Member Avatar for drigby123

I tried starting my laptop this morning, but it won't boot up. I haven't added any new hardware, and don't think it got dropped. It shut down normally last night.
The power light comes on normally (blue) when I press the power button, and the harddrive light flickers for an instant (blue) then goes off. My CD light is on, but orange, and the drive won't open.
Can anyone advise me?

Thanks in advance...

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by Riverojuan

Dani AI

Generated

Consolidated troubleshooting notes for Toshiba Satellite A135 models showing power/fans/LEDs but no POST or screen.

Thread recap: raised power-supply possibilities, pointed out bad RAM can produce the same "lights and fans only" symptom, and confirms a full power-cycle plus reseating memory fixed an A135‑S4527. The posts suggest the fault often sits with removable subsystems or a transient power/BIOS hang rather than an immediate, catastrophic failure.

Practical diagnostic sequence (highest-yield first):

  1. Power reset - remove AC and main battery, press and hold the power button 30–60 seconds to drain caps, reconnect AC only and attempt power-on. This clears transient hangs and often converts an intermittent no‑POST into a recoverable state.
  2. RAM isolation/reseat - remove both SO‑DIMMs, clean contacts lightly, test with a single known module in the primary slot; test the other module and other slot. Swap order and combinations. Faulty stick or slot commonly replicates the symptom.
  3. Remove nonessential drives/peripherals - temporarily disconnect HDD and optical drive and try to boot. A shorted drive or connector can prevent POST. The orange DVD LED and a stuck tray often indicate the drive is not being powered/initialized; a manual eject with a paperclip (power off) confirms mechanics.
  4. External video and beep codes - connect an external monitor and listen for POST beeps. No video but POST beeps point to LCD/connector; no beeps with fans/LEDs usually narrows to RAM/CPU/BIOS.
  5. Power-adapter/DC jack check - verify adapter voltage or try a known-good adapter; a weak/intermittent jack can supply fans but not full system power.
  6. If still dead, suspect motherboard/BIOS/power-rail failure. Compare repair cost for an A135 motherboard versus replacement.

Safety and caveats: work on a nonconductive surface, remove power before opening, avoid ESD, and do not force connectors. If uncertain about disassembly or multimeter checks, obtain professional diagnosis.

Recommended Answers

All 10 Replies

Member Avatar for majestic0110

Hmm, interesting. Is your battery dead completely? Thinking the mains power supply might have blown - I have had a Toshiba laptop mains that blew myself. Had to change the fuse then it was fine....

Member Avatar for drigby123

Hmm, interesting. Is your battery dead completely? Thinking the mains power supply might have blown - I have had a Toshiba laptop mains that blew myself. Had to change the fuse then it was fine....

Thanks for responding.
My battery looks good and it charged up... does that still sound like a blown fuse?

Member Avatar for majestic0110

Not a blown fuse, perhaps your battery has faulted. I don't suppose you have another to test do you?

Member Avatar for drigby123

No...
But even when I remove the battery and run off the power outlet, I'm having the same problem.

Member Avatar for johnsworth

hey guys i have the same problem. i am currently trying to help a friend fix his toshiba satellite a135. the problems you are having are the same as mine black screen,some lights work,dvd drive will not open,and yet my fans start running. to me it like it tries to start up then like 4 seconds later it just stops and sets there with some lights on and fans running. i heard something about bad power supply problems but i don't know if that's our problem. i am right now in the middle of full disassembly and hope the problem jump out at me. please don,t give up on this problem. i am finding it really hard to find anybody with these exact issues.

Member Avatar for rgreen

I dont know if this will help but its worth a shot. I was working on a dell insperation desktop with the same symtoms. lights fans and nothing else. it turned out to be one of the memory moduals. i removed one and when i booted it went into bios and showed a memory change message. when i removed that one and put in the other it booted. i bought another gig of ram and was back going.

Member Avatar for johnsworth

thanks for the suggestion i will try it. who would have thought that would be your problem. these issues are hard to figure out cause its nothing very signifigant.

Member Avatar for johnsworth

tried removing one of the memory sticks but it still didn't do anything. what ever it is power is only getting to the lights and the fans. i wonder if it is a busted motherboard. i tried to get some info off of toshiba's website but there website is about as useless as this laptop. upon reading a whole lot of forums the only thing i have found out is alot of people have had broken satellite a135 but they all had a warranty. That's what my friend should have got when he bought this P.O.S. i'll keep lookin.

Member Avatar for brettbrett

My Laptop is doing the same thing!!
Did anyone on here get their problem resolved??? If so, please explain. Any help will be great...

Member Avatar for Riverojuan

Hello, I resolved the same problem taken out the memory modules after remove the batery pack, il restore the modules and batery and turned the machine on succefully . My laptop is a Toshiba Satellite A135-S4527, is the first time a have this problem, thanks to all for your tips.

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