Miscellaneous laptop discussions : Toshiba Satellite A75-S229
Clock keeps "forgetting" the time
by jaxfriedland - 1/9/07 3:05 PM In reply to: RAM by ikenfixitI purchased a Satellite M105-S3051 in August from Costco. The first time I took it on a trip (a.k.a. unplugged it from it's power source) the time totally crapped out on me. I can go into the update section of the clock and it will update it, but often the date is also wrong. I did call Toshiba and they said that there is no reason for that to be happening and that I must not be allowing the "internal battery" to recharge itself. I ALWAYS have my computer plugged in and on; on rare occasions (maybe an hour a day) I take it to the couch to do some internet surfing and then plug it back in. I turn it off every night and back on each morning.
I have found that as long as I do not let my computer hibernate or go off (a.k.a. stay hooked up to the internet) it keeps the time and date correct. The instant it goes into hibernation or I shut it off, it is gone. Sometimes it just stays at the time I last was online, sometimes it's gone back a month (really weird).
Anyhow, does anyone have any idea what could be causing this?
CMOS Battery..
by ikenfixit - 1/11/07 6:56 AM In reply to: Clock keeps "forgetting" the time by jaxfriedlandIf it wont keep time suspect the CMOS battery.. Onl bad thing about changing this is its located on the systemboard and I believe soldered on for this model.. (I'll have to double check).. If changing the RTC or Cmos batt does not clear the issue, Then a CMOS chip is either corrupted or failed. Good luck!
Hmmm...CMOS Battery huh?
by jaxfriedland - 1/11/07 8:08 AM In reply to: CMOS Battery.. by ikenfixitSo I don't have a clue what that is, LOL! I guess I'll call Toshiba and throw that at them. I really don't want to have to return this, but I think I still can since I got it at Costco and it has been less than 6 months. We'll see.
Need driver info and XP Pro Info
by stevegotl - 1/11/07 7:14 AM In reply to: RAM by ikenfixitThanks RAM. Here's an interesting twist. Over the holidays I thought what the heck let's upgrade the memory. It originally came with 512mb so I added another 512 chip. It now shows that 898mb is available the rest I am assuming is being used by the video card as shared. So far I haven't had any of the problems that I used to have with it shutting down by itself or getting the blue screen and having video card conflicts. I haven't tried to load XP pro but will also try that soon.
Power Cord is dead
by bstrohl - 3/13/07 8:17 AM In reply to: Toshiba Satellite A75-S229 by ibbyI have an A75-S226 that has had its motherboard replaced, speaker grounded, and heat sink cleaned.
I have been very careful about the power connector because it is out of warranty so I won't replace the motherboard again and I am not looking forward to soldering it.
Now I hve a new problem. Both of my power cords are making high pitch noise and won't deliver any power. (I have 2 so that one stays in my travel case and one stays at home.)
The original Toshiba cord (the stay at home one) died so I pulled out the other, 3rd party, cord and it died also. I have to order a new cord but I am worried that it will just die as well.
Has anyone seen anything like this?
B
Yup. This laptop is well over 100 Watts and pushes
by R. Proffitt
- 3/13/07 8:32 AM
In reply to: Power Cord is dead by bstrohl
The envelope of the connection and those power bricks. They only last a few years and you may be looking at the end stage failures.
Bob
Toshiba A75-S231
by dubs31 - 5/19/07 1:32 PM In reply to: Yup. This laptop is well over 100 Watts and pushes by R. Proffitt
Well the Class Action is still pending a finalization of a fairness hearing. The Hearing was rescheduled for May 10th, 2007 but to many people came so now they have another set for May 31st 2007. I have returned mine 5 times, 4 of which have been in the last 6 months. They have replaced 3 lcd screens,2 motherboards, fans twice, speakers, top cover (they dropped it and cracked the cover), 1 battery. They also sent the laptop back to me after the motherboard- USBs fried could not back up system/speakers/case repair BUT did not ground the computer. When I got it back it shocked me, and I started having memory error problems kick up on the screen. I immediately contacted them back about the shock issue and memory issues. They said it was not an issue and that it should work fine. I said No I wanted this fixed and you did not fix any issues other than throwing in a new board along with the stuff you broke. Well when I continued to stress the need for this to be fixed the Rep. Mrs. Tux. Said she would allow for the laptop to be returned but would put in the system that the hard drive needed to be wiped and reformatted. I told her no way, let me speak to a supervisor. She said if all you are going to do is complain is I hang up. I said I want this fixed I have already lost the use of my laptop for over two months due to these issues. “Not my problem, you send back we look at and reformat make work”
I sent it back after talking to another rep three days later. I sent it in and they did a check and said my memory was bad and that was the cause of the issues. I said that was not possible since I just got the laptop back and your previous check showed it was working perfectly and is stated as such in your repair log online. She said that since it was not purchased with the laptop from Toshiba it was not their responsibility to repair and I would have to suck up the cost of repair, Oh and we are going to wipe your hard drive. I told them to cease immediately and do nothing until I speak with their corporate office. I spoke to the corporate office and it took 55 minutes to get this idiot to understand how an ungrounded system can fry memory, processors, motherboards. They finally got it. They siad well get back with you within 48 hours. NO CALL - So after 4 days I called back (during this time fielding calls from their repair center saying they were going to wipe my drive which I had to tell them to continue to hold till corporate gets this worked out).
I finally talked again with this CSR and they got the OK to replace the memory and told threpair center to hold the unit till the memory is installed to do a recheck. Well the repair facility decided they were done with me and just sent the laptop back non-repaired but at least the hard drive was not wiped. I got the laptop opened it up and it had a BOX cutter in the box banging around inside the box and on my laptop, and they did not use cushion this time they used a plastic wrap card board piece to hold they laptop down. They taped the 1 gig memory I had installed to the top of the laptop cover. I did take pictures of the whole thing. Two weeks later I just received the 1gb memory stick to replace the one they trashed but my system is still not functioning right and needs to be sent back AGAIN. I have tried to back everything up but the usbs are still not fully functional. I HATE TOSHIBA! So Now I have so much more to do. I have already left messages for corporate to contact me back. I hope this fairness hearing makes Toshiba repurchase these laptops so I can end my dealings with these A-Holes. I will literally have lost use of my laptop for over 3 months due to these problems. Good luck to all of you that own these P.O.S. !!!!
Laptop locks up
by stevegotl - 5/26/07 5:36 AM In reply to: Toshiba A75-S231 by dubs31I just wanted to throw this out as I'm not sure what really happened here but I used ti have a big problem with my laptop freezing up going to a blue screen or just automatically rebooting in the middle of doing something. I thought all was lost with this machine and then last Xmas I upgraded the memory from 512 to 1gb and since then I haven't had any problems. I believe it had something to do with the video card sharing memory and with more memory it solved the problem.
Here's my problems, fixes and mods.
by joburocks - 5/25/07 10:40 PM In reply to: Toshiba Satellite A75-S229 by ibbyProblems in the 2.5 yrs I have had this
OVERHEATING: The laptop overheats to the point of shutdown. Supposedly there is a desktop processor in the laptop which makes it run hot.
...FIXES for Overheating :
1. Use a vacuum to suck out from the back side vent. Do it everytime you vacuum the room your pc is mainly used in or at least once per month. Do NOT vacuum from the underside vents, hand wipe them if they are fuzzy.
2. Get a cooling platform. Just a piece of wood is fine, anything that is solid and wont transfer heat from your lap or lint from your clothing.
3. Get it elevated off the platform by attaching feet. I used these 1.5 inch half circle door stops from walmart, giving it about 1.5 inch lift for 3 bucks, also acts as a shock absorber. They are found in hardware by the doorstops and look like they protect the wall.
NO SOUND: At startup. After new soundcard, mainboard, drivers etc.. all covered by my warranty from a beverly hills shop we decided there is nothing that can be done.
FIX: Hard restart
1. Turn volume on, boot to welcome screen and if you dont get the windows sound at the beginning of boot, depress the power button and hold untill it turns off and try again. Its not real friendly but works after a few tries.
2. I have better luck with this when I unplug the power cable and boot from battery power.
DVD DRIVE NOT WORKING: Again I think this falls in with the sound problem and needs a hard restart to get going again. Mine only worked 20% of the time so I had that replaced this week and will see what happens.
FIX: follow directions for sound problem.
LOUD FAN: plagerized from utguycordova's post
1. DO NOT RUN YOUR POWER MANAGEMENT UTILITY'S COOLING METHOD ON MAX PERFORMANCE MODE. Run it instead on silent mode. I know-I know- it's counter intuitive. But remember that this laptop is poorly engineered. Running it on Max Performance Mode means your fans cycle more and runs at such high speeds that will make even my cat run for cover-not because of the noise, but because of fear of having every hair sucked off his body. Running this laptop in quiet mode means the laptop doesn't wait for the processor to reach melt-down temperatures before cycling the fan on to Indy 500 speeds. Instead, the fan runs at a low speed CONSTANTLY regardless of processor temperatures effectively maintaining the laptop cooler inside without all that cycling on and off. This means that for a higher percentage of time,the laptop is not sucking everything in site reducing the possibility of clogging up the heat exchanger. Open control panel "toshiba power management" and click the "ADVANCED" tab. The very last box is titled "Cooling Method"--select silent mode. Don't worry--IF your laptop's processor does happen to reach melt-down temperatures, the utility will still cycle the fans at their highest possible speeds to prevent damage.
CD DRIVE WONT OPEN!:
Fix:
1. Get a paper clip or pen and press the small circular button on the drives cover. Its right under the led light. That should get it open.
LCD SCREEN HINGES BAD: The screen moves, has some play in it, wont stay up on your lap at an angle?
FIX: Most likely from when someone worked on your pc if you have had it serviced like the rest of us. They probably broke it, get the hinges replaced if you are still under warranty.
CRACKED SCREEN: Did you crack your screen?
FIX: Grow a pair and man up to do some simple work.
1. Unscrew the screws under the bezel around the screen, (screws are under the rubber caps, just peel them off)
Pry the bezel gently off, unscrew the other screws inside, pay attention to what your doing. Dont lose the screws. unclip the lead from the lcd to the pc (ribbon wire, be gentle!!), remember how it goes on or take a picture.
search google with the numbers off the back of the lcd, search ebay and other sites for a replacement (new not used) about 200 bucks with shipping. Put it back together. Its easier than building a plastic model car.
FREEZE OF PC OR SHUTDOWN (not due to overheating): There are two main causes of this.
1. The speakers tranfer static shock from your body to the main board.
2. The housing transfers static shock from your body to something inside.
FIX:
1. Speakers - If warrantied get it serviced. If not then find a non conductive tape such as ankle or wrist medical tape and tape over the speakers. Punch holes through the tape so you can hear, hoping all metal is covered.
2. Housing - Get serviced and grounded or The place where you put the butts of your palm (between the speaker and the built in mouse) is sensitive to pressure and passes static shock through the housing. Try not to put weight there and be lazy with your hands. Keep them elevated when working on important documents.
I dont feel like writing anymore, but I hope someone gets help from that waste of time. Keep following this thread to keep informed about what happens on may 31 2007 in the class actions suit.
This laptop is a big POS and we all know it, lets see what ToSHITba does about it. I know some are worse than others and I for one am buying a mac the next time around. Sorry to all of you who cant even use your pcs.
The Resolution in this case is coming.
by dubs31 - 5/29/07 4:45 PM In reply to: Here's my problems, fixes and mods. by joburocksOn May 31st the possibly last chance people will be able talk to the judge in this matter over what should be done concerning these defective laptops. According to the 2nd Fairness Hearing over if the 1 year they have given people is sufficient or if they should recall or repurchase these P.O.S.... The first fairness hearing from what I have read got ugly and a lot of people have told the judge that these laptops need to be recalled and the users refunded. They will never operate properly due to their design and will continue to break down.
I hope they are forced to refund us! I am on my 5th return for repair and have already lost everything due to this piece of garbage laptop.
Good luck to all and hopefully Toshiba will be refunding us soon!
Where and how do I track the court case?
by joburocks - 5/30/07 3:15 AM In reply to: The Resolution in this case is coming. by dubs31How do I track this case?
Where is the case being held held? I would love to get in there and help us all out. I am in LA. Maybe follow one of those toshiba lawyers home and smack him around 
or steal his Mac iBook. JK
Does anyone have the verdict from the last settlement that they could post? I deleted my email. They didnt add a year to my 3-4 purchased years of warranty. Cheers
Here's the final answer, maybe
by latichever - 6/17/07 9:51 PM In reply to: Where and how do I track the court case? by joburocksI am the owner of an a75s206. It is still under warranty. The warranty was set to expire 7-14 but has been extended due to the class action until 11-7. So if you are still under warranty, check to see about an extension. My machine has had 8 repairs. Just spent a wasted week in a brick and mortar local authorized repair center. It was there because, although I have an onsite service plan, the many repairs stripped a screw so that special equipment was needed for the latest repair. For the life of the machine, it's had the usual overheating and sudden shutdowns, freezes, and it won't charge a battery anymore. The repair shop didn't replace the inards, or the stripped screw, they simply reinstalled the OS and it's worse. They didn't even install the Toshiba os, just a generic XP. It took an hour to boot up last night and freezes. I had been in touch with the Toshiba settlement officer at corporate customer relations in CA and he has so far refused to replace it, but says Toshiba is committed to fixing it. So it's off to Irvine where he says if the engineers can't fix it, they'll send me a replacement.
I suggest if you have a warranty--or even if you don't--calling customer relations in Irvine. You will be transferred to the class action settlement officer.
And here's a bit of news from the class action web page
http://www.a70m30xsettlement.com/faq.php3 If you scroll to the bottom of the page you will see this,
On May 31, 2007, the Los Angeles Superior Court issued a judgment approving the Settlement. Settlement benefits will be mailed to Settlement Class Members who have submitted valid and timely claims once the Settlement becomes final and any applicable appeal, review and/or reconsideration period expires.
Looks like we're screwed. We get a piddling $35 to spend at Toshiba, and the lawyers will get millions. The only hope we have is "any applicable appeal."
Toshiba Satellite A75-S229
by pgmrtl - 6/24/07 5:12 PM In reply to: Toshiba Satellite A75-S229 by ibbyI have had one of these computers for 3 years. They have a tendency to overheat. Turn over your computer and notice that there are 2 cooling fans with a round grill over each. They pull in air and it exits through the back to cool the processors and exit the rear (feel the heat in the back). I order to keep your system running so it doesn't shut down spontaneously you have to do one of two things. Get a strong vacuum cleaner, turn over your conputer put tape or cover one of the fans. Put the vacuum nozzel over the other fan and suck out the accumulted dust that causes the overheating that causes the unit to shut down. You can see some of the dust because it will gather on the grille. Do the other fan too. There are no parts inside that the vacuum can work loose.
You can also blow out the dust with a strong air compressor but make sure it isn't blowing moisture from condensation in the hose.
People are replacing motherboards and various other components only to find that after a while the unit starts shutting down again. Save your money
I vaccum mine once a week and I don't suffer the problem anymore. Of course if you want a more technical fix then you will have to buy another computer as the design and placement of the cooling fans are the cause of the dust buildup and they act like an air filter until they clog up and cause the overheating .
This should solve most of the spontaneous shutting down problem.
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