Member Avatar for jbrad

The computer is a toshiba tecra 8100, with windows xp installed. it has been running fine until one time when i tried to turn it on, it completely stopped working, and i got a blinking orange pattern on an led near the power button. after doing numerous troubleshooting tests, like taking the battery out, all accessories off, etc, i figured id take the harddrive out and see if it booted up into a live-cd distro of linux. It does, and boots fine, but as soon as i put the hard drive back in, it shuts off immidiatly and gives me the blinking lights. Any help at all would be greatly appreciated,
thanks,
-Joe.

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by devoncool

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Short summary and likely cause, tied to the existing posts: ’s machine boots a live CD without the drive but shuts off as soon as the hard disk is installed; correctly notes power/battery issues can complicate symptoms. Taken together, the immediate shut-off when the drive is fitted most often indicates a hardware-level problem — the drive or the laptop’s drive bay/power rail is shorting or drawing an inrush current that the power circuitry can’t handle — rather than a software/OS boot issue.

Practical diagnostic steps (in order of risk and ease):

  1. Visual inspection — remove the drive and examine the PCB and connector for corrosion, broken components, or loose screws/grommets that could short to the chassis. Inspect the laptop bay for debris or bent pins.
  2. Test the drive off the laptop — connect the 2.5" drive to a desktop or a powered USB-IDE/SATA adapter/dock. If it spins and is recognized, run SMART/diagnostics. If it causes the host to fail or is not detected, the drive is faulty.
  3. Try a known-good drive in the laptop — if the laptop still dies, the problem is the bay/board/adapter in the laptop. If it boots, the original drive is the culprit.
  4. Check the DC supply under load — a weak adapter or failing power circuitry can collapse under HDD spin-up current. Substitute a compatible adapter if available or have the adapter checked with a meter.
  5. If important data is present and the drive looks marginal, stop repeated power attempts and use an external adapter/dock to copy data or consult a recovery service.

Cautions and next steps: repeated power cycles with a shorting drive risk damaging the motherboard. If diagnostics point to the laptop bay or power circuitry, repair or board-level work is likely required; if the drive fails external tests, replacement (and data recovery) is the usual route.

Member Avatar for Papasneb

I had a similar problem, and found that the battery had lost it's charge. When the battery is almost dead or dead, the system will flash that orange light as the older power supply circuitry (could be the external supply or the circuitry IN the computer) is NOT passing sufficient amperage to charge the almost DEAD battery AND run the system with the hard-disk.
I got past the problem by charging the battery overnight before using the system again and then it ran properly.
And note that if the system and/or battery is old (and I know the 8100 is old), it may no longer be charging properly when the system is running, so you may need to start charging the battery with the system off on a regular basis.

Member Avatar for devoncool

hi joe, i am having the exact same problem as you. how did you resolve your problem??

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