Hardware Analysis - toshiba 6100 wont turn on

Re: toshiba 6100 wont turn on

Ada Wivell — 2007-07-24T10:38:09-05:00

I have a toshiba 6100 which was working fine until last night. I decided to conserve the battery life of the machine and so removed the battery from the system. I have dome this with IBM and Sony laptops before, but when I powered the toshiba up using only the a/c adapter the computer gave a bad checsum error and asked me to go into the bios. after this, it booted into XP normally, tho it did say the system time was wrong. thinking nothing more of it, i shut the computer down and left it. Today I find the computer completely lifeless. There are no lights that come on, the computer won't boot up. I have tried putting the battery back in and using the a/c adapter, but there is nothing! I only bought this computer yesterday!! please can somebody help.
Regards
Adam

I have a big problem with my satellite 6100... help!!!

Oprea Ovidiu — 2007-06-28T18:17:45-05:00

please part my english I`m from romania
I have it from over 2,5 years... and I don`t know... I have been with him to service in my county nobody knows....

The simtoms I plug the charger with the battery and no led torn on noting... I take of battery after i unplug the charger..I plug the charger te dc in torn on grean... i put the battery back on it shows charging orange led... after ~2 houers it is grean.. but want start.. i unplug the charger and after ~20 min the battery it is emty..

I have thake apart the laptop ... and after wen i try the same ting after the check up.. the dc led (charger led) blinks.... long short long short short short long .... 1010001... and then the same simtoms apear ...

Please help me I realy love this laptop .....

Re: toshiba 6100 wont turn on

Patricia Lee — 2006-08-08T21:52:06-05:00

I found this forum/thread when my out-of-warrantyToshiba 6100 suddenly stopped powering on. Reseating the video card did not work and I do not have the tools/skills to diagnose or fix the 80+ pin connectors on the video and power cards. After another google search, I found a guy on eBay who was auctioning his services to repair and improve the Toshiba 6100 design flaw. I sent him my motherboard, video card and power card (~$12 via UPS ground) and $245 (which included return shipping via UPS ground). Three days after he received the boards, he sent them back to me, I reinstalled everything and the laptop fired up like a charm on the first try. (Of course the whole process took longer because UPS ground is slow, but his turn around time was only 3 days.) The improvements that I could see were that after fixing the connectors, he appears to have put some kind of clear sealant over the pins to keep them from breaking free again. I've only had the laptop back together for a few days, but his auction had plenty of testimonials as to the longevity of his fixes. He was extremely pleasant and helpful as far as advice on disassembly, shipping and reassembly and $267 is significantly cheaper than buying a new motherboard which seems to be common advice from repair places. So, if you are like me and know enough to take your laptop apart but not enough to fix a board, then this might be a solution for you. It sure was for me - I'm really happy to have this laptop up and running again at a bargain price. If you go to his website http://www.fixmytoshibalaptop.com there is contact info and links to his current eBay listings.

Re: toshiba 6100 wont turn on

PETER HAMLIN — 2006-07-14T03:40:53-05:00

Sorry Antonio, I meant the post by Sean Verwey not Sergio!

I am not an expert, just another Sat Pro user with a problem. I tried the fixes detailed in the posts (above) except for resoldering the PSU connector which I checked under a strong magnifier and it looks good.

I shall take mine to the UK next time I visit (I live in Thailand) and see if Toshiba UK will fix it for free or a reasonable charge.

You problem could be CPU or motherboard seeing as the video board connection is good. It is unlikely to be the PSU connector since you have the power indicator green lights.

Sorry I can't be of more help.

You don't need to apologise for your English language writing, I understood it very well, you are obviously proficient. But, next time, we will beat you at the World Cup!

regards,

Peter

Re: toshiba 6100 wont turn on

Antonio a — 2006-07-13T22:08:49-05:00

NEWS

The CPU is like burned around the core (it's black around the upper metal plate)!
Is it burned?

I've did a search on google/image:p4 m cpu
and i've found that it's normal.

I've tryed to connect to an external monitor and power-on...but nothing
This mean that there's a failure in Motherboard or CPU.
I don't understand ..

Re: toshiba 6100 wont turn on

Antonio a — 2006-07-13T11:54:51-05:00

Thank you Peter,
I've dysassembled completly my nb and the vga card was well connected.I've tryed to reassembly all togheter but nothing.

I've read the failure block diagram of toshiba's repair assistance..and it can be or a "display problem" (vga,inverter,lcd) or if not...the motherboard or CPU.

Does the symptom of a cpu failure are these ?(nothing fan,no hdd, etc.)

If i try to replace the cpu with another one, can be an hazard ?(the MB can burn it?)

p.s. I cannot find the SErgio's post ?? Pleas send me all the info to drantonio@libero.it
Excuse me for my bad English...I'm from Naples !

Re: toshiba 6100 wont turn on

PETER HAMLIN — 2006-07-13T11:38:00-05:00

Hello Antonio,

You have power indications on your Sat Pro but no picture so your problem is likely to be that the connection between the video board and the mother board has come loose.

Look at a post by Sergio about 5 posts above this one and you may be able to fix it yourself.

Peter

Re: toshiba 6100 wont turn on

Antonio a — 2006-07-11T10:49:36-05:00

Hello,

My nb toshiba satellite 6100 pro doesn't start when i push the power button.
DC-IN LED and Battery LED are steady ON GREEN (NO BLINKING).
HDD LED and cd-rom LED are OFF.

I've read the maintenance/repair manual about this issue and it seem to be a display problem (VGA card/INVERTER/LCD)...Does anyone have the same problem?
What can i do?
Help me please.The pc is out of warranty.
Antonio(ITALY)

Re: toshiba 6100 wont turn on

PETER HAMLIN — 2006-06-29T07:46:46-05:00

i bought mine in the Middle East and was somewhat suprised when I unboxed it to find that it was assembled in Europe and the PSU was fitted with a 3 pin British plug so I assume that it is the model intended for the British market.

So, I intend to ring the number quoted a previous post and tell them that I have a Satellite Pro with a problem and hope that they agree to fix it FOC even though it is out of warranty because of the liability issue on Toshiba.

I suggest that you do the same in Oz. Did you buy yours in Oz or elsewhere? Try ringing a (or THE) Toshiba Australia agent and telling them you have a problem with yours and that you know from Internet research that Toshiba have settled liabilities in other countries and expect a FOC repair.

Regrettably, the Toshiba web site goes round in circles when you try to make 'contact' with an actual person rather than FAQs. As far as I know they have not Internationally admitted liability for poor design, indeed, the USA class law suit appears to have been settled out of court by FOC fixes for USA marketed items.

I shal not be visiting UK until later in the year so I shall not be able to report on my position for a few months.

Re: toshiba 6100 wont turn on

Max Smith — 2006-06-29T07:09:37-05:00

Mate, your one of the lucky ones who actually CAN take it to the UK... stuck down here in AUS no-ones posted anything about the laptops and im afraid that if i go into one of the toshiba licenced repair centers down here, i will get told that i need to spend the $1500 for the mobo (already been told that by one repairer) or that they wont want to look at it. Any ideas? Im in south australia btw.

Re: toshiba 6100 wont turn on

PETER HAMLIN — 2006-06-28T10:05:00-05:00

The fix did not work. The PC is still as dead as a doornail so I will have to lug it back to UK on my next trip and report the problem to Toshiba UK for repair.

Shame that Toshiba marked this a a 'rugged' unit. I bought it as a replacement for a desktop and was not too concerned about portability so it has not had much travelling. From what I read in the forum the problems are as more to do with expansion and contraction than vibration and knocks in transit.

I liked the unit when it worked but this experience has put me off Toshiba. They had better stick to designing refrigerators!

Re: toshiba 6100 wont turn on

Max Smith — 2006-06-28T09:14:20-05:00

Lol nice work.

Re: toshiba 6100 wont turn on

PETER HAMLIN — 2006-06-28T09:12:54-05:00

OK Posters. I have found the board connector. Obvious when looked for at a different angle!

Re: toshiba 6100 wont turn on

PETER HAMLIN — 2006-06-28T08:52:34-05:00

I have the same problem with my SP 6100.

I am a retired aircrfat engineer with some experience in electrical and electronic assembly. I have followed the info in the forum and successfully dismantled the PC although there were cables not mentioned that I have had to disconnect to remove the top cover to get full access. I found the video board out of its connector and have reseated. I have checked the PSU connector and it seems to be good under a 10 power lens so I have re-connected that.

Now, I am trying to put it all back together but I cant find the connector for what I think is the 'mouse' cable.

With the PC in normal operating postion - top cover removed - there is a module in the bottom left hand corner that has a flat ribbon tape connector coming from its RH side. It is folded diagonally and faces the rear of the PC. The tape is white with a blue connector end. Obviously I disconnected this - or it pulled out by itself - but where is the board connector?

Toshiba 6100 wont turn on

Sean Verwey — 2006-06-27T12:35:59-05:00

I had exactly the same issue with the Toshiba Satellite Pro 6100 not turning on. The first few postings of this thread were not right (or at least they did not work for me/did not sort out my issue). The problem with mine was that it suddenly stopped working, powering up did nothing except turn on one orange LED.

The there was some mention about the video card being loose, and a few posts later, Tor-Espen Austheim posted a reply on the 24 June 2004 at 12:50 PM that hit the nail right on the head, complete with a detailed explanation on how to open the laptop and what to do to re-seat the card.

After I did this, the laptop worked like a charm. Thanks for the posting.

However, after putting it all together, I think there might be an easier way to re-seat the video card. Although I have not tried it myself, perhaps someone could tell me if it is possible. The easier way is to remove the keyboard by:
1. Open the laptop (lift the monitor) to expose the keyboard
2. Above the keyboard between the 'Esc' and 'F12' or 'Windows' key, you will find a thin strip of plastic, which is actually a cover to the screws holding the keyboard down.
3. Using a small screwdriver, remove this strip cover.
4. You should see 2 small screws, remove them.
5. Gently lift the keyboard at the top and you will find that it is held by a few slots at the bottom.
6. Lift the whole keyboard out an inch or so, and you will see that there is a ribbon cable leading into the laptops body.
7. Gently pull the ribbon cable out at the body end. Easy does it, but it might need quite a tug to get it out.
8. Once the keyboard is removed, you are presented with a view into the body of the laptop.
9. There is a card right in the middle, about 3x3" square. That is the video card that needs to be re-seated.
10. You will see that it is held down by 3 screws, and there-in lies the source of the problem. The design should have included a 4th securing screw, because it appears that the 'spare' corner is where the card works itself loose.
11. It might be good enough to just push firmly on that 'spare' corner, perhaps giving a gentle rocking motion, because under the card is a connector that connects the video card to the mother board.
12. Replace the keyboard ribbon cable by inspecting where the ribbon cable originally connected to the main board (which if my memory serves me correctly, is the video board)
13. You will see that there is a long thin clip where the ribbon cable enters the connector.
14. Push this clip away from the connector, it opens up (or releases) the connector to accept the ribbon cable.
15. Insert the ribbon cable, and making sure that it is fully home, close the clip, pushing on both ends of the clip. This is where God should have thought that we might need an extra pair of hands.
16. Rest the keyboard, and apply power to the laptop. Try and start it up. If it works, then shut it down and secure the keyboard and replace the strip cover. Then celebrate with a strong cup of coffee, patting your wallet as you've just saved yourself a whole heap of money.
17. If it does not boot up, then turn the hot water jug off.
18. Go to PLAN A, which was listed by Tor-Espen Austheim mentioned above. The card might need to be removed and then re-seated (which might still be able to be done by just removing the keyboard as all 3 screws are fully accessible, but would need to be confirmed).
19. A word of CAUTION. The connectors between the video card and motherboard are extremely fine, and must be treated VERY carefully.

Hope this helps. Let me know. Cheers, Sean