How to remove parts from Toshiba Satellite L350 or L355 laptops
In this guide I will be taking apart and removing all internal parts from a Toshiba Satellite L350/L355 laptop. Also this guide will work for Toshiba Satellite L350D/L355D laptops.
I really like working with this models because they are service friendly. The laptop hard dive, both memory modules and DVD drive can be easily accessed and replaced from the bottom of the laptop.
The keyboard removal instructions could be found in steps 5-9. By the way, if you are just replacing the keyboard, you don’t have to remove anything from the bottom of the laptop.
The cooling fan can be accessed and cleaned when you remove the top cover assembly (step 12) but if you would like to replace the fan, you’ll have to remove the motherboard first (step 18).
In the next guide I explain how to disassemble the display panel.
May 22nd, 2009 at 5:14 am
Hi, Thanks so much for the time you put out to help everyone with these tutorials. I really cant afford some of the prices by technicians to change my keyboard for my L300D-01Q laptop, so i decided to order one and change it myself. Unfortunately, there isnt any replacement keyboard for this model, but there are lots more with the same shape. Can I order one of these keyboards and expect it to work? Thank you very much in advance.
May 22nd, 2009 at 7:33 am
Karen G,
You cannot install any keyboard that look the same, you should search for a compatible one.
You can remove the original keyboard and search for the part number which should be somewhere on the sticker and after that google the part number.
Also, you can search on eBay for “L300D keyboard” and buy it from there.
June 6th, 2009 at 4:57 am
Is display panel guide up yet, I couldn’t find it on your site.
August 5th, 2009 at 9:45 am
Also posted in how to fix jack.
Thank you so very much for your excellent, detailed instructions. The power jack on my Wife’s ’17″ Toshiba was broken when a grandchild kick the cord running through the house. I warned my wife several times that was going to eventually happen because she is not careful where she plugs in her laptop. She needs her laptop for her home business and was devastated when she realized it could take days or weeks not to mention the expense to have it fixed. Researching the Internet for a repair service I found your instructions to dis-assemble the laptop and subsequently how to repair a broken jack. I ran out to Radio Shack to pick up the jack and within 3 hours of reading your instruction I had repaired my wife’s laptop. So the day after it was broken, I fixed it for 3 bucks. It works great and the new jack is much more sturdy. I do not understand why Toshiba doesn’t make jacks like that. The only thing I did differently was use a 7/16″ drill bit to open the hole for the new jack and it was a perfect fit. Also as another did, I used a dremel tool to remove the support plastic around the jack. Again thank you very much.
~eddie
August 22nd, 2009 at 4:54 am
I need to get at the plug-in.. which the battery plug goes into
It has come lose and I need to put it back into place
I am unsure of the steps I need to do
I have unscrewed all the scews apart from F5.. does anyone know what screw drivers I need for that..? I have tried many small screwdrivers but perhaps I have already warn the screw down.. What do I do if the screw is warn down?
Also after that how to I get the rest of the laptop apart?
August 25th, 2009 at 9:23 pm
ashley,
You have either broken DC jack or broken base assembly (where the jack is mounted). It’s very likely that both part are broken. I’ve fixed over a hundred of laptops like that.
You have two options:
1. Replace the DC jack harness if it’s broken. Replace the base assembly if it’s broken. Replace both.
2. Modify the DC jack connector as I did here: How to repair damaged power jack in Toshiba Satellite L305 and L355 laptops
September 22nd, 2009 at 3:46 pm
Can an intel-v chip be swapped out on the L355? I called toshiba and they said no (ofcourse)….I’d also like to know if the L355 can be upgraded to 8GB of RAM total…also a question I asked Toshiba support and got a “no” in response…
very nice outline of how to disassemble the laptop down to what I need to get at – the CPU! If you have updated the L355 to an intel-v based chip, please share your experience – I do believe the mother board would not be a limiting factor correct?
November 13th, 2009 at 1:03 pm
BEWARE: I have an L355-S7817 that started with the black screen of death and rebooting. Over a few weeks finally freezes with video troubles. Troubleshoot with tech on the phone…motherboard failed. From my 28 years electrical experience, most likely a cold solder joint. I searched the web and found many of these computers are getting the screens of death. I think Toshiba had a run of bad mother boards. I contacted Toshiba, since it is over 1 year old (14 months) they offer only condolences! This was a great laptop but the company offers no real support. P.S. the laptop still looks out of the box new, not abused or misused! My daughters have and abuse their two HP laptops and they are working great. Moral of the story: black screen of death with a Toshiba is most likely a hardware problem!
November 23rd, 2009 at 9:46 am
Step 4 – there is one more screw to remove, left of the memory modules.
Thanks for the detailed info!
November 28th, 2009 at 12:47 pm
Ken Kirkpatrick,
Thanks! I fixed it.
December 7th, 2009 at 5:55 am
thanks for the detailed info, I just wish someone would do the same for other makes of laptop! I had a tochiba libretto once, but it died. If I’d known you had this site I would’ve posted it to you to play with
December 16th, 2009 at 9:14 pm
Using your instructions, I was able to fix my loose power jack on my Toshiba Satellite L355D, however, now the touchpad mouse won’t work. Although I do have a USB mouse, I would still like to have the touch pad working as well (my wife prefers it to the mouse…). I am assuming that I pulled a wire loose or something like that. Any pictures or ideas what I should be looking for when I open it back up? Thanks!
December 16th, 2009 at 11:46 pm
Paul D.
1. Try enabling the touch pad using Fn+F9 key. Hold down the Fn key and at the same time tap once on the F9.
2. Make sure the touch pad cable is properly connected to the motherboard. This connection is under the keyboard.
December 29th, 2009 at 4:11 am
Hello !
great ! your photos and your advise to remove-parts … for Toshiba Satellite L 350D.
i only were sucessful till step 7 (lift up keyboard) on my own. i was very happy to find your advise on the internet !
i had only a little problem with the 19V socket in my laptop, just leaving its position and vanshed inside the bottom.
now i can open laptop and glued it right position.
THANKS A LOT ! BIG RECUE !
with best regards from bonn, germany
wolfgang
January 2nd, 2010 at 6:55 pm
Hello, I’m an idiot and I took the screws out to get a DVD out of the drive. A small chord came out and a tape like thing detached. The keyboard and mouse have stopped working, even after I reattached the cord. Any suggestions? I’m screwed, right?
January 3rd, 2010 at 12:14 pm
Breet,
Here’s how you remove stuck disc from a DVD drive: http://www.insidemylaptop.com/remove-cd-dvd-disc-from-not-working-laptop/
January 18th, 2010 at 5:20 pm
Thank you for your info on Dec 16 post! I was lost the whole day trying to figure out what happened to my touchpad. I guess the usb mouse I was using is now out of commission and I’ll need another one to replace it.
January 20th, 2010 at 6:07 pm
Where is the guide???!!!
January 21st, 2010 at 9:37 am
J,
There is a link in the first sentence.
January 27th, 2010 at 6:30 am
I managed to accidently get the touch-pad cable out of the socket on the motherboard. I’ve finally gotten to where I can see it (removing the keyboard) – but I can’t get it to go into the jack and clamp. Is there a trick to this?
February 7th, 2010 at 6:40 pm
I am trying to clean my Toshiba Satellite L300′s fan, can this guide be applied to L300 as well? Thanks!
February 13th, 2010 at 2:53 pm
I have a Satelite L355 that I was able to repair the power jack with you suggestion from another thread. In the process however while removing the touchpad ribbon cable “clip” it snapped into two pieces. Any suggestions on where to get a replacement? The ribbon cable is .50 inches wide.
Thanks in advance.
February 25th, 2010 at 10:03 am
David,
Can you install both pieces back on the connector and secure with a sticky tape? It might work.
http://www.laptoprepair101.com/laptop/2009/11/17/fix-broken-keyboard-connector-on-laptop-motherboard/
March 1st, 2010 at 10:35 am
I used your step by step to fix the power jack in my Toshiba Satellite L355D laptop. Everything worked great and made it very easy. However when I go to reboot the computer the HDD makes a rythmatic sound then goes to the TOSHIBA screen giving me the option to choose F2 or F12 and then shows some sort of ethernet error. I went into BIOS and the HDD is not recognized. Have I unhooked something, lost something, disconnected something? Please help. Is there a jumper that goes on the hdd in this system?
March 1st, 2010 at 10:41 am
Tracy W,
Try reconnecting the hard drive. If the problem is still there, apparently the hard drive is bad. I really doubt that fixing the power jack killed the hard drive. Most likely it was dead before the repair.
There are no jumpers. The hard drive is connected directly to the motherboard, so there is no cable.
Just in case, enter the BIOS setup menu and try loading default settings. Safe and restart the laptop.
March 1st, 2010 at 7:34 pm
hello first of all thank god there are people like you as most of us could never afford to pay a tech for this and no one will give this info out!.
my moms toshiba l355d has a damaged usb jack, two of them stacked one above the other on the left hand side of the laptop. the lower usb is damaged. is this integral to the board or is this a seperate part that can be replaced? Thanks again, sean D
March 2nd, 2010 at 9:53 am
Sean,
USB ports on the left side of the laptop are integrated into the motherboard. Both USB ports are soldered directly to the motherboard.
The only way to fix the damaged USB port on the left side is remove the motherboard, desolder the damaged port and solder a new one.
March 10th, 2010 at 6:29 am
Hi, My L355D went dead and i got the diagnostic from the technician that the Motherboard was broken. I got it replaced with the right Toshiba spare part but still does not work. Now the diagnostic is that the processor might as well be broken. Can you please tell me if replacing the processor would be a good move or there is something else i should keep in mind?
Many thanks in advance from Mexico. Federico.
March 10th, 2010 at 6:05 pm
When i press the power button the only thing that turns on is the cpu fan. I thought it was the dc jack, but the charge light turns on when I plug it in. There are many repair parts to pick from, my best guess is the power button board, or the motherboard, I’m leaning towards the power board. Any thoughts before I order and try.
April 5th, 2010 at 8:31 am
I have a toshiba equium L350. From what I have seen, this is exactly the same as the satellite L350 so am following the guide for taking it apart. The problem is when it comes to taking the casing apart after all screws and connecters have been removed, I am meeting resistance just above the modem and wi-fi part. I cannot find what’s causing it.
The reason I’m taking the laptop apart is because the power jack has come loose from the surround but looks as though it could be glued back into place.
April 9th, 2010 at 6:57 pm
My DVD drive went out this week. I would like to have it replaced if that is an option, but not sure what is the best route to go? Should I try to have it replaced or just buy and external dvd drive/mp3 player instead? What is the best route?
Thank you,
Alan Carver
April 13th, 2010 at 11:31 am
How may I clean under they keys of my keyboard? (Not the board itself but the keys)
April 24th, 2010 at 7:34 am
i need disassembly instr. for satellite L355-S78312. I think the only difference is I have a numbers pad and other keys on the right hand side of keyboard. Can u help me w/some ideas on diassembling. I have a loose dc jack and need to get lapte \] op open. Am comfortable w/soldering in small areas.thanks for any advice. This would be better than sending away.
April 24th, 2010 at 11:07 am
I found your instructions and the pictures extremely helpful when I needed to replace the loose power jack. I took my laptop to a dealer who wanted $180 to open it up which I promptly declined.
However, there are a couple of points which I would like to add:
a) The keyboard connector is extremely fragile and if the pins get bent even slightly it is impossible to reconnect them. I found that by pulling the green cable tab out of the connector itself worked great.
b) The touchpad cable can be replaced by using a snipe nosed pair of pliers.
c) I contact cemented the jack into the slot and then glued a thick folded cardboard piece between the back of the jack and the speaker box, this will prevent the jack coming loose in the future.
d) Tools required: Jewellers Starhead screwdriver, Snipe nosed pliers, contact cement, and a sharp knife to lift the cover.
April 24th, 2010 at 12:18 pm
Donna Cann,
I linked to the disassembly guide in the first sentance!!! Didn’t you follow the link?
OK, here it is again: http://www.irisvista.com/tech/laptops/Toshiba-Satellite-L355D/laptop-disassembly-1.htm
There are 3 pages in the guide.
By the way, I explained how to fix a loose power jack in Satellite L350/L355 in the following guide:
http://www.insidemylaptop.com/repair-damaged-power-jack-toshiba-satellite-l305-l355-laptops/
Good luck!
April 27th, 2010 at 10:49 am
I took my Toshiba apart & evidently was not careful when removing the keyboard since it came a part from the motherboard. How do you reconnect? Thanks
April 29th, 2010 at 12:40 pm
Loy Cannon,
1. Unlock the connector.
2. Insert the keyboard cable into the connector.
3. Lock the connector.
May 10th, 2010 at 12:26 am
does toshiba satellite l355d-s7825 has a cmos battery ? if it has where is it located?
May 22nd, 2010 at 11:04 am
When I get to the removing the top cover of the laptop, one of the hinges connected to the monitor is stuck and I can only lift up most of it except that part, I tried many methods but that only damaged the hinge and made things worse. Help, my heat sink is seriously filled with dust and I need to clean it.
May 26th, 2010 at 11:31 am
How can I remove the touchpad on a satellite L305-S5894? I removed the palmrest already and unplug the cables but the touchpad is glued or stick very firmly. any sugestion plz e-mail me to steve.lg22 at gmail.
Thanks, Steve
May 27th, 2010 at 8:38 pm
Hi well i have the dc jack problem but im using this guid to take the top cover off. Problem is i cant even get the top cover off ive tried guitar pics to knives please hel pim going on a trip tomarrow and I really need my laptop fixed by tonight
June 7th, 2010 at 6:54 am
Thank you very much !!
)
For over a year my L350 kept getting too hot. 95 degrees Celsius wasn’t a rarity. I kept blaming the drivers, and searching for newer or older drivers to solve the problem. In the meantime using coolpacks under the laptop.
But today the laptop became so hot that even booting Windows 7 shut down the laptop. So now I really had to use your site to fix it. The site was in my favorites already for months but I never dared to take the risc. (Too tiny screws, too thick fingers)
At first attempt… wow what a thick pack of dust behind the fan. Removed it. Screw the laptop together. And found out the fan didn’t rotate anymore. So forgot to connect the fan-cable… I thought. Not….. Everything was connected okay. (Laptop wasn’t hot enough to enable the fan yet
So screw it together again, to find out I forgot the 2 screws for the motherboard. So had to start over for the 3rd time.
All fine and working, but still getting way to hot.
Yes…forgot to check the cooling-paste.
So for the 4th time unscrew the laptop, added some cooling paste. Screw it all together againnnn…. and….
YESSSS it’s working okay now !!
You’re manual was very helpfull, I’d never have done it without the pictures. Otherwise probably would have ended up buying a new Laptop.
Thank you !!!
June 9th, 2010 at 7:47 pm
Is the link not working for anyone else or is it just me? My dvd drive will not stay closed and the instructions on how to replace it would really be handy!
June 9th, 2010 at 8:09 pm
dan,
The link works, I just tested.
It will not stay closed at all or it will open by itself a few moments after you close it?
Try removing the CD/DVD drive from the device manager. After that restart the laptop and let it redetect the drive.
June 10th, 2010 at 3:15 am
hi
My note book switching off after a few seconds of start, even bios is not loading, I have disconnected hard disk, dvd drive, ram,
Even after these try, laptop showing same problem. Please advice me,
regards
shibu
July 4th, 2010 at 6:31 am
RE: removing Optical Drive from L355D-S7825:
I tried to remove the screw retaining DVD drive with #0 Phillips screwdriver. Screw wont come out. Any ideas? Can you provide which size screwdriver should have worked?
I called Toshiba and they said take it to a repair facility. Wouldn’t even tell me about removing the screw to change out the drive.
July 17th, 2010 at 10:01 am
shibu,
Test your AC adapter. Maybe the adapter is bad.
August 27th, 2010 at 9:56 am
this site seems very nice,
but i dont know where the instructions to read.
please if any one let me know where can I read the instructions
thanks alot
August 27th, 2010 at 10:08 am
karmy,
The link to the guide is in the FIRST sentence!
September 8th, 2010 at 6:25 am
thanks for the info on where the steps are found..lol, hopefully i can get it cleaned now. Rainstorm and a bottle of soda..not kind UGH
~R
September 8th, 2010 at 9:48 am
Please help! I need instructions to remove touchpad circuit board from palmrest so I can place it on the new palmrest. Basically same question as #40.
I already disassembled everything except the board.
I’ll really appreciate if you can suggest anything.
Thanks,
Andy
September 26th, 2010 at 1:08 pm
Good day,
I have a L355-S7915 and want to put an “n” WLAN card in. I have read your disassembly instructions and want to know if I need to remove any bottom screws to remove the keyboard. If so, could you say which ones? I dont want to remove extra stuff if I dont have to. Thanks,
Don
September 29th, 2010 at 10:49 pm
Don,
You don’t have to remove screws on the bottom.
In order to remove the keyboard just follow steps 6-8.
But… I’m not sure if your new “N” card will work. I believe it requires three antenna cables but your laptop has only two cable.
It’s possible you can use just two cables if one of them is connected to the “N” contact, but I’m not sure 100%.
Let me know if you find a way to make it work.
October 2nd, 2010 at 6:35 am
A really good and comprehensive site. I use it all the time.
November 10th, 2010 at 9:23 am
I need to take out and replace the screen on my L355 laptop and want to know if I need to do all of the steps in this tutorial. Such as remove the hard drive and memory on the bottom? Are their screws on the bottom that are necessary to remove for removal of the top cover? I don’t want to start popping off the top cover “it’s on their pretty tight” unless I know all of the screws holding it are out. Is their any screws holding the top cover in? Meaning once I take out the keyboard and unhook all of the wire connections can I then remove the top cover and access the hinges to remove the screen? I will very much appreciate any input you can provide. Thank you
November 27th, 2010 at 5:09 pm
Good day…
Reporting back on the “n” card upgrade. The keyboard came off fine, didnt even pull the cable on it just flipped it over and took out the oem card. Installed an Intel 4865 agn card with no problems. Hooked the white antenna lead to the 1st connector, the black lead to the 2nd (far right) connector and hooked one of those mini 2″ antennas to the center 3rd connector and just tucked it in. I have a longer antenna that I might try in its place and just wind it around under the keyboard, but this seems ok for now. Installed the driver off the Intel website and it’s working fine. Thanks for your help.
December 11th, 2010 at 8:13 pm
Just wanted to let anyone out there who might not be familiar with ribbon connectors that to “unlock” the connector one must gently pull on the plastic shoulders on each side which will totally free the ribbon. If you are pulling on the ribbon and there is ANY resistance you didn’t unlock the ribbon connector. Also, a couple have little mylars to give you a grip on the ribbon. Example http://www.sounddevices.com/notes/wp-content/uploads/788t-unlocking-the-ribbon-c.jpg
Other ribbon connectors have a little “door” that folds out 30-45 degrees or so – these are extremely fragile and you will have to buy a new board if you break one.
December 27th, 2010 at 8:16 am
Awesome job! Great website. I even showed my kids (9&11) how to fix their own computers.
Cheers,
D
January 14th, 2011 at 1:40 pm
Hi I think I need to replace the motherboard in my Satellite L300 will these instructions work for it? Or do you have any site you could recommend?
January 14th, 2011 at 1:45 pm
Nick,
Yes, this guide is similar.
Also you can use this one: http://www.irisvista.com/tech/laptops/Toshiba-Satellite-L305-L305D/remove-screen-replace-video-cable-1.htm
After the top cover removed, it’s very easy to replace the motherboard.
January 21st, 2011 at 7:22 pm
My wife spilled coffee on her laptop keyboard. (L355) It’s a good thing I found this site. With the dis-assembly instructions I found here, it only took a few minutes to change out the keyboard.
I wasn’t sure about the ribbon cable though. Can’t see it very well in the picture, but when you unlock each side of the connector, the cable itself comes out WITHOUT a connector end on it. I thought I had tore it up until I got my replacement keyboard in and discovered that’s normal.
Most connectors that I had dealt with in the past had a male or female connector attached to the cable. The ribbon cable that connects the keyboard doesn’t have a connector on the end of the cable that connects to the motherboard.
Great site!
January 22nd, 2011 at 12:14 am
i have a toshiba satellite L355-S7815 and it does not turn on when i press power button. i have tried the hold power button and connect power cord only. none of the lights come on. doesnt make a sound or do anything. am i looking at a bad power supply or cooked power conection inside laptop or is the motherboard fried?? any help is greatly appreciated. also it has a lot of use on a vehicle inverter if that makes a difference. Thank you.
February 22nd, 2011 at 10:45 am
I have a Toshiba Equium L350-10 and the nearest I can find details on accessing the fan are mentioned within http://www.laptopka.com/2009/05/18/remove-parts-from-toshiba-satellite-l350-l355-laptop
Can you provide the specific URL showing such pictures of
” cooling fan can be accessed … (step 12) “. Apologies in advance if I’ve missed the obvious.
February 22nd, 2011 at 11:07 am
Abs,
A link to the disassembly guide published in the very first sentence.
February 22nd, 2011 at 2:21 pm
Thanks for the quick response. I should have been more exact.
The formentioned link, as far as I see, shows good pictures up to the keyboard being removed.
I’m hoping to see specific pictures beyond this point such as showing access to the fan itself, i.e. step 18
If you can type\copy the URL that will be brilliant
March 31st, 2011 at 5:41 pm
my toshiba satellite L355-s7915 keeps turning off by itself how do I clean the fan do I have to take it apart? if so how
March 31st, 2011 at 5:44 pm
Janet,
You can try cleaning it without taking apart. Use compressed air.
Take a look at the last picture in this guide: http://www.laptoprepair101.com/laptop/2011/01/11/laptop-runs-hot-turns-off-freezes/
April 3rd, 2011 at 11:23 pm
Hello,
I need a small information. I use a Toshiba Satellite L350D since 2009 and now I find every morning the message, that the Firmware detect a CMOS battery failure. Has this laptop a normal CMOS battery and when yes, where can I found it. Many thanks in advance….
April 6th, 2011 at 12:29 am
battery is on the under-side of the motherboard, near the volume control dial.
I am trying to clear a forgotten bios password. I have temporarily de-soldered one pin from the battery to try to reset cmos, but password is still there. has anyone any ideas on how to clear the bios boot password.?
April 10th, 2011 at 1:46 am
i have a toshiba satellite L355 which i dont know the bios password to. ive heard that by disconnecting the battery it will reset the password does anyone know how to do this?
thank you
April 12th, 2011 at 1:55 pm
How can i reset the password L350 . Pleaes help any one . thanks
April 13th, 2011 at 9:59 am
Were is the location of the bios chip on a l355d laptop? I need to change out my bios chip.
April 29th, 2011 at 2:37 pm
Hi,
I got a L350D.
1. Which CMOS-Battery has it? ML1220?
2. My Laptop is only showing black screen, not evan Bios.
Tried a lot of things.
Could the CMOS-Battery be damaged?
May 14th, 2011 at 5:36 am
Thanks so much! Great site for computer techs.
July 4th, 2011 at 7:35 am
Thank you so much!W
What a wonderful site, clear and concise, helped me fix my problem quickly and safely.
July 25th, 2011 at 1:41 pm
I have been trying to rectify a no sound problem on the L350. There is no sound either from laptop speakers, or the earphone jack. The sound device, realtek audio, states all is working ok. My sound icon on opening shows the bars going up and down suggesting sound is being played. I updated the drivers for realtek, I have ran avg virus checker, looked for malware, checked over all the possible mute selectors, still no sound. Does this imply a faulty audio device on the motherboard? Which I believe means replacing the motherboard,as the sound device s integrated in the board. What implications does replacing the motherboard have, if so. What process would be required for board to be set up etc. Thanks btw for a great site, masses of good info, huge appreciation.
December 9th, 2011 at 10:08 am
Where can I buy a new keyboard for my Toshiba Satellite L355D laptop? Mine is not the high glossy type. I’ve got the one that is black w/silver strip/boarder around it, and all the natural/original keys (except the ones that are really worn out from lots of usage)feel a tiny bit grainy (sorry…I don’t know how to explain it
… just that they are not shiny. Please let me know. Thanks! MoMo
December 11th, 2011 at 7:11 pm
Hello , I have a Toshiba L355D IT POWERS ON, BUT IT DOESN’T LIGHT UP , IT’S A BLACK SCREEN, WHAT CAN I DO… THANK YOU