Opening a Toshiba Satellite P205 laptop and removing the motherboard
These instructions explain how to open a Toshiba Satellite P205 laptop case and remove the motherboard.
Removing the speaker cover could be tricky. In order to separate the speaker cover from the top cover you’ll have to use a guitar pick (or something similar).
ATTENTION: The same heatsink covers two chips – the northbridge and the processor. You cannot use regular thermal grease for the northbridge, you have to use special thermal grease. Here’s the part number for this grease: K000051370
For the processor you can use the following grease: X-23-7762-01
March 20th, 2009 at 5:55 am
I have a P205-S6327 and wondering if the same applies to it as the discussions on replacing the cpu’s in other P205’s are the same. I have a Core 2Duo T5300 processor and want to upgrade to a T8300 if possible
January 28th, 2009 at 9:46 pm
ive been trying to find ways to personaly upgrade my laptop and its seems you have given me most of my answers i was wondering about a few more
are there any tricks to possibly installing a new cpu in my 205?
and how do i know which cpu fits my 205 without opening it up first?
January 4th, 2009 at 9:43 pm
hello,
i love your guide on the p205…
i have a p205-s7476, and i have two questions… what IS that big empty area under the modem cover really there for?? there’s those silver pins you can see non-soldered in your pictures… hard drive, or some kind of pcie-x video card?
2. i REALLY need to get a better video card in this thing… what are my options? something has to be able to be added/replaced… the same model has been sold with intel/amd/ati … i have the intel integrated…
PLEASE help
January 3rd, 2009 at 1:00 pm
I have a Toshiba P205-S7436 running a 1.7GHz AMD Turion 64 X2 processor. Can I replace it with the Turion TL-68- a 2.4GHz processor? Or will the heat be excessive? OR is there a better choice? Great web site!
November 21st, 2008 at 6:18 pm
Hi, i was wondering if you could tell me where the battery for the Toshiba Satellite P200 is exactly on the motherboard and how it looks like. Thanks.
September 24th, 2008 at 8:57 am
Well, it depends on what laptop you have, how old it is, and how much you’re attached to it. I bought my 17″ laptop 6 months ago. So it’s not even a year old. So I decided to invest $200 for a new processor since it’s still got some years left of life.
Mine came with 3GB of RAM and a 17″ LCD. So I decided it was a great long-term investment. To me, $350 seems like a lot of dough to spend on a Dual-Core processor. I’ve seen desktop Quad-Core processors cheaper than that.
But like I always say, if you’ve got the money.. go for it.
So I mean think about how much life your laptop’s got left, and if the only thing it’s missing is a good processor.. then swap the processor. But if it’s lacking in more areas than you’d like.. go for a whole new computer.
September 23rd, 2008 at 10:43 pm
Thanks a lot. I have talked to a couple of people and decided to put that 250$ for T8300 or T9500 and save it towards a better laptop for my needs. I am considering the Gateway P7811FX. Unless it goes down in price below 150$.
What do you think, what is a cost effective upgrade for a laptop: a new CPU for around 300-350$ or just to get a new laptop??? Thanks again.
September 23rd, 2008 at 9:04 am
Since the T5250/T5450 has a Socket P, yes you can upgrade to any T5xx0, T7xx0, T8×00, T9×00. This includes the T7700, T8300, and others.
Go to NewEgg.com and search mobile Socket P processors.
So yes you can upgrade a T5250 to a T7700 or T8300 and others on a Toshiba P205.
September 22nd, 2008 at 9:01 pm
Hello, I was also wondering about the CPU upgrade. I have P205-S7402 Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T5250 1.5GHz, 2MB L2, 667MHz FSB Mobile Intel® GM965 Express Chipset. I have not seen a definetive reply that a T7700 or T8300 can replace a T5250 and would fit into P205-S7402 model. Thanks a lot guys.
September 22nd, 2008 at 1:12 pm
Regarding the T7700 upgrades.. you should be able to get any Socket P CPU with a Front-Side Bus speed that doesn’t exceed your motherboard.
I was going to go with a T7700, but decided to go with a T8300, it was less expensive than a T7700, and I’ve read 45nm’s run cooler. The only numeric difference is that the 7700 has 1MB more in Cache, but it performs great. I haven’t tried out a 7700, but I don’t really think it’s worth the extra dough since the 8300 is a newer 45nm chip. If I was going to spend money on a 7700, might as well get a 9300. If you get a 45nm chip, make sure your BIOS supports it usually by making sure the BIOS version is up to date. Mine went in, no problem. But 7700 and 8300 is where I had some decision-making to do.
Some Socket P Processors.
T5450 1.66GHz/2MB Cache/667MHz FSB/65nm $ 50
T7700 2.40GHz/4MB Cache/800MHz FSB/65nm $325
T8300 2.40GHz/3MB Cache/800MHz FSB/45nm $250
T9300 2.50GHz/6MB Cache/800MHz FSB/45nm $335
You can of course find them cheaper if you look in the right places.
Hope I helped you guys figure out some CPU questions.
September 21st, 2008 at 8:28 pm
I’ve seen keyboards for the P205’s on eBay.
Anyways, I just want to thank you for this 30-step guide. Thanks to you I was able to successfully upgrade my Intel T5450 processor to a T8300. Though I did mess up some of the trim trying to pry the cover open.. Turns out I missed 1 or 2 screws on the bottom cover, after that it just lifted up. Thanks again!
September 3rd, 2008 at 10:39 pm
hi all:
i need to replace the plastic thingy that holds the numbers of the numeric keypad on my satellite p205d-s8804. i also want to replace the number keys as they are starting to wear off. does anyone know where i can buy the items mentioned above?
i appreciate the help.
August 12th, 2008 at 4:26 pm
I have the same question as someone else earlier. I am wanting to replace my cpu with a 2.4 ghz t7700. Is this possible? Thanks
August 9th, 2008 at 12:41 am
hi i have a satellite P200 and the screen is now playing up it goes all colours intermixed and blury if you get the screen in the right place it works fine it seems as if it is a bad connection any idears cheers paqul
June 21st, 2008 at 9:14 pm
Gustavo Caballero,
Removing or disconnection the BIOS battery will not clear the password, don’t even try. Take your laptop to a repair service center and they will clear the BIOS password for you. I believe Toshiba will clear the BIOS password even if the laptop is not under warranty anymore because some older BIOS versions had a glitch when laptop sets the BIOS password on its own.
June 21st, 2008 at 2:34 pm
Hi from Mexico, could you pls tell me, Where is the Bios Battery?
I need to reset the passwod of it becase I dont Know this password, is it necesary jus to desconect the battery to reset the Cmos Password? Other question I have is Do I need to open all to get it?
Thanks a lot.
April 11th, 2008 at 8:54 pm
i have a p205-s6347 i need to replace my fan it stopped working do i need to buy the same exact fan for it or an i use a spare one i got the seems like it should fit. the connectors are different but i figured i could replace the connector from the old one as well wat do u think?
January 3rd, 2008 at 9:40 am
I have a p205-7476 I got about a month ago on ebay, it’s been a champ. But being a typical techie, now I am looking at the greener grass, i.e., stuff other machiens had that i wished it did, just to have the biggest, baddest laptop. That won’t happen with this, as I just saw the 20 inch HP laptop LOL. But wondering, follwed your disassembly of the p205 here, as I was going to start out with that though 200 gigs is plenty big and I only half filled it, I am itching to get one of the 320’s, seems WD makes a scorpio that looks to be a match, and toshiba has made it hard to find, but has the only other match. Also seems that getting a CMS data transfer package is REALLY smart. Wondering a few things, the big empty area on the bottom under the 2 screw cover, where the hard drive is to the next one screw cover to the left, it sure looks like a second hard drive woudl fit there, and the sata pin guides for the main drive are visible in there; what DOES go in this spot, can a p205 support a second sata drive or ONLY swap the main drive? (Another reason to swap the factory drive OEM 4200 rpm and sata 1.5 versus the 320’s are sata 3.0 and 5400 rpm, so faster transfer rate, and a faster spindle besides gaining 40% more space). Finally, assuming the memory slots on this are a totoal of 2 (didn’t look) and assuming OEM is 2 1 gig chips, can they be mix and match, i.e. replace one iGB with a 2gb for a total of three assuming same type/speed ram (so like a total of 3 gb) or does it have exact matchign pairs? This seems to be a really nice laptop (nicest I have ever owned, though I only used it for work; it would seem a good desktop replacement machine too for those leaning that way). Sorry this is so long, one BIG rub I have with Toshiba after for years owning HP and Dell laptops and towers and hearing what POS’s Toshiba’s were, I chanced it, so far, nice machine, but the factory support, pdf’s, tech manual type stuff, etc is a MAJOR joke, i.e. HP and Dell will give you info overload, yet Toshiba’s site is pathetic, it more just is pushing accessories. MAJOR disappointment – guys like you shouldnt have to lovingly make things like this – this fact alone no matter HOW good this laptop turns out to be – like buying a great car but bad dealer service – I won’t EVER buy another Toshiba long as their info online for high tech guys like us that like to tinker, the info is not there in any way, shape or form.
December 10th, 2007 at 11:50 pm
I appreciate the fantastic tutorial! I may be using your instruction set depending on whether or not I can upgrade my p205-s7402’s CPU. Do you know if it’s possible to replace the current T5250 with a T7700? Any thoughts on it is appreciated! Thanks again!
November 29th, 2007 at 6:41 pm
err, on my previous comment, ignore the word “don’t” in the first sentence… Most modern laptops store their passwords in nonvolatile memory is what I meant. I’m not sure with satellite 205’s, but if you wanted to remove the cmos battery to check, you’d need a soldering iron, a steady hand, and some previous soldering practice.
November 28th, 2007 at 10:43 pm
#5: not-so-techie: Most modern laptops
don’tstore the bios password in some kind of flash rom, not in volatile CMOS memory like desktops do… this is great because it’s more secure, but very annoying if you are the legitimate owner of your laptop and have forgotten the password… with these sorts of chips you can remove the batteries for years and the password will still be there.There is, however, a way of clearing the contents of these chips, though the process is kinda sketchy.
here is a page regarding old dell laptops, the process should be the same (though with a different layout, and probably a different chip)… it’s pretty intense, so you may want to exhaust your toshiba-customer-service options first.
November 28th, 2007 at 6:25 pm
I’m trying to replace the lcd screen on my p205-s6297. I can only find 4 screws on the bezel. After removing them, I can only get the bezel to come away from the screen along the top where the camera is. I’ve applied what I think is a lot of pressure along the rest of the bezel but it won’t pull apart. Any suggestions? Thanks for any help you can provide.
November 28th, 2007 at 6:10 pm
Hey Thanks!
You have a very nice site here, seems to be the definitive resource for taking toshibas apart… You’d think toshiba themselves would provide such a resource…
Anyway, So some of the screws on the bottom are holding the bezel in place? I’ll be taking the plunge tomorrow probably, if everything works out I’ll take pics of each step, I can submit them if you like.
Also, unrelated, but do you know if the cpu in these is upgradeable? If I were to stick in another socket M processor, like a core2 7100 or whatever, is there any sort of jumper settings or would it automatically configure itself?
November 28th, 2007 at 12:01 am
bobdole,
Yeah, I haven’t created a guide for Satellite U300 yet.
Here are some instructions you can follow:
1. Remove two screws located in the battery bay (under the battery)
2. Remove three screw seals located between the Windows license and Toshiba sticker with the serial number. Removed screws located under the seals.
3. Remove three screws located under the hard drive.
4. Turn the laptop over and remove the keyboard bezel (located below the keyboard). Start removing from the left side.
5. Remove one keyboard screw located under the bezel, lift up the keyboard and replace it.
November 27th, 2007 at 9:39 pm
I’m trying to get the keyboard off a satellite u300 (coca-cola is stickier than you’d think!), and this seems to be the most similar model you have instructions for… except the bezel that covers the screws is either absent, or is placed below the keyboard rather than above, and it seems to be anchored rather securely, like there may be screws holding it from below.. I’d rather not take the whole thing apart if I can help it.. do you know anything about these models and how their keyboard is secured?
I’ve tried gently prying at it with a credit card, and there are a couple of snap-fit attachments in the middle of the bezel, but the corners seem much more secure, and I can feel myself stressing the plastic when I pry..
November 26th, 2007 at 8:15 pm
hmmm…just a thought. This series of toshiba has the cmos battery soldered onto the board, as displayed on step 26. I’m wondering how to get that battery off so I can reset my bios pw. Any idea(s)?
November 3rd, 2007 at 12:32 pm
sylent,
If you are asking about a Satellite P205 model then take a look at the disassembly step 26. There are two connectors on the lower rights side from the cooling fan. There is a bluish disc located close to these connectors, this is the CMOS battery.
November 2nd, 2007 at 8:06 pm
hmmmm…i didn’t open up the laptop all the way myself…were you able to locate the cmos battery? this i really need to know….thank you.
October 27th, 2007 at 10:57 pm
Niman,
Not sure how you want to hook it up but if your laptop has a spot for the internal bluetooth card you can use this one: K000048130
October 27th, 2007 at 9:59 pm
The P205 series laptops have 6 USB ports and an empty space under one of the compartments underneath. Is it possible to hook up internally a USB Bluetooth adapter in the empty compartment?