Member Avatar for Schmoo1959

I have a new Toshiba Satellite 350 laptop that was working fine. For no apparent reason it shut down and I can't get it to start again. I've checked the obvious things like battery & and power supply and they check out ok. Any ideas on what to do? I have a rescue disk but obviously can't use it because the laptop won't even go through the boot sequence. I push the power button the lights flash once and thats it? I have to close the lid, unplud the power supply before trying again; otherwise there is no response at all when I push the power on button.

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Dani AI

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A compact, practical add-on to the thread: when a Satellite 350 only gives a brief LED flash and then nothing, the quickest way to avoid an unnecessary mainboard swap is a short, ordered diagnostic flow that separates simple power/harness faults from true board failures. Thanks to and for the early troubleshooting ideas; the steps below organize those suggestions and add a few checks technicians often miss.

  • Measure the AC adapter with a multimeter (DC volts). Compare to the adapter’s printed rating; large deviations mean the adapter or cable is bad.
  • Inspect the DC jack and barrel cable for looseness, wobble, exposed/frayed conductors or cracked insulation. A flaky jack can cause the brief flash symptom.
  • Power-drain procedure: with battery and AC removed, hold the power button ~30 seconds to discharge caps, then test with AC only.
  • Reseat removable items (RAM, HDD, optical assembly) and test with minimal configuration. A shorted module or a loose contact can prevent a clean power-on.
  • Note LED blink counts and consult the model service manual or error-code list — blink patterns often point to specific subsystems.
  • If opening the chassis, photograph cable routing, especially around the hinge and jack; look for pinched wiring where harnesses bend. Use ESD precautions and avoid opening if the unit is under warranty.

When dealing with a repair shop, request an itemized diagnosis, photos of any suspicious wiring or connectors, and testing with a known-good adapter before approving a mainboard replacement. Ask that replaced parts be returned and get a written quote showing labor and parts separated. Many shops try the board swap first; documenting the simpler checks above can save time and cost.

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Member Avatar for gatzaraki

I've seen this problem in other sites, my advise is try hitting the FN key when powering on, it works for many people.

Member Avatar for Schmoo1959

but it didn't work! (insert big sigh here)
Thank you for trying to help me out.
- Rob

Member Avatar for gatzaraki

A friend of mine asked me to fix two toshibas and i fixed one with that tip the other one just wont budge :P good luck!

Member Avatar for Bob_180_Bob

Hi and welcome to Daniweb,
You said you checked out the battery, but did you try booting your laptop without the battery? This sometimes works as well.

Member Avatar for Schmoo1959

Yes, I took the battery out and tried to turn the laptop on with just the power supply on. I also tried turning on the laptop with only the battery. I also tried both of these methods while holding down the Function key and the same response. (actually, lack of response).

I've never done this whole forum thing and think its pretty cool. Thanx again.

- Rob

Member Avatar for Bob_180_Bob

Hi,
As you have tried all suggested above, and your laptop will not boot (even to a CD) I think you need to take it to a service tech to advise you what is wrong and what it will require to repair.

Member Avatar for Schmoo1959

I've taken laptop to a specialist this afternoon. He informed me that it will be far cheaper to replace the whole mainboard rather than pay for the required time to identify the specific problem, the cost of labour to remove the old/install the new component. All of that is worse case scenario. Now for the good news...

I was running my laptop 24/7 with the power cord plugged into the laptop while the battery was in. When I put the laptop to sleep I closed the lid before it actually went to sleep and may have caught it midway through the sleep process. I have my computer set to turn off when I close the lid so with any luck, it will be something as simple as resetting the defaults back to their original state.

Phew. Hope that makes some kind of sense cuz that's sorta-kinda how I understood it as it was explained to me. I will post what the technician does to get me back up and running. This has given me the opportunity to use my very first forum (and I'm quite impressed with the response) and also to get reacquainted with my desktop that's been missing me for a while.

- Rob

Member Avatar for Schmoo1959

The repair shop replaced the main board and the problem persisted. After banging their heads for a while, they discovered that a wire was being pinched and that was the problem! Its all covered under warrenty as well. Phew.

Thanx for you help & support to everyone.

- Rob

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