20 Most Recent Toshiba Satellite P105-S6104 Notebook - Page 6 Questions & Answers

Just to be sure, turn on the laptop and if you see the white screen all the way as it boots up into windows. If its there all the time then the screen is bad and would need to be replaced. If you only see it when its in windows then it could be the wallpaper for the desktop and you would only need to change that to a different wallpaper.

Hello and thank you for using Fixya's services.

I have a couple of questions and some troubleshooting tips for you:

Questions: Is the splash screen coming on at all? Any picture or text right when you boot up? What Windows are you running (Windows XP or Vista)? Are there any lights on when you boot up or beeps? If so how many beeps do you hear?

First troubleshooting: If it boots up and is at least showing the splash screen (Toshiba splash screen or text) then it would be that the operating system is corrupt. This can be caused by several things included viruses, power surges or hardware failure.

The solution for this would be to take the hard drive out and slave it to another working desktop computer to retrieve your data. The attach the hard drive back on and reformat it (I can add specifics to doing this once I know the operating system).

Second troubleshooting: If you hear the operating system chime but do not see a picture and all the lights are on, then this would indicate that the back light on the screen is out. You can test this simply by hooking the laptop up to a monitor and see if you get a picture. If the computer screen shows on the monitor, then your back-light is out. If it doesn't show up then your video graphics card is out.

If the back light is out, it is easier to order a new screen (new or used) from eBay and just switch out (simple process and you can find a replacement for under 50 dollars on eBay). If it is the video graphics card, then you can also purchase one from eBay and switch out (a little tougher because you have to take the top of the laptop off). You can get assistance with this from the manufacturers website and pull specs for free.

Third troubleshooting: If you do not hear any beeps and the above solutions did not work. Then your motherboard has failed. This can be caused by surges or dust. You can purchase a replacement from eBay for a fraction of the cost and replace (this is tough and I am not sure if they have specs for this). You can do it yourself, just be sure and put everything back together as it was.

Fourth troubleshooting: To test the battery, take the battery out of the laptop and turn on with just the adaptor. If it boots, then the battery will need to be replaced. There is no way of testing the power adaptor but 85% of the time, this is the problem. Even if lights come on, the adaptor sometimes gets so overheated that it silently goes out but gives just enough power to make the lights come on. The power adaptor can be found on eBay for under 20 dollars and is cheap enough to replace (first) to make sure that is not the problem. The battery can also be found on eBay for under 60 dollars.

Please let me know if you have any questions and I will be glad to assist.

First - check the volume level, it maybe set too low.also check that the MUTE is not ticked on.
Second - check the Sound adapter in Device Manager it must be Enabled and Working.
If it has a yellow ? against this, then re-install the Audio driver.
If you haven't a driver CD then :-
You can download any/all the Windows XP or Vista device drivers for your model laptop from the Toshiba WEB site from their download page. Make sure you enter the model of your laptop so you can get the correct drivers. Use this link: -
http://www.csd.toshiba.com/cgi-bin/tais/support/jsp/home.jsp

A few things to do first, assuming a Microsoft operating system:
1 - Look at your hard drive to make sure it's got enough space (free space should be at least 15% of it's total size). If not delete or move some stuff.
2 - On the icon for your hard drive - probably "C:", right click and select bottom choice "Properties." Under Tools tab, select defragment and run this utility, even if it says it is not needed.
3 - Pull up the Start Menu (Windows Key), Select "All Programs" and go to the folder named "Startup." Many programs like to have some code run all the time, which is almost never necessary. You will be safe to delete entries here - as they just take up memory once started.

These steps should be a help, none are a danger to your stuff.
Additional RAM is always a good help for small $$ as well.

Good Luck!

Does the computer start (can you hear it?)
Try to unplug the power supply and battery.
Try to start it with just the power cord and no battery.
If it starts up with no display, then try an external monitor.
Also, test the power adapter--see if it's putting out the required voltage.
Assuming the adapter is good and the battery is good and the computer still won't start, you'll be looking at replacing the motherboard.

if you reinstall the operating system and you still have a problem then the next logical course of action is to check ram and hard drive.

You have to replace the battery with CR2032 no , its a default model for all laptops BIOS battery, kindly check the number in the old battery to fix it exactly. you can find the battery in the bottom of the laptop, its has some opennings locked by screws if you open that you can see it , the battery will be like this only

more than likely the motherboard or separate video card are failing.

Apparently there was an issue with that model and they have posted the following fix. Please read everything and make sure this bios update is for your model. http://www.csd.toshiba.com/cgi-bin/tais/support/jsp/modelContent.jsp?ct=SB&os=&category=&moid=1484716&rpn=PSPA0U&modelFilter=P105-S6104&selCategory=3&selFamily=1073768663

Your laptop HDD uses a newer connection type called SATA. The one you are used to using is called IDE. They do make adapters to go from one to the other but they are hard to find and not very reliable (sometimes just dont work).

You can find a 2.5" (laptop size) hard drive enclosure for SATA to USB at almost any electronics store.

Double check your motherboard (on your desktop if thats what you are using to read the drive) for SATA connectors on it. Many computers have been using SATA almost as a standard since about 2004-2005, but some may not still have it.

The reason for the new type of connection is faster data transfer speeds.

To look at the differences, click the link below:
http://jekkilekki.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/sata-ide-laptop-hard-drive.jpg

You have been infected by a malware program or virus. This has been going around for a while. Get a flash drive and access another computer and download the following programs and run them...

http://www.filehippo.com/download_malwarebytes_anti_malware/

http://www.filehippo.com/download_avast_antivirus/

Run MalwareBytes first and let it update then run....perform a quick scan and it will ask you to show results, do so and then delete all that it finds. Reboot, then run Avast and install, it will ask to schedule a boot time virus check click yes and it will scan all files including windows because it will scan beofre windows actually starts, so all files get scanned.

Recovery disk and lost all files.OS was trashed

Try to connect your pc to an external monitor and see what happens,if it works then you may need a new monitor else it is the same problem then you have a graphic problem.

Search for the installation files on your computers website. Sometimes you can find them their and use the serial number and the like located at the bottom of your computer as verification.

If only some aren;t working, attempt to clean it with compressed air (fter verifying that this is safe for your computer).

If all of the keys aren't working then most likely this is hardware related. Faulty wiring replacement should only be attempted by a professional (unfortunately).

The last thing that comes to mind is that someone spilled a liquid within your keys =P

Check your keyboard for region code settings. Or check the key for the difference on other keys how it reacts on depressing and releasing. Maybe some foreign material that block the key to hit the contact underneath.

Or if this is a rubber type contact, might it is been teared already. Then replacement is an option.

there is no working backlight ....the problem is inverter or ccfl lamp

These guys will help and test ...Micromend ,
London

if you did a reinstall i'd bet it's a driver issue.

open device manager and check to see if anything is out of date.

if so right click on it and select update driver. after update reboot..
^_^

how about the speakers working? if working your speaker it means the microphone has problem, ( hardware problem,, did you try to change the setting on the property?

Most serpentine belts don't squeal....only if they are very loose.....sounds like it could be the tensioner. They are very abused pieces of equipment that are always under strain and moving,,,,their pulleys go out more often then any other attachment.