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.
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 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 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 14th, 2010 at 11:32 pm
Hi,
How to replace the bottom cover assembly with a new one?
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 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
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.
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.
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
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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 10:11 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 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 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.
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
October 29th, 2009 at 8:08 pm
Scott,
Thank you very much for your generous donation!
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
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.
September 9th, 2009 at 8:10 am
Thanks cj2600,
I also can not 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 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 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?
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.