Taking apart Toshiba Satellite M105 notebook
This guide will help you to take apart a Toshiba Satellite M105 notebook. You are welcome to post any tips and comments about taking apart/fixing or upgrading this computer.
This model is very similar to any other modern Toshiba notebooks.
Hard drive, CD/DVD drive, modem, wireless card and one of the memory modules can be easily accessed from the bottom. In order to get to the second memory module, you’ll have to get under the keyboard as it shown on the steps 9-15.
In order to remove and replace the cooling fan, you’ll have to remove the motherboard. If you feel uncomfortable doing that, take your laptop to a professional repair center.
August 14th, 2007 at 3:49 am
Thank’s for the disassembly instructions.
My laptop’s fan failed a while back, and I attempted to get in and fix it, but couldn’t find a way in. With your instructions I got in there, and found out the heatsink cover was bent and rubbing on the blades. I bent it away and not it works fine. And I aovoided going to the store and having them nuke the OS my laptop in their attempts to ‘fix’ it.
So thank’s again!
August 15th, 2007 at 7:49 pm
Great instructions. I’m trying to replace the keyboard on a Satellite M105. However, I’m stuck at Step 12 of the instructions where you indicate that one should unlock the connector using a small flat-head screw driver or a finger nail.
I just can’t figure out how to unlock this connector.
Any advice?
Thanks.
August 15th, 2007 at 8:30 pm
Nevermind. My wife figured out how to unlock the connector. We’re good to go!
Thanks – Your guide was VERY helpful.
September 25th, 2007 at 4:34 pm
Thanks for your professional teardown of the machine. Do you know if there is any place in the US to get the genuine Toshiba parts list (for the M105-S3011)with exploded views? The National Parts Depot doesn’t have it and Toshiba itself does not want to give it out?
I would appreciate any reply.
Thanks
October 26th, 2007 at 11:34 am
I’m in the process of troubleshooting an M115.. I got the thing all apart but I’m having a VERY hard time getting it back together. The one white plug that has the ribbon plug right next to it.. How do you connect these back to the motherboard? There doesn’t appear to be enough slack to get my hands in there and do this.
Thanks so much!
December 9th, 2007 at 1:37 am
If you want to install new ram you need to remove the keyboard from the top. It’s a little scary but not difficult. The strip with the power button just pries up and you go from there. Just remember, static kills… computers that is.
December 24th, 2007 at 5:27 am
I only need to remove the keyboard to replace the ram module that’s located under it. I’ve tried to pop off the keyboard bezel as noted in Step 9 with a small screwdriver, but it seems to be stuck. I’m afraid of marring the case if I try to pry it any harder. Is it necessary to remove any of the screws mentioned in the first 8 steps first if I only want to remove the keyboard to get at the interior ram module?
Thanks – this is a great resource!
January 31st, 2008 at 12:06 am
The keyboard bezel is pretty simple if you just push down the function keys, you should be able to see a couple indentations behind them in the bezel. Insert screwdriver and pop it up.
No, you don’t have to remove anything on the bottom to replace a RAM module, just do the bezel and keyboard (although you do want to pull the battery first, obviously).
Hope it helps.
January 31st, 2008 at 12:16 am
I’d also like to know about replacement parts, especially screws. Two of the screws on the back of my M105 are stripped. So far, I haven’t had to replace them but when I do have to drill them out, I’m going to need replacements. I checked a couple of sites and while they list screws, they don’t list what size they are (ie. F6, F8, etc)
January 31st, 2008 at 9:46 am
I got mine off recently. I slipped the thin blade of my pocket knife in
the joint on the side of the bezel and the case, and started carefully
prying it up at that point. The clips on mine are located on the side
of the bezel so that’s where you need to start.
February 25th, 2008 at 8:54 pm
Ive been thinking of upgrading my wireless card to the new N one. Is that possible?
As it says here our wireless card is smaller than normal (i dind’t know)
March 6th, 2008 at 8:53 pm
I went through this entire takedown and it is real well done, thanks!
However, I really need to know where the CMOS Battery is on this laptop.
I cant seem to find it!
That is your page on how to take it apart. Is it the blue ringed disk on the mother board on the bottom left?
Regards, Gary
March 6th, 2008 at 9:19 pm
Gary Hogman,
Take a loot at the step 26. The CMOS battery on the bottom of the picture, between the Intel chip and the PC card slot, you see only half of the battery on the picture. It has a blue edge and size as a 10 cent coin.
March 7th, 2008 at 7:35 am
Thanks so much!!!
Peace and great site!
March 11th, 2008 at 5:48 pm
hey im trying to remove the bios password and i found the cmos battery but where is the password jumper? well do anyone know how to figure out how to reset the bios password or clear it?
April 3rd, 2008 at 7:11 am
Im repairing Laptops, I found toshiba laptop m105 After power on 5,10 min sudenly Power off, I check without modem , wi fi card and harddisk, When I power on Cpu fan is working but mother board is heating above the normal level and automaticaly power off It is hapen with Battery power and ac power with out battery.
April 17th, 2008 at 8:01 pm
Hi..I have Toshiba Satellite M105, but I did not hear the fan on, the power led is on. How to fix it, Thank you.
May 12th, 2008 at 6:52 pm
last week my dog knocked juice on my M-105 cleaned it out and let it dry using this awesome guide. i tried starting it up today and the power light turns on blue the battery light and ac light are working properly i can open the disc drive and that lights up but thats all. can anyone help or offer a suggestion. i hope im not in denial of a dead laptop ?
Ryan
June 5th, 2008 at 5:49 am
Hi,
The screen on my laptop sometimes shows red lines and becomes unclear. Typical symptoms of vga malfunction, even on power-up screens. I used your manual (perfect by the way) to check if the connector was loose but all is properly in place.
Is there anything else i could try or do I have to change the motherboard?
Thanks
June 23rd, 2008 at 8:46 pm
[...] The motherboard removal instructions will be very similar to instructions for a Toshiba Satellite M105. [...]
July 8th, 2008 at 1:30 pm
What is the minimum take apart route to get to and replace the fan in the M105? Do I only need to take apart from the top/keyboard?
July 8th, 2008 at 1:35 pm
Debra,
You’ll have to take the whole thing apart. The cooling fan is attached to the motherboard, so it’s necessary to remove the motherboard.
July 8th, 2008 at 5:20 pm
I’m stuck on the speaker cables. Is there a trick to releasing them from the connector?
Thanks again.
July 8th, 2008 at 6:30 pm
Debra,
There is no trick. I usually pull by the cable (Toshiba says you cannot do that). Proceed on your own risk.
July 21st, 2008 at 5:16 am
Anyone looking to clear the Bios password…
I have had to do this also… Mine is the M105-3074 Satellie.
Found that the password did not reset the first few attemps.
Had to short the two leads of the battery soldered to the MotherBoard… Found taking apart a pain for each time I tried to short terminals…
Short-cut:
Found I coauld access the Battery without all the disassembly… By removing the screws underneath the left front corner area (around the wirless OFF/ON switch…right about where my battery is located on the motherboard), removing the hard-disk-drive, and the screws under it – holding the case halves together – it is possible to open the case enough to slide an edge of a knife in to short the two terminals, without taking unit apart any deeper. I did notice that the first few attemps of shorting the terminals might have not worked due to a possible coating of protectant on the surface. I had to use a knife to sightly scratch through the coating and everything is fine since…
SPECIAL NOTE!!!! TO ALL…
YOUR MODEL MAY BE DIFFERENT than MINE…but, most probably the battery is similarly located on MB…
ALSO!!! VERY IMPORTANT!!! READ THIS!!!
Be careful… Most probably your hard-drive is still good and intact… Once you have reset the bios password try to re-start from your hard drive before attempting any type of recovery!! MINE WORKED FINE!! and I didn’t even need to do anything in BIOS… It Was Only some kind of glitch…maybe Toshiba manufacturing knows, or caused this??
July 31st, 2008 at 10:46 am
Great manual, thank you! I used it to get to the memory module under the keyboard. I can confirm that these instructions do work for the Toshiba Tecra A6.
And for anyone else having trouble with the keyboard bezel, I also found it easier to start prying from the side of the laptop. I had been trying from the side adjoining the keyboard, but that scratched very easily and I didn’t want to push too hard. After that, it all went very smoothly. I also chose not to disconnect the keyboard. I just laid it forward since I was only opening up the memory module and that seemed to work fine.
Thanks again!
August 11th, 2008 at 7:18 am
The screen is red but changes to normal color if I reposition the screen. However, there is still a lot of video noise. I checked the video card by connecting it to another monitor and everything is fine. Does it seem reasonable that there may be a bad connection in the cable at the motherboard? If so, do I need to disassemble the entire computer to check? I don’t want to buy a new monitor for $150 if something less expensive is to blame. Anyways, if it is a cable problem, replacing the monitor wouldn’t fix anything.
August 17th, 2008 at 8:53 am
In order to change the CMOS battery, do I need to go all the way down to point 26 of the guide or is there a short-cut?
Thanks!
August 17th, 2008 at 1:17 pm
Carlos,
There is no short cut. In order to access the CMOS battery, you’ll have to go through steps 1-22. The CMOS battery is soldered to the motherboard.
Just in case. Removing the CMOS battery will not clear the BIOS password.
August 18th, 2008 at 6:38 am
Thanks CJ, I’m actually trying to discard options for an odd problem with my system time which is: every hour the clock goes back an hour (meaning, it doesn’t move to the next one) and when that happens my wi-fi needs repair to re-gain internet connection… I think this is probably related with the CMOS battery…
August 18th, 2008 at 7:05 am
Carlos,
Really weird problem I’ve never seen before.
Just in case. Have you tried updating/reflashing the BIOS?
Also, that could be software related problem. Have you tried reinstalling Windows?
Try booting the laptop from Live Linux CD, Knoppix for example, it’s user friendly and looks like Windows. If your clock works fine in Knoppix, there is nothing wrong with the laptop. Probably it’s just a software issue.
August 18th, 2008 at 7:33 am
CJ, I know! lol
I’ve tried scanning for viruses, synchronizing with NIST, enabling and disabling DST, changing time zones, etc. never thought about flashing BIOS though… I’m gonna give it a try. The last thing I want to do is re-install Windows, maybe repair it… sometimes is a nightmare.
Thanks for the tips!
August 25th, 2008 at 9:11 am
sir, i have satalite M105 laptop its having keyboard problem, i removed all screw with as per u r websit published, but unable take out keyboard, please help me to change keyboard.
thanking you
D.sasivarnam
August 25th, 2008 at 9:17 am
D.Sasivarnam,
In order to remove the keyboard you don’t have to remove any screw from the bottom.
You’ll have to:
1. Remove the keyboard bezel – plastic part above the keyboard.
2. Remove screws securing the keyboard (hidden under the bezel).
3. Disconnect the keyboard from the motherboard and remove it.
October 14th, 2008 at 12:45 pm
HELP MEEE!!!! my laptop does not go beyond the toshiba splash-screen menu and it does not even go to the BIOS menu when i press F2. I want to reset my BIOS by removing the CMOS battery for an hour and putting it back in. I dont know where the CMOS battery is situated in my M105 S3031. and i dont know if my toshiba satellite series model has a jumper to reset my BIOS.
October 19th, 2008 at 2:35 pm
“Hi..I have Toshiba Satellite M105, but I did not hear the fan on, the power led is on. How to fix it, Thank you.”
I am having the same problem. The LED for the battery and ac light up, but thats it. I changed the ram, removed HD, battery, wifi card, modem, video connection, keyboard connection and tried to start it up everytime. Nothing. Should I continue and try my luck with cleaning the heatsink? Or is this something that could be unrelated to overheating? Only other thing I could think of is the BIOS and the laptop latch. Does removing the battery clear the BIOS?
October 23rd, 2008 at 10:48 am
I have a M305 that the DC connector seems very loose. I wanted to open this up and just check it. I have all the screws out and the DVD drive removed.
I have gotten the front part of the bezel off but the back side (screen side) seems pretty firm. Unfortunetly this model doesn’t have the screws in the back like the M105.
Any ideas?
October 25th, 2008 at 3:00 pm
I have a toshiba satellite m105. the port on the motherboard where the cable from the lcd connects to the motherboard was scorched when something shorted out. i do not have money to replace the computer or the montherboard. is there a way to fix or replace the port?
November 16th, 2008 at 12:44 pm
To all—-
This is a great site—thank you so much (http://www.irisvista.com/tech/laptops/Toshiba-Satellite-M105/take-apart-notebook-1.htm)
I need some advice though—-
I spilled wine on my Toshiba Satellite Laptop (model M105-S1021) last week.
I immediately doused the keyboard with isopropyl alcohol. Two days later all the keyboard came back except these keys:
J, Q, D, G, S, “, (comma)”, and ALT (left hand).
Since then I have dissembled the laptop using this site as a guide and removed the keyboard and doused again with lots of isopropyl– no effect.
I then used a Kleenex soaked with isopropyl and wet the ‘female’ connector which accepts the keyboard data cable and blew it out with ‘Dust-Off’. I did this a number of times. Next morning— no affect.
Can you please advice me on my next steps to make these keys come back alive?
Thanks very much– Rick
January 28th, 2009 at 8:35 pm
MY M105 backlight goes off and on ranomly after an hour or so or sometime longer. IT is just like when you sstart to close the screen and the backlight shutsoff just before closing. Is there a switch that turns the backlight off that might need to be cleaned that may keep the backlight on longer?
Thanks
April 14th, 2009 at 2:50 pm
David,
I don’t think that your problem is related to the lid close switch. I think it’s either bad inverter (most likely) or failing backlight lamp (less likely).
If you have to guess, go with the inverter replacement first.
April 14th, 2009 at 2:53 pm
Rick,
I guess the next step will be replacing the keyboard.
I guess you can wait for a few days and let it dry out. If the keyboard still not working after that, replace it with a new one.
Hopefully it’s just a bad keyboard and you haven’t damaged the motherboard because it’s possible too.
April 14th, 2009 at 2:55 pm
rita,
That could be memory related issue. Try removing memory modules one by one. Can you boot the laptop when only one module is installed? Can you boot the laptop with the second module installed into a different slot?
May 11th, 2009 at 7:50 pm
I assume that if all I want to do it replace the keyboard, I start with step 9 and do thru step 12, then install the new by following these steps in reverse.
Or do I need to start with step 8? I also notice that in the instructions specifically for keyboard removal for another TOshiba, in the A series, it says to first remove the battery.
The latter also mentions removing some metal plate, but I assume the M105 does not have one.
So am I reading it right?
May 11th, 2009 at 8:18 pm
Matt J.
1. Turn off the laptop, unplug the AC adapter and remove the battery.
2. Follow steps 9-12.
May 20th, 2009 at 6:08 am
Hi, my Toshiba Satellite M105-S3041 has developed an issue where the screen dims when the screen is moved up and down or due to some vibration, there is also a buzzing noise when this happens. I have to move the screen around normally to correct it. Does this sound like I need to replace the screen inverter? or could it be the video/display cable that is faulty? or something else? It’s normally fine when there is no physical movement. Please also recommend a site to order the part from. Thanks!
May 25th, 2009 at 10:57 am
Hi, i have a Satellite M105-SP1031 but i can´t found the second slot for memory. Who knows where is?
May 25th, 2009 at 11:09 am
Cristian,
In a Satellite M105 the second memory slot is hidden under the keyboard. You can see the second memory slot in the disassembly guide. Take a look at the step 15.
May 27th, 2009 at 8:29 pm
These are great instructions. Had my fan and heatsink replaced within 2 hours. Thank You.
June 2nd, 2009 at 5:19 pm
my screen has turned completely red, but i can still see and use it. how can i fix the problem?
June 2nd, 2009 at 5:20 pm
Its a Satellite M105-S3041
June 23rd, 2009 at 1:48 pm
hello, first of all, excellent guide, helped me remove a ton of dirt and dust from the processor fan on a toshiba satellite m105 s3011 i have, but sadly it didn’t solve my problem, by the way, my m105 does this weird thing when i turned it on the other day, first it started by turning off randomly when on windows and i thought it was a thermal issue, but i got a chance to run thermal monitoring software before a shutdown and the processor was like 50c which granted, its not cool for a yonah but its not really hot either, then the laptop refused to even show a post screen, when you turn it on, the power led will stay on for maybe 5 – 10 secs and then it will turn itself off, its not a batery problem, does that when purely on ac power too, and aparently its not a thermal problem since i disassembled it and replaced the thermal paste on both the processor and chipset, cleaned the exhaust and the whole laptop, but the thing is the power led does this strange thing when you try to turn it on: the led will cycle between blue, orange and a bright blue/white and will do this until turned off, its not a memory issue, i tested it with other memory modules and in both the memory sockets i personaly think its the mobo or the processor…any help deciphering the led code please?
July 7th, 2009 at 7:57 pm
Thank you for this great guide! Without it my husband would not have been able to upgrade the RAM in his laptop …
But what bright spark at Toshiba thought that having to pull a computer apart to upgrade RAM was ok?
July 22nd, 2009 at 12:35 pm
I followed a subset of the directions in order to get to the memory module under my keyboard. Battery out, then picking up with keyboard bezel, keyboard, memory cover.
Here’s a couple of clarifications.
1) I found that in prying off the keyboard bezel, a much better place to pry with a flat blade screwdriver is just above the top row of keys. Starting with the rightmost keys, as you depress the keys, you’ll see a spot that accepts a flat blade screwdriver. Slide it in the depression and lift and twist. Work your way to the left.
2) The instructions made me aprehensive about removing the keyboard connector (if you damage the connector, you need a new motherboard), so I tried to carefully follow them exactly as written. So please understand if it appears I’m splitting hairs.
The keyboard connector “lock” is actually a pair of locks, left and right, independent of each other. To unlock, the tabs are moved to the rear (towards the hinges), not “up” as in the instructions.
The ribbon cable moves in the same direction (toward the hinges) in disconnecting.
August 29th, 2009 at 3:07 pm
Thank you so much for this guide.
It helped me remove dirt on the fan so than my old M100 computer works fine now.
September 7th, 2009 at 10:22 am
I love this site! Awesome instructions and I was able diassembly by following all 32 steps.
I’m having problems putting everything back together in step 17.
I inadvertantly unplugged the wire from the LCD screen that goes somewhere. It is the two black/white wires with very tiny round ends. Where does this round ends plug into? I’ve looked everywhere on the motherboard and cannot plug this wire back in during assembly.
Any assistance would be greatly appreciated!
September 7th, 2009 at 10:41 am
Alex Daudsyah,
These cable are antennas for the wireless card. You’ll have to connect both cable to the wireless card. White cable – main connector. Black cable- auxiliary connector.
November 8th, 2009 at 6:12 pm
Sounds like bad power jack.
Kurkotain Says:
June 23rd, 2009 at 1:48 pm
hello, first of all, excellent guide, helped me remove a ton of dirt and dust from the processor fan on a toshiba satellite m105 s3011 i have, but sadly it didn’t solve my problem, by the way, my m105 does this weird thing when i turned it on the other day, first it started by turning off randomly when on windows and i thought it was a thermal issue, but i got a chance to run thermal monitoring software before a shutdown and the processor was like 50c which granted, its not cool for a yonah but its not really hot either, then the laptop refused to even show a post screen, when you turn it on, the power led will stay on for maybe 5 – 10 secs and then it will turn itself off, its not a batery problem, does that when purely on ac power too, and aparently its not a thermal problem since i disassembled it and replaced the thermal paste on both the processor and chipset, cleaned the exhaust and the whole laptop, but the thing is the power led does this strange thing when you try to turn it on: the led will cycle between blue, orange and a bright blue/white and will do this until turned off, its not a memory issue, i tested it with other memory modules and in both the memory sockets i personaly think its the mobo or the processor…any help deciphering the led code please?
November 25th, 2009 at 7:10 am
I replaced the inverter for my failed Backlight problem – it was not the issue, has to be the bulb. I bought a bulb… and I CANNOT FIND THE BULB inside my laptop! (Toshiba M105) I don’t get it… does anyone know WHERE it is located?!?!?!? Due to the Holiday and my lack of a Laptop when I’m not at work… would be great if anyone knows this. THANKS!
November 25th, 2009 at 7:59 am
Nikki,
The backlight bulb mounts INSIDE the LCD screen. Check out this post: http://www.laptoprepair101.com/laptop/2007/12/09/replace-laptop-backlight-ccfl-lamp/
December 7th, 2009 at 4:39 am
where is the cmos battery located?
December 11th, 2009 at 3:18 pm
Perfect, was able to reset the CMOS!
February 15th, 2010 at 12:03 pm
Preparing for RAM upgrade on Toshiba Satellite M105-S322. I need to keep my notebook running for a while longer but can’t run my current apps without more RAM. I couldn’t find the second RAM location. Under the keyboard! I’m so glad I found your site. I just finished reading all the comments. I experienced the horrible spontaneous bios password issue in 2006 and got it repaired while under 1 yr warranty. I updated BIOS and noted that Toshiba is acknowledging the password problem. 2007 battery recall resulted in a free battery but it now holds zero charge and I don’t want to spend the money to replace it. I’ve had software issues and reformatted the HDD a couple of times. Fan runs more than I think it should but the screen and keyboard are holding up. With more RAM I will keep it alive a little longer.
March 24th, 2010 at 11:46 am
Hi. My toshiba m105-s3041 laptop is two beep short .
No screen light but power led is light.
problem???
main memory or mainboard or …
April 21st, 2010 at 5:49 pm
installed two 1 gig chips of ram in my Toshiba Satellite M105-S1021 laptop. Followed all instructions and replaced the 512 mb under the keyboard and placed a 2nd 1gig chip from the underside slot. I get a black screen when I start it up. I hear a little activity for perhaps 5 seconds and then nothing. The fan runs too. What might the problem be and how might I fix it please. The chips came from Crucial and they were ordered after a scan of my computer.
April 21st, 2010 at 7:37 pm
Steve,
Check both memory modules. Make sure that both modules installed correctly. Try reconnecting them.
It sounds like one or both modules are not seated correctly.
April 29th, 2010 at 4:50 am
I need to replace the motherboard of a Tecra A6. I removed all the screws and components from the bottom of the notebook but stiil can not open it. The 2 screws at rear were removed as well. Could take it apart only at the rim but it seems to stay strongly attached somewhere. Do you maybe know what i am doing wrong? Is it right to open the bottom if i want to replace the motherboard?
April 29th, 2010 at 12:38 pm
Jonathan,
Did you read through the entire guide? The guide has 4 pages.
Read though the entire guide and you’ll get the idea how to replace the motherboard.
There are navigation links on the top and bottom of the guide: Page1 :: Page2 :: Page3 :: Page4
July 22nd, 2010 at 11:15 am
Please send me instructions on how to install(upgrade) the memory in my Toshiba Satellite M105-S3084 from 2 GB to 4GB;please tell me where the momory slots located in this model of Toshiba Satellite M105-S3084
July 22nd, 2010 at 11:41 am
Tolefe-tolefe,
http://www.insidemylaptop.com/how-to-upgrade-memory-in-toshiba-satellite-m100m105-laptop/
This guide will help you to access both memory modules.