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Hey, I'm having a problem with my Toshiba Equium a200-1v0 laptop. I've had problems with it ever since I bought it new, but didn't take it back to the shop, about 2 months ago it started having problems booting, I've worked out when I have the battery in and nothing else, it will boot fine, if I have both battery and mains, or just mains, the computer needs to get "hot" before it will work, as in I need to leave it on for a few hours before the LCD will turn on.
Now a few days ago I started getting scraping sounds and they were coming from my hard drive, I opened it up and there was visible external damage to the HDD, not massively though, just a few scratches. I vacuum cleaned out the fan in my laptop, now sure enough, it runs a lot more smoothly, but now I can pretty much only use battery power as a source, because the computer doesn't get that hot. I have to turn on the laptop with mains and charge the battery then take out the mains to use the laptop.
When I turn on the laptop with battery power and then put in the mains power after it has fully loaded the screen will go brighter, as it is now out of power save mode, and then the computer will completely freeze, I can't move the mouse or type, I have to restart the computer, and even then I have to take out the mains to boot properly!

My theory.. The HDD is screwed or the power supply is broken.

I need some help, if you need me to take a look at the HDD or any details, I can provide them, thanks!

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Dani AI

Generated

Brief summary and a focused troubleshooting plan based on the symptoms reported by : there are two separate problems that need parallel handling — an HDD with mechanical damage (scraping sounds, visible scratches) and a power/charging issue where the machine boots reliably on battery but misbehaves, or only “comes alive” after warming, when on mains.

Immediate priorities

  • Protect data first. While the machine still boots on battery, copy critical files to an external USB drive or pull the HDD and connect it with a USB–SATA adapter/enclosure. If the drive is loudly scraping or clicking, power it down and seek professional recovery; continued use risks further damage.
  • Stop relying on the damaged disk for diagnostics; a replacement drive (already ordered) is the right next step for ruling the HDD out.

Systematic isolation of the power problem (ordered steps)

  1. Confirm behavior in firmware: remove the battery and boot on AC only. If the laptop freezes or the LCD stays off, the fault is hardware-level.
  2. Swap the AC adapter or test its output with a multimeter (adapter label must match rated V/A). Try a different mains outlet.
  3. Inspect the DC jack and the board around it for looseness or cracked solder — intermittent contact can cause odd freezes when the power source changes.
  4. Boot a Live USB (Linux) or enter BIOS and then plug/unplug AC to see whether the freeze is OS-level (drivers/ACPI) or hardware. If the freeze happens in BIOS/Live session, suspect motherboard/power circuitry.
  5. If hardware checks look OK, update the BIOS and chipset/power-management drivers as a controlled next step.

Useful diagnostics to record if the problem persists: AC adapter model and measured voltage, BIOS version, whether the freeze appears inside BIOS or only in the OS, and SMART/log output from the old drive (if accessible). Safety note: always disconnect mains and remove the battery before opening the case and observe ESD precautions. If swapping adapters and the new HDD still leaves the freezing when AC is connected, the DC power circuitry or motherboard likely needs professional repair.

Member Avatar for Nattynooster

I've just ordered a new HDD, I'll update you if that fixes the problem, still need some advice incase it isn't though! Thanks.

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