Toshiba Satellite A70 and A75. Taking apart notebook.
I repair Toshiba Satellite A70 and A75 laptops almost every single day and I like to work with this model. I think that Toshiba Satellite A70/A75 is one of the easiest Toshiba laptops for disassembly. Unfortunately, this model has some issues. About 90% of all laptops we repair have one of the following problems:
- Not properly grounded top cover. The laptop will shut down or lock up when you touch it around the speaker or touchpad area. This problem could be fixed by replacing the top cover assembly.
- Overheating problem. The laptop will shut down by itself without any reason. To fix the overheating problem you have to take the laptop apart and clean up the heatsink.
- The power jack issue. The laptop will not charge the battery. The laptop LED flicker when you wiggle the power jack. To fix this problem you have to replace or resolder the DC jack on the system board.
April 17th, 2006 at 11:09 am
Hi, this was the BEST tutorial. Pictures were perfect sized and great descirptions.
I have a question for you now.
My laptop while under warrranty had the cover replaced for the faulty grounding, and also had the motherboard replaced.
Well i have a new problem, that i thought would be fixed, but it is now out of warranty. I dont use the battery very often, but right before it came out of warranty (which was also about the time i had all the other repairs done) my battery still wasnt charging. So i called toshiba and they shipped me a new battery, and i sent the old one back. The new battery isnt working either. the lights on the front of the computer flicker.. the computer completely ignores the fact that it is plugged in and runs only on the battery. It will not charge the battery.
I dont know what to do, so i have given up and just run ONLY on electricity.
Any ideas??
April 15th, 2006 at 3:51 pm
hi,
just want to add something:
it seems to me like one of the screws (the middle one) that we need to undo in step 14 is connected with the screw at the bottom that belongs to the hard-drive. When i unscrew the one on top, the thing at the bottom keeps turning along. Hence, i cant get that screw out….
Any suggestion on how to fix it???
April 15th, 2006 at 1:32 pm
Hi,
i got stuck at step14 too. the screw in the middle of the board just doesnt get out, despite my effort to unscrew it. it is so weird!!!!
Anyone knows why??? and how to fix it so that i dont have to drill a whole or anything that can cause damage to the board???
April 15th, 2006 at 9:13 am
Thanks for the website. I fixed the problem of automatically shutting down the laptop due to the overheat. The website is great with very detailed pictures. I appreciate your help.
Great info!
April 14th, 2006 at 8:57 am
Hey Roy,
You can drill a whole and then remove the top cover assembly, but you have to be very careful. Another way, you can try a screw extractor tool named “Easy Out”. I haven’t tried this tool myself, but some technicians say it is a good one. Find it online and see if it can help you.
April 14th, 2006 at 8:44 am
hi,
i have the overheating problem,owing to the easy instructions of this awesome website i almost got there, but then on page 2 of the A75 dismantling, on step 14 i got stuck. I had this problem before and had sent it to toshiba depot, i guess they stripped the screw head.So now i cant get that to open with a phillips screwdriver. I searched many sites,most of them said to drill a whole and then unscrew it, i am concerned whether it might crach the motherboard or not. Another way is to use superglue..But i am not sure any other ideas ?? and my warranty has expired .. so kinda stuck ..
hope someone can help thanks.
April 10th, 2006 at 7:14 pm
Hi Andy,
Toshiba Satellite A75 has 256MB or 512MB onboard PC2700 DDR333 memory. Onboard memory is integrated into the system board and cannot be removed or replaced. To expand the memory size you have only one available slot.
April 10th, 2006 at 4:46 pm
Is the onboard memory just a 333 chip that is slotted into the motherboard? Are there any special steps in removing and replacing it?
April 7th, 2006 at 6:35 pm
Hey Jim,
Sorry, I skipped your question by mistake. Check out the step 23 in Toshiba Satellite A70 and A75 disassembly guide and you’ll the RTC (CMOS) battery marked. If you still do not see it, refresh your browser.
In Toshiba Satellite A70 and A75 the RTC (CMOS) battery is located on the same side as the CPU fans and the heatsink, close to the battery connector.
BTW, thank you for your input about straitening bent CPU pins. I tired it this morning and think that coffee stirring straw is too thick, I even tried a straw from canned air, still too big. It would be a nice tool if you can find a straw with a really small diameter.
April 7th, 2006 at 5:46 am
Sorry about drawing above, it looked good before I s-ubmitted it.
I can link to pics if anyone needs them.
Jim
April 7th, 2006 at 5:44 am
Hey ci2600, I think you missed me (see #17).
Maybe I can give something back. I have found that the small, hard straw like coffee stirrers (sp?) make great pin straighting tools. The really stiff ones that are two straws joined together work best. Just cut off about an inch worth of one of the tubes one one end (leave the rest for strength). Then just slide it over the bent pin and straighten.
Should look like this
___________________________
O___________________________O —- (
April 6th, 2006 at 8:27 pm
Hey Nathan,
Are you talking about the CPU pins? In some cases you can straighten them with a small flathead screwdriver. Be very careful and do not break the pins.
Your DVD is not recognized in BIOS or in Windows? If it’s not recognized in BIOS then most likely the DVD is bad itself. If it’s not recognized in Windows then you can follow these instructions.
April 6th, 2006 at 8:11 pm
Great website.Fantastic instructions. It looks like I bent some pins when removing the cooling module. Any idea where I can get a replacement if I can’t straighten them out? Also my DVD drive is no longer recognized by the system.I am under the impression that I can replace a chip that will restore the DVD’s functionality. If this is so do you know where I can get the part and what part it actually is.
Nathan
April 6th, 2006 at 6:26 am
Thank you for the GREAT Site!
Quick question, can you tell me where the CMOS battery is located on the A75-S125? Mine has a sreaming alarm when it powers up and you must go thru F2 Setup or F12 Boot Selection to get past the alarm. I was thinking of replacing the CMOS battery and seeing it that helps.
Thanks again for all the information you provide.
Jim
April 5th, 2006 at 11:08 pm
Hey Nils,
I haven’t created LCD screen replacement guide for this particular model yet. But on my laptop disassembly website you can find some guides for different models. They all are almost the same. Read through other guides and you’ll be able to replace the screen on Toshiba Satellite A70 and A75 laptop.
April 5th, 2006 at 7:22 pm
Do you have pics for the LCD Screen replacement ?
April 4th, 2006 at 7:11 pm
No this auction doesn’t have this screwdriver. There is only one Phillips screwdriver: #0 listed and 6 slotted (not very useful for a laptop disassembly). That’s a good one but too small. You should look for Phillips: #1.
Look for this set:
Standard precision 7 piece combo set:
Slotted: 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, 3.0
Phillips: #00, #0, #1
I mostly use only two of them: Phillips #0 and #1. I bought entire set because if you buy them separately they will cost you as a whole set.
April 4th, 2006 at 6:57 pm
Hi again, before I buy the screwdriver, I would like to know if this eBay auction has the required screwdriver to open the Toshiba A70. Please let me know. Thanks
April 4th, 2006 at 10:17 am
Hey Kyle,
After you remove the hard drive cover you have to slide the hard drive away from the connector to disconnect it from the system board. After that you just lift it up. There are no more screws.
April 4th, 2006 at 10:09 am
how did you get the hard drive out? Any more screws under the cover, or does it just pull out? I keep getting erros that say the hd cable is bad, so i want to check it out. Thanks! Great guide otherwise!
April 4th, 2006 at 8:29 am
My main screwdriver is: Wiha 261 / PH1×60. I’m not sure if it has any other size or number.
April 4th, 2006 at 8:10 am
Thx for the reply…i’m gonna buy one. Is it possible if you can tell me the exact screwdriver size required to open the bottom casing for the A70 laptop? thx
April 3rd, 2006 at 10:16 pm
Hey Henry,
Unfortunately, the only way to loosen screws is to unscrew them. You should use a good precise screwdriver that fits the screw very tightly. Do not use small screwdrivers or you can damage the screw and get in trouble. I would recommend using Wiha Precision Screwdrivers, the best screwdrivers ever. I would recommend it to any laptop technician. You can find 7-8 piece tool set on eBay for $20-$25.
April 3rd, 2006 at 8:33 pm
Great pictures and instructions. Very clear and detailed. I’m having a problem opening up my A70 laptop. Some of the screws just won’t budge, it’s like there jammed. Is there a way to loosen these so they can come off? thx in advance. Keep up the good work!
March 30th, 2006 at 9:24 pm
These instructions are fantastic. I have been working on computers for many years, but I would never have been able to take this laptop apart and get it back together without them. I had to disassemble the laptop to fix the overheating problem.
March 28th, 2006 at 6:24 pm
Hey Matt,
White cable is main, black is auxilary.
March 28th, 2006 at 6:08 pm
Now that im reassembling, the picture of the wireless card blocks where i would see where the black and white cables hook up to the main and auxilary. I dont know which goes with which.
March 26th, 2006 at 10:12 am
Hey Aaron,
Toshiba Satellite A75 is pretty simple laptop inside and I think that only very few things could go wrong. To be able to start the laptop you need only the system board (it has integrated memory chip and power button), the CPU with heatsink and an external monitor. If you had to remove the CPU from the system board during disassembly then check if you put it back correctly and check if the CPU socket is LOCKED! Some people forget to lock the CPU socket and it is a very common mistake. Check if the CPU seated properly. If you laptop starts for a few seconds and then shuts down, check if you connected fans on the system board. The fan should start spinning as soon as you start the laptop.
You should be able to start the laptop only with onboard memory. If you installed an extra memory stick try to remove it or at least reseat it. Not properly seated memory stick can cause your system not to boot.
Do you get any LED activity when you connect the power plug? Can you hear that the hard drive or the CPU fan start spinning? Does you laptop shows activity at all?
If the laptop shows some activity but nothing appears on the LCD screen it is possible that you just forgot to connect the video cable on the system board. Try to boot the laptop with an external monitor hooked up.
March 26th, 2006 at 5:33 am
I was experiencing over-heating and shut downs…used your instructions to open the laptop and clean the heatsink and fans….pretty messy in there. The directions were great! Put the laptop back together and now it won’t power up… can you think of where I might have went wrong went wrong?
March 21st, 2006 at 1:09 pm
Great guide this helped alot.