Member Avatar for RevXp

Hello

I'm new here to this forum and like to post a question on a laptop. I got a laptop from a friend which does not work. I don't know the history of it either. It' a Toshiba Tecra A3 and the symtoms are as follows: Power's on but no video. The fan comes on upon power up and that's it beside the green light which tells me the laptop is on. There is no activity on the display. I tried reseating the ram but nogo. I removed hard drive and battery and tried only with power supply and a nogo either. I then tried hooking it up on a external display and nothing either. I'm able to power on and off using the power button. I noticed somebody played with this laptop because on the built in wireless card two wires are unplugged which I don't know where they plug into. There is a white and a black wire and the available connectors are AUX and MAIN. Any help would be appreciated. :(

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by cguan_77

Dani AI

Generated

Below are practical, safe next steps and diagnostic priorities that build on points from , and without repeating checks already done. Start with the low-risk items and only move to board-level work if comfortable with tools and static-safety.

Visual and power sanity checks

  • Verify the AC adapter with a multimeter (confirm it actually produces its rated DC). Inspect the DC jack and surrounding PCB for cracked solder joints or loose pins.
  • With all power sources removed, press and hold the power button for 15–30 seconds to discharge stray charge, then try powering with adapter only.
  • Do a careful visual inspection under good light: look for bulging or leaking capacitors, burnt components, cracked traces, or corrosion. A faint electronic smell or darkened PCB is a strong sign of component failure.

Display and POST indicators

  • Look for faint on-screen images by shining a bright flashlight at the panel (if a faint image appears the backlight/inverter is suspect). Check the LCD cable at the hinge and its socket for bent pins or a loose latch.
  • Watch status LEDs and any blink patterns and try to locate the internal speaker header — those patterns or beeps can identify hardware stages if present. A simple known-good USB keyboard can also show whether the system gets to basic initialization (keyboard lights or response).

Board-level checks and next steps

  • If comfortable with a multimeter, check for the main standby and rail voltages on the board (use the service manual or board silk-screen to find test points). Verify continuity of main fuses/coils. If power rails are missing, focus on the DC-in/DC-regulation area.
  • Replace inexpensive, user-replaceable parts first (coin cell CMOS, inverter/backlight assembly, DC jack) before pursuing PCB surgery.

When to stop and consider replacement

  • If rails are present but the system never advances, the GPU/chipset or BGA solder joints are likely at fault; professional reflow/reball is costly and often not economical on older laptops. At that point sourcing a donor motherboard or a working same-model unit is usually the most practical option.

Safety note: work on laptops only when unplugged and battery removed, observe ESD precautions, and seek a repair shop for mains, BGA or soldering work.

Recommended Answers

All 7 Replies

Member Avatar for DenisOxon

Hi,

I would try booting from either a floppy disk or a CDROm and see what happens, with and without an external monitor.

Then come back with results and let us know please

Member Avatar for RevXp

I tried booting from CD but it was a nogo. There is no sync between the display or monitor. I think I'll open it up and reseat what could be reseated and try again.

Member Avatar for RueB2sDe

Any beeping upon Post?
Will it allow you into BIOS at all?

Member Avatar for RevXp

No sound and No Bios just a black screen. I just hear the cooloing fan startup.

Member Avatar for RueB2sDe

Interesting. First troubleshoot your Video. It more then likely is not your monitor or tower Video issues if you are not hearing the initial beep when the system starts up.

So this means that it could be your CMOS battery or your powersupply. You can take you tower into best buy and have them check the power supply to see if it is defective. If they find that the power supply is good. Try replacing your CMOS battery, it should cost no more the 20 bucks.

RueB 2s De

Member Avatar for RueB2sDe

Oh shoot I just relized you have a Laptop.
That changes everything.
If no Post Beep, It has to be a battery/Power issue. Even though someone has messed with the wiring on the Network card it should still get through the post or give you alert beeps once started.
Double check the battery.

Member Avatar for cguan_77

hi revxp,

try to connect a ps2 keyboard to your laptop, then upon turning on your laptop check if the keyboard lights up, if lights up then it means that your system can initialize to bios, i think the worst case maybe the video controller on your board is dead already..

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