Taking apart Toshiba Satellite A60 or A65 laptop
Toshiba Satellite A60 and A65 used to be a very popular laptop a few years ago, many people still have these laptop. This guide will show you how to take apart these laptops.
I’ve seen many Satellites A60/A65 but it looks like all of them have very similar problems:
1. Laptop tends to overheat. In this case you can remove the keyboard and clean up the fan and heat sink with compressed air.
2. Onboard memory failure. Sorry guys, if that’s the case then you’ll have to replace the motherboard.
3. Power jack failure. This problem is fixable but you’ll have to take the whole thing apart and replace or resolder the power jack.
You can find more information about these common failures here.
May 15th, 2010 at 7:59 am
@Puppybarf… the problem could be the CPU fan. You can check it by removing the securing strip and lifting the keyboard (remove the 2 screws holding it in place) … no need to “detach” the keyboard. Just lift on one side (monitor side). Turn the power on and observe if the CPU fan is working. I just opened a Satellite A60 last night with the same symptom/sign as yours and I found out that the CPU fan is not working. it will not boot to protect the CPU from overheating.
April 16th, 2010 at 9:38 am
Hi everyone,
I have a question regarding a Toshiba A65-S126. I’m doing a DC Jack repair and when removing the fan cable from the motherboard, the connector broke off from the MoBo.
Soldering is possible. However, to much heat may ultimately cause a failure.
On this particular MoBo, there is only ONE cooling fan (for the heat sink and main CPU) but there are 2 connectors. From the pictures used to show how to take this unit apart, 2 cooling fans are shown (page 2, steps 12 & 13).
So here is the question…Can I use the second connector for the main CPU cooling fan? I have a disposable email address and I look forward to hearing from anyone that can help.
Thanks very much in advance,
Scott F.
March 26th, 2010 at 8:30 am
I was looking for information regarding the Equium A60 and how to take out the DVD drive to replace it. The Matshita drive failed in my old A60 which was otherwise in good working order, still with the restore discs, on Windows Home.
IF you need to replace the DVD drive on the Equium A60 you need only remove one screw with the number s8 stamped next to it on the underside of the laptop.
The Satellite a60 has 3 screws which might confuse you. But the Equium and Sat are different models!
Simply unscrew this screw and open up the drive door and pull it out. You need to unscrew the small holding plate – I used a 1.4mm flat head, (had no phillips) but be gentle.
Hope this information on the Equium a60 is useful to some.
March 25th, 2010 at 9:27 am
Dave,
check out this fix: http://www.laptoprepair101.com/laptop/2009/11/17/fix-broken-keyboard-connector-on-laptop-motherboard/
March 24th, 2010 at 3:55 am
ARRGH!
When STEP 8 says-
Disconnect the keyboard cable from the system board and remove the keyboard
************
you need to place a RED WARNING WARNING WARNING that you could easily damage and need a new motherboard…
****************
and not bury it in a “few things to know BEFORE” you dissasemble
this laptop.
at least the info is there, a tad LATE for me but hope to get the sticky tape repair to work.
MAN
that stankied
CAREFUL WITH THIS PEOPLE!!
March 20th, 2010 at 1:41 pm
Thanks a lot for this guide, really useful. I broke the clip that secures the keyboard connector in place, it’s not obvious that you need to be so careful when dismantling it. It seems to just press back into place fine though, even without the little clips.
March 8th, 2010 at 8:53 am
Hello,I want to run a game which need A128MB video card with support for Pixel shader 2.0 in my laptop Toshiba-Satellite A60 , but I receive a massage about upgarding , but I don’t know what is video card of my laptop and what should I do.
your reply is appreciated by me.thanks
January 7th, 2010 at 1:51 pm
Thanks cj, I’ll try everything I can.
January 7th, 2010 at 12:12 pm
Puppybarf,
This laptop has only one RAM slot. One memory module is integrated into the motherboard and it could be your problem. Onboard memory fails a lot on this model.
Here’s more help for troubleshooting problems in Satellite A60/A65 laptops:
http://www.laptoprepair101.com/laptop/2007/04/27/toshiba-satellite-a60-a65-problems/
Go through the comments. You’ll find lots of useful info.
January 7th, 2010 at 12:00 pm
Hallo, thanks for well-done guide.
I’m trying to repair this Satellite A60; it came to me without power supplier, but I’ve found a compatible one and it seems to work: CC IN LED lights up and battery starts to charge.
My problem is that this notebook starts for a while, heatsink begins to rotate, all LEDs light up normally but, suddenly everything turns off after 2-3 seconds.
I’ve observed that this machine has only a free RAM slot but, I can’t see any other RAM module (I don’t know if it has been removed before)… maybe is this the problem?
Could someone help me?
January 1st, 2010 at 1:37 pm
THANKS again for all your help, a life saver. I will be making a small PayPal donation.
December 28th, 2009 at 9:13 am
Vignesh,
Most likely the drive is not connected properly to the motherboard. Try reconnecting the hard drive. Make sure it’s plugged correctly.
I’ve seen this happening on Satellite A65 laptops before. Again, make sure the hard drive is connected correctly.
December 28th, 2009 at 3:14 am
Hi guys,
Recently i removed my laptop to clean. After that i reassembled everything correctly but it says there is ‘No Drive’..I don know what to do now. How to put that hard disk can anyone tell me