This troubleshooting page will help you diagnose problems with the Toshiba A205-S5812.
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Laptop won’t turn on at all, no fans spin, and no lights illuminate on the chassis or show any other sign of powering up.
Make sure the battery is inserted correctly and is in good condition. The battery can be accessed on the underside of the laptop and needs to be secured in place by the battery lock mechanism. Make sure that the power cord is plugged into a working power outlet and also plugged into the laptop as well. The power cable should be in safe working condition free of any slices or exposed wires; if the cord is damaged replace with a new cord before use. If the notebook still won’t turn on, try removing the battery and power cord briefly then reinstalling them.
The RAM can be accessed through a panel in the middle of the bottom of the laptop held in place by two phillips size 0 screws. The RAM modules pop into place and are held secure by two metal tabs. Both DIMMs are located on the bottom of the notebook. RAM replacement guide.
If the machine still won’t power on or powers on briefly but doesn’t stay running or work correctly, it’s likely that the motherboard will need to be replaced. To replace the motherboard, remove the bottom panel of the laptop. Remove the RAM modules from their stacked slots, grabbing the corners of each module and avoiding the brass contact surface at the bottom. Next, remove the DVD drive by unscrewing the one screw that holds the bracket into place. Remove the WiFi card by popping it out of its socket and disconnecting the two antenna wires going to it. Then, remove the motherboard by removing the small Philips screws holding it into place. Install the new motherboard into place and install all components in the reverse order they were removed. Reinstall the battery, plug the laptop in, and then turn it on. It should power up and function normally.
One or multiple keycaps become stuck in the depressed position and won’t return. The keys on the keyboard won’t respond.
Remove the stuck key from its position by inserting a paperclip, fingernail, or other flat item under the bottom of the keycap and prying upwards. This will pop off the keycap. Clean the area under the keycap with a q-tip and rubbing alcohol. Allow to briefly dry, then put the keycap back on by sliding the metal retaining clip on the bottom of the keycap into the plastic holding brackets on the surface of the keyboard. Then, simply press down on the top of the keycap and it will insert back into place normally. The area under surrounding keys may also need to be cleaned as they could be potentially causing the key to become stuck.
It’s probable that the switch inside the keyboard itself is faulty. If this is the case, the whole keyboard may need to be replaced. Fortunately, this laptop is old enough that replacement parts can be found for very cheap at various online retailers. To replace the keyboard, simply remove the screws retaining the keyboard from the bottom of the chassis, disconnect the keyboard ribbon cable from the clip retaining it to the motherboard, and then connect the new keyboard to the motherboard and replace the screws on the chassis to retain the new keyboard.
Touchpad inputs and finger tracking have significant errors, but the touchpad still registers touch, or the touchpad doesn’t respond to inputs from a finger in any way.
The most obvious and simple cause of touchpad issues is dirt and grease on the surface of the touchpad. To clean the touchpad, use a soft cloth with a dab of rubbing alcohol. Rub the touchpad until grease and dirt appears to be gone from the surface.
If the touchpad doesn’t recognize any input whatsoever, first, ensure that the touchpad has been enabled with the hardware hotkey. While the laptop is turned on, press the Fn key + F9, the key combination set by default to disable and re-enable the touchpad. If the touchpad still won’t recognize any inputs, open the touchpad options within the Windows Control Panel. Ensure that the touchpad is enabled within the Windows software.
If the touchpad still won’t recognize inputs, it’s possible that the touchpad’s connection to the motherboard has become disconnected somehow. To ensure that this is not the case, begin by removing the screws retaining the keyboard into the chassis of the notebook. Lift the keyboard up and check that the orange/gold cable running from the front (towards the screen) of the palmrest is connected to the retaining clip present on the motherboard. If this connection is loose or the ribbon cable is not completely seated into the connector, the notebook will not recognize the touchpad.
If all else fails, a likely solution is that the touchpad has simply stopped working. To remedy this, buy a cheap replacement palmrest online and replace the whole assembly by unscrewing the palmrest from under the computer, then simply attach the ribbon cable for the new touchpad to the motherboard and screw the palmrest back on.
The fan spins loudly all the time, but the laptop still runs hot. The computer may shut off without notification.
An easy solution to heating issues is cleaning out the fan with compressed air. First, remove the laptop’s back panel by removing the screws that hold it to the top of the chassis. Once the panel is removed, use a can of compressed air to spray out the fan assembly of all dust and grime on the fans. Be sure to hold the fan in place so the compressed air doesn’t cause the fan to spin above its maximum RPM, as this can damage the bearings in the fan. If the fan is loose, makes grinding noises, or doesn’t spin well, the fan should be replaced. At the same time you clean the fan, make sure to also spray out the heat pipes near the fan - they are made of copper or brass and help conduct heat away from the CPU.
A common cause of overheating issues is old, dried out thermal paste. Thermal paste is applied by the manufacturer onto the top of the processor and below the heatsink. It helps the heatsink to be more effective at dissipating heat during high processor usage. Over time, this paste dries out and becomes less effective, which causes the laptop to run too hot and become slower due to thermal throttling. To fix this, new thermal paste can be applied. A tube of thermal paste can be less than $10 and makes a big difference in heat and performance. To re-paste the CPU, remove the bottom cover of the notebook and then remove the screws holding the heat pipes onto the processor. Next, remove the heat pipes to expose the lid of the processor on the motherboard. Remove the existing thermal paste with a cloth soaked in rubbing alcohol. Then apply a small dab of the new paste, reset the heat pipes, and reinstall all components to their original locations.
Computer was up and running and suddenly the display stopped working, though everything else still seems to work, or the display may show an extremely dim picture.
Sometimes if there are driver errors associated with the video card it can cause the display to malfunction. A simple solution is to simply hold the power button and shut off the computer, and then press the power button once again to turn on the PC.
If the display backlight has failed, it’s best to replace the entire display. The easiest way to accomplish this is to purchase a complete display assembly online. Remove the bottom panel of the notebook. Then, unscrew the horizontally aligned screws that hold the screen bezel to the lower body assembly. Remove the ribbon cable connected to the screen from the motherboard. Next, install the new screen assembly back into the place of the old one. Attach the new ribbon cable into the motherboard, and screw the horizontal hinge screws back into place. Replace the back panel and power on the laptop. The new screen should be bright and work well.
Try plugging in an external display through the laptop’s built in VGA port. If there is no picture on the external display, even after a restart, it’s likely that the integrated video card on the motherboard is dead. A full motherboard replacement will likely be required. To replace the motherboard, remove the bottom panel of the laptop. Remove the RAM modules from their stacked slots. Be sure to grab the corners of each module and avoid touching the brass contact surface at the bottom. Next, remove the DVD drive by unscrewing the screw that holds the bracket into place. Remove the WiFi card by popping it out of its socket. Disconnect the two antenna wires going to it. Then, remove the motherboard by removing the small Philips screws holding it into place. Install the new motherboard into place and install all components in the reverse order they were removed. Reinstall the battery, plug the laptop in, and then turn it on. It should power up and function normally.
