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.
July 25th, 2010 at 1:11 pm
I have a Toshiba A75-S209, SSN X4345796K. The wireless card internally went kaput – no bars at all directly under the Router. I know the Router works okay, as it is powering the next HP desktop right in the next room. I had the Laptop downstairs, but brought it right up in my den under the Router, and NO bars. Actually, I came back from a 37 day trip and found the computer very slow and no wireless. The battery is okay, as I always plug the computer in to AC power. I’ve tried to find out the cost of the internal wireless card, with no effects – even from Toshiba. Can any one help, other than recommending a PCMPIA plug in?
July 17th, 2010 at 9:21 am
Louie,
Probably overheating. Try cleaning cooling fans and heatsink with compressed air. Blow air into the fan grill on the bottom of the laptop unill both fans are clean.
Take a look at this article and you’ll see what I’m talking about: http://www.laptoprepair101.com/laptop/2006/01/04/toshiba-laptop-overheating/
There is a link to the disassembly guide. Here it is again: http://www.irisvista.com/tech/laptops/ToshibaA75/satA75_1.htm
The guide has three pages explaining how to access the motherboard.
Try cleaning fans before removing the motherboard.
July 17th, 2010 at 9:17 am
Jorge,
It’s either Esc, F1 or F2 keys.
Turn on the laptop and try all this keys one by one. One of them will take you to the BIOS.
July 17th, 2010 at 6:53 am
i need to know haw to enter to the Bios Setup of my Laptop Toshiba A70 SP205 that start to show me an error messege PXE-E61 and dont see the HD and the DVD drive
July 16th, 2010 at 2:59 pm
I have a A75-S209.
Turns off after 20 minutes. Computer store says mother board is fried, but after reading the posts here, I am not so sure.
Anyhow, I have every screw off the back, but still cannot get the cover off to access the mother board. Is there a picture or diagram somewhere? What am I missing?
Thank you for your help.
Louie
June 21st, 2010 at 7:25 am
Chris,
Make sure the 1GB memory module is seated correctly. The new memory module should be detected and configured automatically.
Most likely you just didn’t install it correctly.
June 16th, 2010 at 6:59 pm
I have a Toshiba A70 with 512MB RAM and I purchased a 1GB stick of Crucial RAM (CT12864X335). After installing the RAM, I went into the BIOS to update, but it would not allow me to change the current memory setting of 384MB. Also when I went into “my computer” to see how much RAM it is recognising, it also states 384MB. How can I get my computer to recognise the added RAM? BTW, the laptop boots up fine and runs like normal. Thanks.
April 29th, 2010 at 12:39 pm
Spike,
You cannot upgrade the CPU. This model will take only Pentium 4.
But you can upgrade memory. There is one slot on the bottom of the laptop, you can install up to 1GB memory module into that slot.
April 28th, 2010 at 5:28 am
Have a toshiba a75 s231. Is it possible to upgrade to a newer duo-core or quad core processor and more ram? Also want to be able to use windows 7, what other upgrades are needed? Will I need a new mother board? Is my first time opening and doing any work to.
March 2nd, 2010 at 9:57 am
turkandrew,
Probably it has to be soldered back on the motherboard but I’ve never done it myself.
I guess you’ll have to find an experienced tech who can handle this job.
If not, you’ll have to use your laptop with an external monitor.
March 1st, 2010 at 5:35 pm
I should state an update to my problem. The reason I can’t find what the lcd cable plugs into on the system board is because the port that it plugs into came out with the plug. What is required to put it back on? Solder it back on? if so, the connections are very small and soldering seems tough, especailly since the port didn’t come out with any solder on the connections. glue it? is there any guarantee that it will make a good connection?
March 1st, 2010 at 5:33 pm
Hey CJ,
Just curious if you missed my post back on the 8th of Feb…any help?
February 25th, 2010 at 10:24 am
Rich Mann,
Use your fingernails to disconnect small white connectors. Pul these connectors by the edges.
Compare both motherboards and you’ll see them.
Usually you have to transfer: memory modules, modem, CPU, heat sink assembly, fans.
You have to apply fresh thermal grease on the CPU before installing the heat sink.
The new hardware should be recognized even before DMI update. Most likely you are buying a refurbished motherboard, so the DMI is already set for Satellite A75.
If the DMI string is wrong, you will not be able to use the recovery disc, it will say: “Wrong Machine”. Other than that, everything should be fine even without DMI update.
The DMI update tool is available only for Toshiba technicians.
You said:
It’s possible that you didn’t do a good job. When you are resoldering the jack, you have to remove the old one, clean it up and solder back in placed.
This process is explained here:
http://www.laptoprepair101.com/laptop/2007/12/06/dc-power-jack-repair-guide/
It’s possible that trace inside the “+” is broken and causing the problem. This issue is covered here:
http://www.laptoprepair101.com/laptop/2008/10/28/fortify-damaged-power-jack-connection-in-laptop/
Finally, you can remove the defective jack completely and do this workaround:
http://www.laptoprepair101.com/laptop/2006/05/27/failed-laptop-power-jack-workaround/
Sorry for late response.
February 25th, 2010 at 9:34 am
RICKS,
If the display gone very dim, most likely it’s either bad inverter board (easy to replace) or backlight lamp failure (the LCD screen has to be replaced).
I would definitely try replacing the inverter board first. Look for a guide on http://www.irisvista.com/tech/
The wireless card antenna cables are running inside the display panel. If you remove the display you’ll have to disconnect those antenna cables from the Wi-Fi card. Without antennas the wireless card will not work.
I think you have two options here:
1. Remove the display but do not disconnect antenna cables. This will not look very good.
2. Use a PCMCIA wireless card instead of the internal card.
February 25th, 2010 at 8:19 am
Toshiba A70
Display is gone very dim. Likely the back light. Repair guys suggest that it is not worth replacing re labor and parts cost would be a major protion of a new lap top. We use it mostly as a desk top, and have an extra monitor that works fine with it. Can we remove the screen from the lap top and the A70 still work with WiFi and all?
Ricks
February 10th, 2010 at 2:24 pm
Hi CJ,
First, I’d like to say that your site(s)and disassembly tutorials are absolutely superb!
Here’s my situation. I have a Toshiba A75-S231 that has, for the most part, been a great machine. I bought it new in Feb 2005 as a desktop replacement.
In Dec 2008 I had the motherboard (broken by service tech while attempting to remove the speaker wires), fans (worn out), top cover (static problems) and MultiDrive (DVD) all replaced under warranty.
I had an extended in-home warranty where the service tech (local) came and performed the work in my home office. All was good except I was still having the static problem. Unfortunately my warranty expired two weeks after the repair.
Fast forward to Nov 2009. I began experiencing the dreaded DC jack failure problem. My laptop has been treated with exceptional care and still looks new. I routinely used compressed air to keep all the vents and fans clean.
It started with very intermittent charging problems that got increasingly worse until Dec 2009 when it stopped charging altogether. I found your disassembly tuts and was able to remove the mobo. Using a powerful binocular inspection microscope, I inspected the DC jack and surrounding connections.
I appeared that there might be a separation of the positive pin on the board so I did the solder repair. Put it back together. Problem still exists.
Took it apart again and took a closer look. I noticed that there was some dark discoloration around the inboard side of the mobo where the negative pin went through.
Luckily enough, I was able to locate the tech that came out to do the warranty repair and we began a conversation on determining what the problem was. He told me that the traces were most likely fried inside the board and a new mobo was the only solution. He also said that he’d be glad to help install the new board.
I found a board on E-Bay. Ordered and received it. Then, for no know reason, The tech vaporized. Stopped answering emails and his phone.
So now I’m stuck. I’m sure I can remove and replace the mobo, but there are some technical issues that I am facing.
1.) Without destroying the original mobo, how do you get the left and righ speaker wires disconnected?
2.) What are all the parts that have to come off the old mobo and transferred to the new one and are there any issues that must be addressed during the process?
3.) I was told by the tech that there has to be a DMI update performed on the new mobo so the new hardware will be recognized. How is this accomplished? (I have thousands of $$ of software on my laptop that I cannot afford to loose) Even though I have performed a clone of my laptop using Acronis True Image, if the laptop gets toasted during the mobo replacement, the clone won’t do me any good.
4.) What other issues are there with a mobo replacement?
[QUOTE]After the motherboard replacement they didn’t write correct DMI string (information about your notebook). Without correct DMI you will not be able to start the recovery process. This utility is available only for certified Toshiba technicians.[/QUOTE]
Finally, can any one tell me why the DMI update is such a closely guarded secret that only certified technicians are allowed to perform this?
I really need my computer back in operation.
Thanks,
Rich
February 8th, 2010 at 11:47 pm
Please help i have a toshiba satellite a75 s229 i need to clear the bios password i hit f2 and it that password screen i cant get into bios. i tried shorting the two interlocking like cc named j1 next to resistor for 15 sec with laptop battery out and cmos not removed or altered and it did not clear the bios password. What it did do is got rid of the password screen for device boot set up it just goes right to the cant find os boot screen to access that you pres f12. note after 3 times of entering wrong password comuter shutts off then i get another 3 trys and same thing over and over again. It does boot but says no os found hard drive is new with no os on it im the registered owner
February 8th, 2010 at 7:32 pm
Hey CJ,
Great walkthrough. The computer kept restarting at random times, so I figured I’d clean out the heat sync/fans. Boy were they dirty. The only problem I had was on reassembly. I can’t figure out how the lcd cable connects to the system board. I’ve researched online and looked at your pictures but I cannot figure out for the life of me what it plugs into. Looking at it witha flashlight there’s nothing on the board for it to plug into. Any specific help is greatly appreciated.
And just a curious question…do you know the best place to find a new battery for an A70 is? How much is a good price?
January 10th, 2010 at 10:53 am
Kim,
It’s possible that you have a failed AC power adapter. The laptop will not turn on because there is no power coming from the wall and the battery is discharged.
You can test the AC adapter with a voltmeter. If it’s bad, replace the adapter.
January 9th, 2010 at 2:04 pm
Hi,
I have a Toshiba Satellite A75. Shortly after turning on it gives a message that computer is preparing to hibernate and turns itself off. It did it today and now I can’t get the power on.
It’s about 5 years old. Is this easily fixable?
Thanks!
December 31st, 2009 at 6:01 pm
Thanks cj2600
my Toshiba Satellite A75 has problem after i spill water on it.
power is turn on, fan is moving then stop. nothing from screen.
is the motherboard fried ?
thanks