Toshiba Satellite M35X is a very popular model in the United States. In general, most Toshiba Satellite M35X laptops suffer from the same problems. Here’s a disassembly guide.
Improperly grounded top cover assembly. If the top cover assembly wasn’t grounded properly, then laptop may lock up or freeze up when you touch it in the speaker area. It happens because of a static electricity discharge. This problem was fixed on some laptops, but still there are a lot of laptops with unmodified top cover assembly. This problem should be covered under warranty even if you laptop is not under warranty anymore.
Poorly designed DC-IN power jack on the system board. Overtime, the DC power jack gets disconnected from the system board. If it happens, you will experience a problem with charging the battery or the laptop may not start at all.
Read more:
Toshiba Satellite M35X and A75 power jack and battery charge problem.
Toshiba Satellite 1900 laptop looses power and shuts down without warning.
Laptop CPU overheating. It is a very common problem for some Toshiba laptops. If a laptop CPU overheats, then the laptop shuts down without by itself without any reason. Read more:
Why my Toshiba laptop suddenly shuts down by itself without warning?
You can use the disassembly guide to take apart Toshiba Satellite M35X notebook and repair it yourself. Do not open the case if your laptop is still under warranty.
October 21st, 2006 at 4:16 am
I tried all of those and they did not work, but the other day I just killed the battery and then plugged it in and tried to turn it on and it worked. But after 10 minutes of running it shut down on me and did the same thing it was doing before
October 15th, 2006 at 10:21 pm
Emad,
Make sure that all cables are properly connected. Reseat all cables.
October 15th, 2006 at 1:39 pm
I just finished resoldering the pin at the DC power block to solve that problem. When I reassembled, I temporarily had exactly the issue Tim and Dominic had. I reseated the memory cards, and it booted up fine.
October 13th, 2006 at 12:20 pm
cj2600,
thank you for your reply to my post dtd sept 30. i found that the issue was the hibernation function. i remove the battery and put it back , the laptop booted up to windows, then i disabled hibernation. and i didn’t have reboot problems from then on.
again, thanks…
eli
October 13th, 2006 at 4:03 am
Hi
I have the M35x model. Usual problem DC socket went, replaced it - computer was fine for about a month, then one day it died on touch. All that happens is fan whirls for ~5 seconds and nothing (although power light stays on). I am interested to know what resolve (if any) is available. Do I need a new motherboard?
Very interest to know. Thank you dominic.mcgaw@cmmc.nhs.uk
October 9th, 2006 at 5:39 am
I tried the memory thing that didnt help. The laptop still doesnt do anything. The only thing it does appear to do is if i push th FN key the light blinks once and i can keep pushing it and it will work until i push another key then the FN key doesnt work anymore either.
October 8th, 2006 at 11:04 pm
I had the same problem with DC connector for the Toshiba MX35. I followed your direction and resoldered the connection. But when I put everything back and turn the computer on, all I get is the Toshiba sign on the screen and it is asking on the botttom left to “press F2 for setup, press F12 for boot device selection menu”. But when i press the F2 or F12 there are no response from the computer. I also took the keyboard connection out and placed it back several times. I would appreciate any help.
October 8th, 2006 at 10:11 pm
Tim,
It could be a memory related problem. Reseat the memory module/modules to make sure that they make a good connection with the socket. If you have two modules installed, remove them one by one and test the laptop after each step. Run Memtest 86+ utility for memory test.
October 8th, 2006 at 10:08 pm
Ben,
I would try replacing the FL inverter first. You can buy it around $40-$45 on eBay and you have good chances to fix the problem.
October 8th, 2006 at 11:35 am
When i push the power button on my M35x-s111 all it does is turn the light on around the power button, and the fan will turn on for about 5 seconds. The Cd drive doesnt open either. I do not know what to do.
October 7th, 2006 at 12:59 pm
Yes I have a Toshiba M35X-S111 and I have a problem with my display.I can see my display using flashlight. I checked my close button and then I could see a light in the lower right hand side of my screen. I believe I have a inverter or backlight problem. Any help you can give me.
October 3rd, 2006 at 9:35 pm
Yes I did that too my friend, man this is a head ache… can’t I just send this to you and pay you or something lol???
October 3rd, 2006 at 2:27 pm
Ulises Salazar,
Did you remove the CPU from the socket during disassembly? If you removed it, did you lock the socket after you put the CPU back in place?
The laptop will not boot if you forgot to lock the CPU socket.
October 3rd, 2006 at 2:16 pm
So I put everything back together now the problem is that the fan spins for 5 seconds the cd-rom doesnt come out and it wont show anything on the screen does anyone know what i can do ? i replaced and swicthed the memory modulea about a thousand times and nothing yet, I don’t know what to do does anyone know ? Thank you a lot, and thank you for this awesome website!
September 30th, 2006 at 11:23 am
Eli,
I think you might have a failing hard drive. You can download Hitachi drive fitness utility and test the hard drive yourself. Also check if the hard drive is plugged into the connector all the way down, disconnect and connect the hard drive back.
September 30th, 2006 at 8:39 am
thank you all for this wonderful site.
my toshiba laptop(mx35x-s114) intermittently does not boot up to windows. after the toshiba flash screen(display is in touch with toshiba) it goes to a black blank screen with just the blinking cursor on the upper left side. i turn power off/onn and if i am lucky it will boot up to windows.
any suggestions to fix is greatly appreciated.
thanks,
eli
September 20th, 2006 at 10:36 pm
George,
It’s not a common problem for Satellite M35X. If the external screen shows normal video, I assume that the motherboard works fine. You say that the screen glows, it means that the FL inverter is OK too.
So it could be a loose video cable, a bad video cable or a bad screen. I would try reseating the video cable before replacing parts. You’ll find a guide for taking apart the display assembly for Satellite M35X in the right pane of the site.
September 20th, 2006 at 10:31 pm
Ulises,
Even though the video cable on this model has a ground cable, you don’t have to connect it to anything, just place it along with the video cable. Make sure that the memory module is seated properly, remove it from the memory slot and put it back in place (it’s a very common mistake).
September 16th, 2006 at 12:51 pm
Hi,
Ive got a Toshiba M35X-S114 laptop.
The problems I’m having is that the LCD monitor will not work at times. It’s “glows” a bit so I know it’s on, but no picture whatsoever. I plugged in a secondary monitor and it works fine. I have tried the Fn-F5 keys to toggle between monitors, but it’s still not working. Is this a common problem or an easy fix? Any help will be greatly appreciated! Thank you in advance.
September 16th, 2006 at 3:01 am
Also my laptop also goes on fan spins for 5 seconds and the nothing happens and i really don’t understand the whole pc card knob thing
September 16th, 2006 at 2:48 am
Okay I love your guide and its the best thing anyone who owns one of these things can hope for. But i have a m35x s161 and i out everything back installed a new dc plug and now my lcd screen wont power on i dont know where to ground it and im completely lost
September 13th, 2006 at 8:30 pm
Npatel,
Start removing the system board by lifting up the edge as it shown on the step 18 and at the same time press on the PC card knob. After that, when the PC card knob is out, you can slide the board from the case and free up the monitor port.
September 11th, 2006 at 8:01 am
I have Satellite M35X. Same problem as mentioned; power light comes on, fan for about 5 seconds, then nothing (cannot open CD-rom). Just wondering if anyone has found resolve for this? PS - also had the DC jack problem. I would be very grateful. Thank you
September 11th, 2006 at 6:26 am
cj2600,
Thanks for creating this nice site for disassembling toshiba laptop. I have toshiba m35x-109 and having issue with my dc power jack. I followed your detailed instructions and disassembeld it. However, I am not able to remove the system board from the base (step 18). Is there any trick to remove it while taking care of chasis? It seems proturding parts of system board like monitor jack, network card eject knob makes removal difficult.
npatel
August 23rd, 2006 at 7:33 pm
Eileen,
If the connector is not broken and you can put the plastic holder back into the connector, then it should work. It should work even if you accidentally break a pin on the holder, because the keyboard cable actually stays inside because it gets jammed between the connector and the holder. The series of pins connect the contacts on the keyboard cable when you lock the connector.
Make sure that you plug the cable all the way down and it’s positioned correctly, the contacts on the cable should face the pins inside the connector. The holder also has to be positioned correctly so it pushes the cable toward the pins when you lock the holder.
I had the same situation this morning. I was working on Satellite M35X and after I assembled it back the touchpad didn’t work. I took it apart again and reconnected the touchpad cable (the small version of keyboard connector) and it fixed my problem.
BTW, thank you very much for your generous donation to www.irisvista.com !!! People like you keep me motivated.
August 23rd, 2006 at 6:17 am
cj2600,
I wish I had seen that picture before I started - it really shows what I should have done! The connector did not break and I can put the ribbon cable in there and slide the tabs back in and it seems to hold it. Then I took the connector piece, which I had mistakenly pulled off the board, and put it back on the board, over the two vertical pins at the ends of the connector. But that seems to be an insufficient connection to the board. It is not recognizing the keyboard. There are a series of pins protruding from the long side of the connector towards the front of the board, but they don’t see to “fit” into anything - seemed more like they were just sitting in a hardened green gel. I can’t figure out what should be making the board read the keyboard connection. Is this a new motherboard situation?
Thanks. Eileen
August 22nd, 2006 at 10:04 pm
Here’s a picture that shows how a keyboard connects to the system board. If you want to remove the keyboard cable, you’ll have to unlock the connector first – move the brown holder away from the connector (2-3millimeters), the direction is shown by yellow arrows. Only after that you can remove the keyboard cable.
To install it back, plug the cable inside the connector as far as it goes and lock the connector.
Eileen,
I don’t know if your connector is broken or not. Try to plug the cable into the connector and jam it with the holder.
August 22nd, 2006 at 9:26 pm
Several keys on my Toshiba satellite keyboard went bad after a soda spill. All this advice was so specific with great illustrations that I decided to try to fix it myself. I was going along fine until I needed to disconnect the keyboard ribbon cable. Couldn’t find instructions on that (too basic, I guess), so I stupidly popped at the holder and it became disattached from the computer. Eventually figured out how the open the ribbon cable holder properly, but now the keyboard is not recognized at all. Tried to use the old won, which worked except for several keys and it is no longer recognized either. Anything that can be done?
August 22nd, 2006 at 8:22 am
Bill,
The volume wheel is located on the audio board (part# K000019130 – for audio board with wireless). The audio board connects to the system board through a flat cable. I think you might have just a bad connection between boards, may be the cable is not seated all the way down. Before you replace the board, I would try to reconnect the cable. I think it might fix the audio problem.
August 22nd, 2006 at 4:42 am
cj2600,
Thanks for the response. In any case, yeah, thats the weird part, the whole wheel spins fine either way. The audio out port works, didn’t test the mic port though. Also the Wireless Adapter switch connected the the board also works. The volume seems to be maxed out also so its not like the wheel is “stuck” at like medium volume either. If nothing comes to mind at all on why it would be like this, you think just replacing that board would work and if so you know where I could get one or the part number?? I forgot to write that down when I took the laptop apart.