This guide will help you to get inside a Toshiba Satellite P20 or P25 laptop. Let me tell you guys up front that taking this beast apart is not for beginners. Lots of screws, lots of connectors.
Some basic stuff like removing the hard drive, DVD drive, both memory modules, wireless card, modem or even the cooling fans with heatsink is not difficult, because all these part can be easily accessed from the bottom of the laptop. But removing and replacing the motherboard is kinda tricky.
If the laptop overheats - clean the heatsink. Just remove the cover and blow off the cooling module with compressed air. It’s not necessary to remove the heatsink in order to clean it up. In most cases cleaning it with compressed air will help you to fix or prevent the overheating issue.
You’ll have to remove the heatsink only if you are taking the whole thing apart, replacing the processor or applying new thermal grease on the processor. Be careful. When you pull the heatsink, most likely you’ll pull the processor too. It will come out attached to the heatsink. Carefully separate the processor and install it back into the socket. Make sure you unlock the socket before inserting the processor and lock it after it is installed. It will help you to keep the processor safe.
Here’s another guide. You can use this guide for taking apart the display panel. In this guide you’ll find illustrated instructions for removing or replacing LCD screen or inverter board.
July 7th, 2008 at 3:59 am
Unfortunately i threw the old one away. I thought about the OEM power supply as well. That’s why i went to a big store and bought a “universal” laptop power supply and i still had the same problems with it. I guess you are right though, i should get a multimeter and verify the voltage that comes out of it. I’ll try to do this and i’ll post the results once it’s done.
Thanks…
July 7th, 2008 at 3:51 am
I don´t thinks its a problem of the Batterie. Seams for me the OEM power supply is the wrong one, or is defective. Can you anyhow check if the voltage what comes out of the power supply is the right one?
Even the old one, with strange noise … is it still working? And if yes, does it let you start your notebook?
July 3rd, 2008 at 9:32 am
Hi I have a Satellite P20, i had to replace the power supply because it was overheating and making strange noise. I bought a new one (OEM) and right now i can’t use the laptop, it keeps shutting down. I noticed that the battery led is lit when i power on the laptop but it goes off after a few seconds. Once in a while it stays on and i can use the laptop. I’ve tried using the laptop without the battery and i have the same problem. Do you think replacing the battery will solve my problem?
June 7th, 2008 at 12:41 pm
Greg,
Take a look on the motherboard in the memory slots area. Try to find the motherboard part number, something like K000007530. After that you can google for the part number and find the right one.
June 6th, 2008 at 5:25 am
Hi, I have a Toshiba Satelite P20-771.
Which motherboards are compatible.
I am despirately seeking a 2nd hand one.
The ebay ones all sell P20, P25 ,etc as series.
Are these alla compatible?
Thanks
Greg
May 22nd, 2008 at 8:49 am
Nope , no problem, i use also a 5400 rpm, and its working pretty well…
May 22nd, 2008 at 8:20 am
Thanks Zonga,
Most of the 2.5 IDE Hard disk drives I find are 5400 rpm. My previous one was 4200 rpm. Is this a problem? Thanks for the help.
May 21st, 2008 at 3:02 pm
Rui Gomes: You can use any 2.5 IDE Hard disk . Just check Ebay, or any onlinestore. I replaced my HD . I had a 80 GB and changed it to a 120 GB.
May 12th, 2008 at 7:14 am
Does anyone know where I can find a new hard drive for the P20-552?
Thank you
March 20th, 2008 at 11:43 am
hi there everyone
i have a problem with my p20 …
when i turned on the switch it comes to the toshiba screen and then stays that way????
why?
it wont load to the windows screen…?
is it the processer unpluged??
i did open the back cover becuase my power connectors are lose and it doesnt charge unless you move the charger wire around …
i hope some one may explain to me why?
thank you anywaayzz ta..ta…
March 20th, 2008 at 11:33 am
Thanks Lorna
I have given up on it and assigned it over to use as strictly office impute, and utilizing the VGA only, it seems to be ok for that..
I also have a P30 with a broken screen now that I would like to get running.. it works well with another monitor but I would like to get a new one for the mobility of it..
March 20th, 2008 at 5:30 am
Sandra, the Nvidia chip has overheated. The only solution that I’ve yest discovered is to replace the motherbard, that is if you can locate one and even then it’ll cost you over £500. My P20 failed in Dec 06 when it was 26 months old after I’d paid £1299 for it. Toshiba GB bought it back off me for £620 after claiming that motherboards were unavailable. Amazingly they never bothered ever collecting it! Still works but only with Windows VGA driver and only after I’d managed to reinstall windows from another full copy of XP, not using the recovery disk that came with it. Total useless piece of junk I reckon and Toshiba obvoiusly know it.
February 8th, 2008 at 2:41 pm
its working again now thanks
February 7th, 2008 at 7:18 pm
I did try with another monitor and it still would not work. It has vertical lines even on start up and will only work with the windows VGA driver, as soon as I install the nvidia driver it boots up to a blank screen. so I have to disable the driver in safe mode to get back in. And I did take out some of the screws from the bottom. Are you saying that I have to remove all and the components as well?? Thanks
February 7th, 2008 at 6:45 pm
Andrew,
The link is working fine for me.
February 7th, 2008 at 6:41 pm
Sandra,
Did you remove all screws from the bottom?
Did you test the laptop with an external monitor? If there is no external video, your problem is not related to the video cable.
February 7th, 2008 at 2:40 pm
hi i have tried getting the link up but no luck has it been stopped do you know or is the site just down?? thanks
February 2nd, 2008 at 11:29 pm
I am taking apart a Toshiba P20 and having the hardest time getting the top cover off.. I have removed the keyboard and 7 screws as instructed but the cover won’t budge I tried sliding a blunt knife to pop the hinges, but that is not working either. Its bending the edges of the laptop and making a mess of it. What am I missing?? Please help.. I am trying to get to the graphics cable to see if that is why my graphics card is not working.
Thanks in advance.. Sandra
January 27th, 2008 at 1:31 am
I want to reset the BIOS. I found the battery as Lyss Murphey said in comment 3 but it’s soldered. So, it’s a bit difficult to get it off. Do you know if there is any jumper by which I can clear CMOS?
January 26th, 2008 at 12:59 pm
Hi, can someone please advice me how to boot a p25 satellite from an external device? The DVD player that comes with the machine does not work, thanks in advance for any help
January 10th, 2008 at 6:16 pm
Ok, figured out how to remove the hard drive. First remove the two screws on the hard drive bay cover. You have to slid your fingernail under the screw to be able to pull it out, otherwise it just spins. Second, remove the cover to the memory bay. There is a rectangular opening in the memory bay that goes into the hard drive bay. I used a small flat head screwdriver to in that opening and carefully pried it upward. It takes a little time, but it will come out. The hard drive is attached to the cover you are prying out.
Hope this helps the next person trying to replace the hard drive in this unit.
Lorraine
January 9th, 2008 at 6:58 pm
Pretty cool info on taking apart the Toshiba P25…but it kinda skips past the part about getting the hard drive out. It shows the cover still on throughout the process. I got the screws out, but the cover doesn’t seem to want to come off. Any hints would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance for any help you can give me.
Lorraine
(Yeah, girls work on computer too!!! LOL)
January 1st, 2008 at 3:52 pm
i had my total laptop apart and this was my first time ever trying this. i found a full guide on this site that took me step by step .
instead of using just one hinge ,i think i would try to buy one either from the manufacturer or from a site like ebay. maybe a laptop that is totally fried and the case is still in good shape.
i do know that i had both of the hinges on my exposed .on mine there is a cover that snaps of with the use of a small flathead screwdriver.i just put a smallpiece of metal under it so i did not mess up the case. i would still try and find a guide on this or another site.
good luck
bill
January 1st, 2008 at 12:47 pm
Hello,
My Toshiba Satellite P20’s swivel hinge attached to the
screen has become disconnected/broken in one corner.
What is the safest way to remove this hinge. You can
see the metal part bulging underneath the screen that
keeps it from being moved back & forth. I think it was
a natural wear & tear of metal screws within a plastic
mount that eventually popped. Probably my only
option is to remove this part and have only one hinge
to close & open my screen. I don’t want to play
around with tools in this sensitive area and it would
be helpful to have a schematic of the hinge setup;or
a comment by someone who can guide me through the
process.
Regards,Brian
December 11th, 2007 at 7:43 am
I have a p25 that wont turn on. I push the power button and it flashes blue for a sec and thats it. Any ideas what this might be before I start to open this up?
November 18th, 2007 at 8:20 am
Hi Ackers, did the entire bit just like replacing a CPU, but still nothing changed. I have ordered a new CPU and still waiting for it to arrive. Hopefully this cures the problem. Will post again once I get my notebook working again. Cheers, Paul
November 17th, 2007 at 12:44 pm
Paul, check that you have the cpu in the correct way round, 1 corner of the cpu has a pin missing and there is a corresponding hole missing in the base, don’t forget to turn the screw and lock the cpu in place.
November 15th, 2007 at 9:33 am
I found the cmos battery on my P25-509. It’s located in the bottom compartment which contains the wireless card. Remove two screws to take the bottom cover off, release the wireless card (no need to disconnect the antennas) and carefully pry up the thin black plastic label at the bottom of the compartment. The cmos batter is under the label. It looks like an oversized disc capacitor and is soldered in. It has the numbers 3 7 on one face. I believe it is supposed to be 3.7 V.
November 10th, 2007 at 4:14 am
Hi, Thanks for the tip. You were right about the overheating issue. I never figured it out why my P20 keeps on shutting down before reading your article. Anyways, I got a major issue now about my P20. I accidentally pulled out the CPU whilst removing the heatsink (my bad). After thorough cleaning, I placed the CPU back to its original position and locked it. However, ever since I did this my PC won’t start up. Have I ruined my CPU? Although the power-up and DVD drive starts up, no display could be seen. Could you give me an insight how to remedy this problem? Really need your help here before I start buying a new CPU. Thanks in advance and hope to hear back from you soon.
September 26th, 2007 at 10:02 pm
Hi, I would like tothank you in advance for your advice, I have the P25 Satelite. I was wondering how to exchange the USB drives since in the midle of any operation I have to reboot the computer, it does not stay connected. the one on the side completely does not work. The SD card place also does not work. If you can provide any suggestion, it would be great. Oh, is there also a possibility to upgrade the graphic card to and memory to play games requiring more memory and better graphics. Oki sorry for asking all of those questions at once
Thanks in advance again
Roman Rusinek