Member Avatar for mrBrown

I'm having a problem with my toshiba TE 2100 laptop.

The problems started with the laptop freezing (keyboard and mouse not working, screen still on). I reset the laptop by holding the power button down a couple of seconds. At boot a cmos error occured and the machine urged me to replace the cmos battery. Besides that the machine still worked ok (till it froze again, and again). Sometimes the machine wouldn't post and I had to remove some stuff (battery, cd), wait a couple of minutes and it would work again. But not anymore.

Right now the machine will not post at all. Power led turns on when I press the power button. No fans/hd spinning nor any beeps. Screen stays blank. Since the machine is out of warranty and was bought in Singapore (currently living in the Netherlands) it is damn hard to find replacement parts (the machine was never officially sold in Europe).

So I stated taking the machine apart following the steps presented here: (http://www.daniweb.com/techtalkforums/thread34183.html). Thank for the tutorial ! But even without hard drive, cd, sound card, cmos reset by unplugging cmos battery and waiting 1d and either one of the two memory modules there is still no change.

So what I'm looking for is the part of the machine that could have caused all this. So a certain thing inside your laptop that is:
- not the HD
- not the memory
- not the battery (problems the same with and without battery)
- can corrupt cmos (if not caused by the hard reboot)
- can cause the machine to freeze
- can cause the machine not to post

I was thinking about the pcb, but would like to know what you think.

thanks in advance !

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Brief expert summary tied to the thread: the combination of repeated freezes, CMOS errors and a final state where only the power LED glows (as reported by ) most often points at the laptop's early power-delivery and power-on logic rather than the hard drive or an obvious memory fault. was correct to flag fragile board-to-board connectors, but when no fans, no drive spin and no POST activity occur the failure is frequently in the DC-in / power-board, the DC‑DC regulator stage on the mainboard, the power-on sequencer (EC/SMC) or a corrupted BIOS/RTC backup circuit.

Recommended diagnostic sequence (low-risk, ordered by cost/time):

  • Confirm the AC adapter voltage against its label (many Toshiba adapters are ~19V) with a multimeter; a flaky adapter mimics board failure.
  • Inspect the DC jack and its solder joints for looseness or burned pins; wiggle the plug while powering and watch for any change.
  • Check the small SMD input fuse(s) for continuity and inspect electrolytic caps and power components for bulging, leakage or discoloration.
  • With adapter plugged (battery out), probe for standby rails (typically a 3.3V or 5V SB line) at the main power connector; absence of standby implies DC-DC or power-board failure.
  • If standby exists but no POST, the main rails (Vcore, GPU rails) are likely not coming up — this requires a meter or technician to verify.

Advanced notes and repair options: CMOS errors can be a symptom of unstable standby power rather than a dead coin cell; if rails are present a corrupted BIOS (SPI EEPROM) or failed power-control IC can still stop POST. Board-level fixes include replacing the DC-in/power board or specific power MOSFETs/ICs, reprogramming the BIOS chip, or BGA reflow — all advanced and risk-bearing. ’s RAM suggestion is inexpensive to try early, but given the described power behavior RAM alone is less likely the root cause.

Practical posture: prioritize adapter/DC jack/fuse/caps checks, then standby-rail verification, then decide between sourcing a donor TE2100 power/main board or a board-level repair shop. Given part scarcity for this model, weigh repair cost against replacement.

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Member Avatar for cj2600

I'm having a problem with my toshiba TE 2100 laptop.

The problems started with the laptop freezing (keyboard and mouse not working, screen still on). I reset the laptop by holding the power button down a couple of seconds. At boot a cmos error occured and the machine urged me to replace the cmos battery. Besides that the machine still worked ok (till it froze again, and again). Sometimes the machine wouldn't post and I had to remove some stuff (battery, cd), wait a couple of minutes and it would work again. But not anymore.

Right now the machine will not post at all. Power led turns on when I press the power button. No fans/hd spinning nor any beeps. Screen stays blank. Since the machine is out of warranty and was bought in Singapore (currently living in the Netherlands) it is damn hard to find replacement parts (the machine was never officially sold in Europe).

So I stated taking the machine apart following the steps presented here: (http://www.daniweb.com/techtalkforums/thread34183.html). Thank for the tutorial ! But even without hard drive, cd, sound card, cmos reset by unplugging cmos battery and waiting 1d and either one of the two memory modules there is still no change.

So what I'm looking for is the part of the machine that could have caused all this. So a certain thing inside your laptop that is:
- not the HD
- not the memory
- not the battery (problems the same with and without battery)
- can corrupt cmos (if not caused by the hard reboot)
- can cause the machine to freeze
- can cause the machine not to post

I was thinking about the pcb, but would like to know what you think.

thanks in advance !

Hi there,
It looks like you have a problem with a connection between the system board and the power board. Check my post about Toshiba Tecra TE2100 boot problem
I hope it would be helpful for you.

Good luck.

Member Avatar for mrBrown

Gonna try it tonight, hope it will work (can't wait to get home :-) )

Member Avatar for mrBrown

I've just reconnected the pcb and graphics card. I can see why these connections cause trouble, what a crappy construction.
Unfortunately it didn't work for me.
By the way, you wrote that the power led staying off was one of the sympthomes, however my power led is actually the only thing that does work. But I'll probably have to replace the main board / pcb then ?

Member Avatar for cj2600

I've just reconnected the pcb and graphics card. I can see why these connections cause trouble, what a crappy construction.
Unfortunately it didn't work for me.
By the way, you wrote that the power led staying off was one of the sympthomes, however my power led is actually the only thing that does work. But I'll probably have to replace the main board / pcb then ?

Yep, it looks like you have to replace the system board and the power board. I cannot narrow it down. It's very hard to say witch connector is causing the problem.

Member Avatar for Lilpimp

Have you tried new RAM, I had a te2100 that had the same sympthomes, changed the RAM and it worked fine again, if this does not work than i would also say its the main board...

Member Avatar for Zardist

Hello im sorry to inturupt like this but im new to the website and im not sure how to post my own question but could someone please advise me why my screen keeps flickering Im now using an external Monitor my laptop is a TOSHIBA TE2100 I have looked for BIOS updates along with video card and there is no updates for it so if someone can get back to me with some solution im more then happy to try help others

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