How to take apart Toshiba Satellite A300 or A305 laptop
In this guide I will be taking apart a Toshiba Satellite A305 laptop. Also this guide will work for a Satellite A300 series. Basically Satellite A300 and A305 laptops have a similar design but different names.
I start the disassembly process with removing the keyboard as it shown in steps 1-5. Be very careful with the keyboard cable connector on the motherboard. If you break this connector, you’ll have to replace the whole motherboard.
Steps 6-9 explain how to access and remove the hard drive, both memory modules and the optical drive. Fortunately, in this model both memory modules could be access from the bottom making the removal/upgrade process very simple.
In steps 10-14 I’m removing the laptop top cover assembly. By the way, both touch pad buttons are a part of the top cover. If one of the buttons feels loose, most likely the plastic bridge connecting this button to the top cover is broken. In order to fix this problem, you’ll have to replace the whole top cover assembly.
In steps 15-25 I proceed with removing the motherboard. I would like to mention that the cooling fan is mounted under the motherboard. If you would like to replace the fan, you’ll have to remove the motherboard first.
In the next post I explain the LCD screen and inverter board removal procedure.
Need spare parts for your laptop? Search here by the laptop model and part name or number.
May 8th, 2009 at 10:42 pm
[...] the previous post I explained the motherboard removal procedure. Need spare parts for your laptop? Search here by the laptop model and part name or [...]
May 12th, 2009 at 3:06 pm
Can you help me to find a new keyboard for Satellite A305-S6905. Model number: PSAG8U-04001W. Thanks.
May 12th, 2009 at 3:25 pm
John,
Here’s the part number for a new keyboard: V000120280 or V000120090. You can use either one.
May 16th, 2009 at 12:38 pm
Hi, looking for a new motherboard for my satellite A305-s6905, need to find the part number, thank you.
May 16th, 2009 at 12:42 pm
John,
Give me the laptop model number, it’s on the same sticker with the serial number and I’ll look up the motherboard part number for you. There could be more than one motherboard listed for a Satellite A305 laptop.
May 16th, 2009 at 12:59 pm
Hi, the model number is PSAG8U-04001W.
May 17th, 2009 at 10:20 pm
John,
Here’s the motherboard part number for a Toshiba Satellite A305-S6905 (Model number PSAG8U-04001W) laptop: V000126550
June 3rd, 2009 at 8:31 pm
Hi,
can you help me find the part number for a lcd screen for my Toshiba Satellite A300 – 034
the Model number is PASG0C – 03401C
thank you in advance.
June 16th, 2009 at 7:23 pm
cj2600, I want to thank you for your comprehensive guide. I was able to gain the small and very important fragments of info I needed to replace a laptop.
July 31st, 2009 at 12:01 am
Hi I try to reset the bios memory in my toshiba A305-s6909 and The RTC (CMOS) battery is permanently soldered to the motherboard. please help me
August 4th, 2009 at 11:34 pm
Toshiba Satellite A305D.
2 of the keyboard characters -[9] and [o]-don’t work on my laptop.
How do I unhinge the keys to clean them ?
Thanking you in advance.
Gary
August 20th, 2009 at 1:23 pm
i have a toshiba satellite A300-ND laptop and yesterday suddenly it stoped recharging the battery.when i took out the battery the laptop continued working fine with the ac power plug.so the problem is not the adaptor.the laptop is 4 months old.so i think that the battery should be ok.maybe is malfunction in the charging electronics on the motherboard?
August 24th, 2009 at 2:41 am
Hi,
It’s pity there is no photo of top cover and touch-pad assembly. I am particularly interested in partnumber of touch-pad buttons board – looks like I’ve got broken the socket under the right button.
August 25th, 2009 at 9:08 pm
Boris,
Did you buy your laptop in the USA? What is laptop model and part number?
August 25th, 2009 at 9:33 pm
promitheas,
It’s hard to tell. Could be defective battery or motherboard problem. The only way to find out is testing the laptop with another known good battery.
It’s only 4 months old and should be covered by the warranty.
Also, find out if you are running the latest BIOS. If not, update the BIOS. It might help. Be careful doing that and read instructions.
September 4th, 2009 at 10:38 am
I have notebook toshiba a300-15b and the sound suddenly disappeared.However every things are installed correctly and I did the recovery but still the same problem.What should I do?
September 5th, 2009 at 9:19 am
a300,
I guess it’s a hardware related problem.
You have checked all volume controls, right? You know about the volume control wheel on the front or side of the laptop, right?
Can you hear sound from headphones?
September 8th, 2009 at 2:17 pm
Hi~
my two buttons of the touch pad mouse clicks funny.. and it isn’t smooth when i click it..
is there a way to dissemble the buttons to clean it?
thx!
September 9th, 2009 at 8:10 am
Thanks cj2600,
I also can not hear sound from headphones?
September 18th, 2009 at 8:20 am
Can you tell me if this model supports internal bluetooth? My model is also A300, but with this shell: http://pdastore.hu/zone/images/NB_TOSHIBA_A300_GREY_nagy.jpg
I browsed your pictures but couldn’t find any clue. I also installed internal bluetooth in my Acer Aspire a couple of years ago, very handy for mouse, cellphone and wireless headphones.
October 29th, 2009 at 6:22 pm
I just sent you a donation via PayPal.
Information such as what you have provided here is invaluable.
I’ve done Dell, HP, SONY, and a few others, but tonight was my first Toshiba LCD replacement.
Thanks to your site coming up in a Google search, the operation went smoothly and the machine is like new again!
Be well.
Scott
October 29th, 2009 at 8:08 pm
Scott,
Thank you very much for your generous donation!
October 31st, 2009 at 5:16 am
all of the keyboard characters -[Ë] and [ë]-don’t work on my laptop..
How do I unhinge the keys to clean them ?
With Atl +137 not functioning in my laptop
plzzz tell me withh my problem:)
Thank you
November 4th, 2009 at 1:23 pm
I have a Toshiba Sat. A305 and yesterday when I turned it on a blue box appeared and it asked me for a password. Someone told me it has something to do with the BIOS. and told me to remove the BIOS battery.. I’m not sure what it is but I think it the blue little battery which it attached to the motherboard. in other laptops it can be removed. but I’m not sure if it can be removed in these type of comp. Does anyone know how to fix the problem.. PLEASE. I need help.
November 6th, 2009 at 9:48 am
mike g.
You are correct, the BIOS battery is the blue thing soldered to the motherboard.
Removing the BIOS battery will not clear the password.
This is a known issue with some newer Toshiba laptops. Some laptops can set up the BIOS password without asking you.
Call Toshiba and they should remove the password at no charge. You’ll have to send your laptop to Toshiba or take it to a local authorized center. They will clear the BIOS password even if the laptop is out of warranty. Of course, I assume the laptop is registered on your name and address.
If the Toshiba rep says it’s not covered, do not give up. Call again and talk to the supervisor. I know it’s a very annoying problem and Toshiba knows about this. Call them.
November 6th, 2009 at 10:11 am
Grophkrasniqi,
You cannot clean it. The key contacts are hidden inside the keyboard and the keyboard is not repairable.
If one of the keys stopped working, you’ll have to replace the keyboard.
November 6th, 2009 at 10:51 am
I was working on my 2year old A305-s6825 for some time when the battery finally completely drained. As I plugged in the power adapter I immediately smelled the notorious burnt electronics smell. Now, it will not power up or charge the battery.
Would this point to the motherboard/etc being fried or maybe just the power jack/cable? Other?
November 6th, 2009 at 10:59 am
Bucksg,
I cannot tell without testing the laptop. The first thing I would check is the AC power adapter. Maybe it’s just a fried adapter.
November 9th, 2009 at 2:12 am
This is very gooog but i need ask if there i can But another H.D.D in A300-233 with
November 21st, 2009 at 3:26 am
I have a A300/300 (purchased in Australia). Is it necessary to remove the keyboard to just clean the fan?
Is there a trick to just cleaning the fan?
November 21st, 2009 at 10:25 am
demure,
Not just the keyboard, but also you have to remove the top cover assembly.
Buy a can of compressed air or find an air compressor. Spray air into the air intake on the bottom until the dust stop coming from the side. This will remove most of the dust from the cooling fan and heat sink.
November 28th, 2009 at 1:54 pm
Hi there, first of you have an awesome site for information.
I was curious what the second empty slot was on the bottom of the a300d? it looks very much like an additional HD location. If this is so do you have an iclination which Hd would fit in there? thanks
Roy p
November 28th, 2009 at 3:36 pm
Roy p,
Yes, you can install a secondary hard drive into some Satellite A300 laptops, but not in all models.
Remove the secondary hard drive cover and take a look at the motherboard. Do you have a hard drive connector on the motherboard? If not, the secondary hard drive cannot be installed.
November 28th, 2009 at 10:12 pm
Hello! Amazing guide with great info! I’m having two problems with 2 different models of A300d (mine and my gf’s). First, both seem to overheat like crazy as of recently but I’ll try out compressed air as you suggested to someone else earlier. The second has to do with mine specifically. My screen is flickering every now and then, especially if I move it. Even right now I have to move it around in order to make it stop. Can that be the connector? My model is an Equium A300d-13X.
November 29th, 2009 at 5:40 am
Thx for the quick reply. Yes mine does have the 1 inch (ish)connector just like the Hd on the other side. what kind of drive could i put in there? I currently have the 289gb
thanks again
November 30th, 2009 at 7:30 pm
Hello thanks for the info.
i have done all as per the procedure…but how do i get my bios cleared.
please can u give me correct directions.
i need this lap for my projects and my bro messed the bios pass up now cant do anything…3 entries for pass and if wrong the lap gets shut down..
please can you give directions on how to clear cmos
December 10th, 2009 at 9:44 pm
I have problem with Toshiba Satellite A305 it doen’t start right. When it starts, it starts for 3 seconds and turning off and do for 2 more times. The screen doen’t show anything. I would appreciate it if you could look into this matter.
December 28th, 2009 at 7:21 pm
Hello,
I have followed your guide in pulling apart my Toshiba A300, and I have got up to the keyboard. When I try to lift the keyboard out of the case, it seems that there is some resistance, or something that is holding it down in the center, a little to the left. The right side of the keyboard will come out of the casing slightly, but it is prevented from being removed completely by this object, or screw, or some from of retention. I have not pulled hard, as I do not particularly want to damage the computer.
Have you experienced this during your session of pulling it apart? What would you recommend I do to get past this?
Thank you,
Jason.
January 2nd, 2010 at 7:11 am
Very good Site, helpfull for all of us !
There is one thing which is not explained when keyboard bezel must be removed:
1. Remove the Akkupack
2. You will see then inside >>3 little silver screws<< inside there.
!!!Remove all of them BEFORE you lift up the keyboard, the bezel will be dameged without doing this before.
Many thanks for your guide, so I was able to clean my laptop from coke inside.
Best regards, Ronnie
January 3rd, 2010 at 2:16 am
hi, i have a toshiba equium a300d 13x with a second HD bay which has connectors for esata or sata i think, wanted to find out if connecting a HD would work and also where can i find a caddy cause i have searched everywhere cant seem to find one, thanx
January 14th, 2010 at 11:32 pm
Hi,
How to replace the bottom cover assembly with a new one?
January 18th, 2010 at 9:49 pm
hello there,
I have to replace my A300 screen and found your manuals very handy. The only question I have is that about compatibility.
Is it possible to use old model’s Toshiba A70 screen for A300?
The screens are similar, 30 pins, the only different are the screen model numbers printed on a back.
January 19th, 2010 at 9:38 am
I own a toshiba Satellite A300D 15B.
I am having trouble with USB ports located on the right hand side. When I connect a mouse (or any other USB device) the device lights on the mouse come on but the mouse pointer does not move. Windows Vista makes no attempt the locate the device and install the drivers. So I suspected a faulty USB port.
How do I replace the USB ports on a toshiba A300D 15B?
do I need to remove the Memory, Hard drive and DVD drive just to change the USB port board?
January 24th, 2010 at 5:08 pm
I was ganna ask i have this laptop but the fan makes a lot of noise any ideas why? Please help
January 30th, 2010 at 1:41 am
I have a Toshiba Satellite A300 15D and I am not very happy with its performance lately. Therefore I was wondering if I can take it apart and put better CPU and stronger Graphic card say Nvidia GTX series and 2.8 or 3.0 GH processor. I was searching for the service manuals in internet but unfortunately I couldn’t find them so I can see the schematics.
January 30th, 2010 at 7:00 pm
I am taking apart this laptop L305D-S5895 I am trying to take out the dvd drive with no sucess I have the cover taken off but I don’t see any screws fastening the dvd rom to the laptop??
March 5th, 2010 at 4:04 pm
It would be great if you could add a note in the disassembly tutorial of the keyboard bezel. My computer seems to differ greatly from your A305D. I have a Toshiba Satellite A300D (AMD 64bit processor and Ati Radeon 3600 card in it, bought in Canada) but there were three screws holding the bezel (I broke them) that were accessible from the battery’s place (didn’t know that until I break the bezel). Also I don’t know how to remove the keyboard plug from the motherboard since its lock is different from your model.
Is there any other way to get the nearest possible of the fan and heat-sink? (like unscrewing the parts under the machine) I don’t want to break my laptop any further.
March 18th, 2010 at 9:10 pm
Where is the wifi card on a Toshiba A30-S67872 laptop?
April 22nd, 2010 at 4:28 pm
Hi, I have a toshiba SATELLITE A305/S6858B and it is very hot on touchpad and in all front cover, is that normal?
April 24th, 2010 at 12:21 pm
Saul,
It’s possible that your laptop is hot because the cooling module is clogged with dust. Clean up the heat sink and cooling fan and this might fix the problem.
Find an air compressor and blow air inside the fan intake on the bottom. This procedure will help to remove most dust from the cooling module.
April 29th, 2010 at 4:30 pm
Our A305 power jack has come detached. The retail establishment we bought it at (B-Buy)has shipped it of to wherever they send the laptops too stating the mother board is most likely to be required to be replaced. My concern is that they say that but can’t give me a reason why the jack cannot be replaced without replacing the mother board. If I insist they only replace the jack will they give in to me and do as I tell them?
Thanks
May 10th, 2010 at 1:44 am
Hello…..I am wondering if you can tell me what is the fastest processor that will work in the Toshiba Satellite A305-S6916. Thank you so much for your help.
May 21st, 2010 at 12:34 pm
i have a a305 s6916 it randomly just shuts off by itself i took a air blower to the fan to clean out dust i cant figure out why it keeps shutting down i have a temp moniter ave temp is running at about 60c with world of warcraft running and minmized is that too hot or what can i do?
May 29th, 2010 at 3:46 pm
THANK YOU for posting this. My 9 year old pushed a CD into the CD drive without clicking it down. It was stuck inside and his life was in the balance…by popping the keyboard off I could see the CD and was able to push it out. All is well. Thanks again.
June 2nd, 2010 at 12:51 pm
hi your info very helpful and made the job so much easier than i thought it would be. managed to repair a faulty ac power connection which had broken inside.
had to take apart and put together all connections a few times until finally working 100%.
ended up having to pull apart and fit the touchpad to mobo cable at both of its ends a few times. the ends now have damaged metal strips and everything works except the touchpad buttons and pad – however when i plug in a usb mouse it works fine so suspect its the cable’s ends not connecting properly.
where can i get a replacement cable that’s new or used and is it specific for toshiba or some sort of generic one i can look for?
hope you can help and thanks again for your very informative site.
steve
June 6th, 2010 at 6:21 pm
Hi I have satellite a300 faulty motherboard. It is a Satellite a300 PSAG0C-O3401C. Could you give me a compatible part number please.
June 8th, 2010 at 6:13 pm
Hi I have a toshiba satellite a305-s6872 laptop and I’ve bought new batteries and chargers and had a guy check it and he says it’s the charging connector is there anyway I can check? My laptop won’t charge batteries at all but the technicians would wondering if I need to buy a new motherboard and if it’s even worth replacing it
June 22nd, 2010 at 2:00 am
Hi,
I need to replace the CMOS battery on a A300, i’m having great difficulty seperating the top half of the laptop from the bottom half. Or is there an easy way to clear the CMOS
June 24th, 2010 at 9:58 pm
when i connect power cable to my toshiba sat a300 , its restarting,i can use it batter normally without any problems, what is the reason?
July 12th, 2010 at 11:09 am
thanks for making my life simple. Fixed a3oo fan, replacement fan i bought was not exact match, but worked after some alterations.thanks for well documented advice.
max
July 12th, 2010 at 8:08 pm
i am using SAT A300 which is asking for a password which i dont know nomatter if am on cemos or before the computer boots up the os please help me!
July 15th, 2010 at 12:13 pm
Big problem after dissamble battery want charge where is the problem please help
sorry on my bad english
July 17th, 2010 at 9:24 am
max reason,
You are welcome. I’m glad my guide helps people.
July 17th, 2010 at 9:52 am
rumesh,
First of all, make sure the AC adapter works correctly. Test your AC adapter with a voltmeter.
Test your laptop with another AC adapter.
If you still have a problem even after replacing the adapter, most likely there is a problem with the motherboard.
Also, could be bad DC jack (where you plug the adapter).
July 17th, 2010 at 9:56 am
Allan Barratt,
There is no easy way. You’ll have to remove the top cover first.
The CMOS battery is soldered to the motherboard.
July 17th, 2010 at 10:05 am
nick,
It’s necessary to disassemble the laptop and take a closer look at the DC jack (power connector).
It’s either bad DC jack or motherboard failure. You cannot tell without replacing the jack first.
Fortunately, the DC jack is not soldered to the motherboard and can be easily replaced. Take a look at this picture: http://www.irisvista.com/tech/laptops/Toshiba-Satellite-A305/disassembly-big/disassembly-process-24.jpg
You simply unplug the DC jack harness and replace it with a new one.
If the battery still not charging even after replacing the DC jack harness, I would assume you have a problem with the motherboard.
July 17th, 2010 at 10:12 am
Gary M,
Sorry cannot help with your model. This is a Canadian model and I don’t have list of parts for it.
Search for the part number in the memory compartment. It should be somewhere on a white sticker. After that Google the part number.
July 18th, 2010 at 12:53 pm
Hello…I have A305-s6883 Satellite, really have been happy with it, got new motherboard 2 days before warranty was out 2/10 and replaced keyboard over a month ago. A few nights ago I had fallen asleep while checking email, I woke up and it had gone to sleep, but was making static noises, crackling like cellophane. I powered it off and went back to sleep.
When I went online the next day the speakers did not work; I went to toshiba online and dl’d new speaker driver, that did not do anything. Have virus scanned and malware scanned, still no sound. I have a strong feeling the speakers are kaput. I am in the middle of nowhere, probably at least 60 miles away from a repair service (Gainesville,FL). And it is out of warranty anyway. My daughter is pretty savvy about electronics, her fiance is too, but I hesitate to ask them for help right now, they are both working several jobs just to make ends meet. I am on Social Security but I have a lot of courage>>> stupidity?? and would like to do this myself. I have worked on laboratory equipment and done some reclamation after fires on expensive equipment so I think I could try this, where could I get the replacement parts and instructions??? I thank you for any consideration. Huggles, Grandma Ellie
July 29th, 2010 at 5:37 am
i hav a problem with my charger, we ever i put it in mt laptop a305 it shuts the laptop down and freezes the screen. it works ok with out the power cord. what is the problem there?
August 5th, 2010 at 12:32 am
hi nice site…very helpfull.
August 5th, 2010 at 12:45 am
hi,
i own a toshiba A305D. over the last few days im having problems with my keyboard. one or two keys doesnt work and some keys when pressed gives someother outputs eg: when ‘a’ is pressed i get character ‘n{/;’ n so on.i removed the keyboard as given in ur guide repacked it.i found out that the key z is very sensitive ..so i removed the key ‘z’ and found that the plastic button inside works like a touchpad.all other keys are normal.what can b done abt that?if needs to be replaced,can i replace only that key?
also i am not able to remove the top cover.i removed the pins and screw n tried to pull it out but in vain.i need 2 clean up the cooler,plz help.
August 11th, 2010 at 2:39 am
Hi,
Need help with my Satellite A300 unit.
The problem is when i press power ON button after a while the unit restarting contineously. Unit will power ON again then after awhile it will restarted by itself.
I remove the battery pack & power ON the unit, this time using power adaptor charger but still same result.
Any idea to solve problem with my laptop.
Thanks.
August 13th, 2010 at 10:20 am
Dear Mr,
I have Toshiba dynabook satellite a300, bought from Japan.
now i cann’t turn it on even press power button for a while.
the adapter power is good, the indicators show charging and full charge. i faced this problem (in Japan) before this time, i sent pc to service center and they said this is because of virus. Now i am in Myanmar, there has no service center. for this time the power is shut down after installing some fonts. sometimes i can turn it on fortunately but it is for only two times.
Pls help me for this pc. Thank you so much for your website because i get valuable knowledge.
September 4th, 2010 at 6:26 am
I have a Toshiba satellite A 300 When it connect to the power it’s alway restarting