votes
Thank you so much for this! Toshiba and such companies should pay people like you for solving problems like this. I'm in a country without any Toshiba support centers, and to fix problems of the sort, I would need to learn myself, and do!
Cheers mate!

Solution #6

posted on Jun 20, 2008
Very Helpful)

Guest

Rank: Apprentice 
Rating: 0%, 0 votes
r0chelle nailed it. fixed a satellite A100 fo me. thanks kindly

Solution #7

posted on Oct 17, 2007
Helpful)

Guest

Rank: Apprentice 
Rating: 0%, 0 votes
Just do as it says:, If you want, this is what needs to be done. Remove the piece of plastic above the keyboard. Unscrew the 2 screws in the keyboard and lift the keyboard up( No reason to disconnect it ) Unscrew and remove the modem card in the center. There is 2 solder points c88 on the system board. You need to short those 2 points out while you press the power button on. This will reset the bios password. This should take someone about 5 minutes to do.

Solution #8

posted on Jun 01, 2008
Helpful)

Guest

Rank: Apprentice 
Rating: 0%, 0 votes
ok, now i found it after a few minutes... I just want u to know, taht's not really the modem-card.... more the WLAN @ Toshiba satellite A100-692.....

Solution #9

posted on Dec 14, 2007
Helpful)

wegalyre

Rank: Apprentice 
Rating: 86%, 4 votes
thank you r0chelle! the solution is greet and reely its takes 5 minutes. but the card is not a modem card but a card for vga display. althoug your solution is very usefull TKS
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Solution #10

posted on Nov 01, 2007
Helpful)

Guest

Rank: Apprentice 
Rating: 0%, 0 votes
The solution is as proposed by r0chelle!

I was stuck with this problem and the laptop has been yo yoning between me and the repair company, them blaming me for the BIOS password and hence a hefty fee needed to be paid if I was to get the password removed. I've spent hours on the phone with them and had I known this solution I would have saved myself a lot of headache and phone bills!!

Solution works perfectly on my Toshiba A100-01M

Solution #11

posted on Aug 18, 2008
Somewhat Helpful)

Guest

Rank: Apprentice 
Rating: 0%, 0 votes
Cheers

Works perfectly!

And well done

TSUK

Solution #12

posted on Oct 15, 2007
Not Helpful)

nightshifter

Rank: Wiz 
Rating: 80%, 32 votes
To confirm that, yes, Toshiba has a problem on BIOS passwords but only on certain units. It could be found in Document ID 98082361 in kb.toshiba.com. An repair center should take care of the problem or ship the computer back to the depot.
Comments:

Dec 06, 2007

- @ rochelle.
I did not say that they will fix it for free. Since you did not give us the exact model and submodel of your computer, we are not aware if it's covered by the Document ID.
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Solution #13

posted on Jul 01, 2009
Very Helpful)

chann917

Rank: Apprentice 
Rating: 100%, 1 votes
hey everyone ......i got the same problem but wut i did was like i used password 1234 and it works ..i d k if it works for u...well it works for me thou
any concerns regardings computers in edmonton email me at demand_channel@yahoo.com
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Solution #14

posted on Jun 16, 2009
Very Helpful)

zeshan_ali67

Rank: Apprentice 
Rating: 100%, 1 votes
i have 1 laptop a100 bois pasword i forget ready
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Solution #15

posted on Nov 22, 2008
Very Helpful)

ukassh

Rank: Apprentice 
Rating: 100%, 1 votes
WOW !!!! U R BIG !!!!!!!!!! Thanks !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Solution #16

posted on Nov 18, 2008
Very Helpful)

Raginald

Rank: Apprentice 
Rating: 100%, 1 votes
Thank you r0chelle...
your solution to the A100 laptop works...
i did exactly how you mentioned...
finally...
cheers

Raginald
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Solution #17

posted on Nov 06, 2008
Very Helpful)

CptHaddock

Rank: Guide 
Rating: 85%, 4 votes
nice bit of detective work r0chelle,

Just saved me a whole lot of time finding out for myself.
Well done!!!!

TG
Comments:

Nov 06, 2008

- Great post r0cheele,

Had exactly the same issue with an A100 and problem solved. You have definately saved me time and money in getting this issue resolved.

Cheers
CptHaddock
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Solution #18

posted on Aug 26, 2009
Not Rated)

AbbyManche

Rank: Apprentice 
Rating: 0%, 0 votes
After following all the sugestions, which were really helpful, I used the flattop screw driver, star screwdriver, office paper clips etc, but nothing really worked as I kept getting the password prompt over and over. After about 4 hours of battling with it, I used a trip of copper wire and voila! the password prompt was bypassed and the laptop booted straight to windows. Bend the wire like so ' [ ' and place the long strip across the 2 solder points and then boot the laptop. This is for anybody who has failed by using all the suggested equipments.
By the way, thanks to Thewyzewun, who painatakingly went through the process of removing the plastic covering on the keyboard, the wireless card and what to look for, and how to 'short' the circuit, otherwise, I could not have gotten it at all.

****
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12 Other Users Have The Same Problem - Continued

Comment by llcooldee59, posted on Feb 22, 2009

I have the same problem with the satellite A110-195 tried your previous method but once I remove the plastice cover and keynoard the layout seems different and I cant get under an extra bit of plastic layer help me please.

Comment by Guest, posted on Dec 02, 2008

a100 va1
c88 is not located under wireless card, but above, under chasis plastic.
maybe very model spesific, but an image if these points would prove useful.
are these solder points there only to clear the cmos? two small spots of solder on a slightly larger gray square? i see that there, it could be c88. its not under the wireless card. draw a picture...

Comment by Dave-Lon, posted on Nov 29, 2008

I have same problem with A110 . I just opened he KB cover but couldn't find the modem . Pls advise

Comment by Guest, posted on Apr 14, 2008

I tried ti too with the two points under the modem-card, but the Bios-password is not gone. Tried also som passwords like:
- toshy 99
- Toshiba
- 24Banc81
still no enter to my Laptop

Comment by Superwin, posted on Feb 25, 2008

Had the Same problem on a Toshiba Equium A100.
This fix with shorting the pins worked perfectly...

Top quality, well done Rochelle

Comment by Mekonnen, posted on Jan 05, 2008

As it is mentioned here, on January, 02/2008 I faced the same problem.
When I go for lunch I left it open (with out shut it down), then when I came back after one & half-hour. Then I found it as usual it hibernates and closed. When I tried to power on, it asks me the pass word to enter which I didn’t set before. I tried to give what I think of the default pass word but it can not be solved. When I ask the supplier they say this kind of problem is difficult to solve and will not cover by the warranty. Even if it is bought in less than six months period and its warranty period is not yet expired. What will be the solution for this kind of problem? Please help me.

Comment by Guest, posted on Dec 03, 2007

I have the same problem, but after remove keyboard I can't find the modem, and can't find c88 (Only c87,c89....) Pls help me. Tks a lot !!

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