The Light at the left side of the front panel is flashing amber. and the computer shows nothing.
It doesn't matter if it connected to the AC adapter or from the Battery (full BTW).
Help please.

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All 6 Replies

Need more info: What does the flashing amber lite signify?

*BEFORE TAKING ACTION ON ANY OF THE BELOW REPAIR INSTRUCIONS, PLEASE READ THE FULL POST!!!*

Sounds like uve got the same problem i had with mine :rolleyes:

Its easy to fix on the basis that you have the right gear and a steady hand, this can be done with your own knowlege (You will know what to do if u have the equipment because the equipment is what a pro/experienced solderer uses)

If you want a basic repair, check the below listed site for details on how to do a very amateur job:

Http://motherlan.cyberprune.com/solder1.html

Please bear in mind that the above link does not take responsibility for any damage done to your computer in the process. It worked for them however it may not work for you.

If you prefer to take a walk on the easy side however do the following.

Open your case and check out the PSU connector. There is an image in the above link. Its a little white plug and has 40 connectors each side. Its located about the centre of the keyboard vertically and at the bottom horizontally.

Using a pin, gently press on the solder connections, if you see or hear anything at all, your pin could be broken and so you will therefore need to get it checked out by a professional solderer or electronic repairman.

- I get the amber light as well, i dont reccommend it but i found that an even easier way to check if your pins are broken, is to move the laptop around a fair bit and then try it again, may not work tho. Eitherway, your not alone on this problem and i know many others who have the same issue.

Heres one guys instructions on how to fix it from another forum:

"Jim Michael Jun 22, 2004, 06:15 PM Message - Profile - Add Buddy - Alert Moderators
Re: toshiba 6100 wont turn on
Unplug the power supply. Slide the battery out a bit and then reiseat it. The blicking amber should go out. Plug in the power supply and the power lite should be green.

Post Edited On: Jun 22, 2004, 06:18 PM"

Heres anothers which goes a bit more technical:

"Mark Hannaford Oct 30, 2004, 12:47 PM Message - Profile - Add Buddy - Alert Moderators
Re: toshiba 6100 wont turn on
Hello, I am new to this site but I hope my experience with the 6100 may be of interest.
My 6100 had similar symptoms, in that it was unable to power up with the battery and only very occasionally started with the AC adaptor only. The RTC was also not functioning correctly. Initially I thought it was the Power Supply Charger Board but before I purchased one (at great expense) I decided to have a closer look. Using a 30X magnification Stereoscope (Microscope) I inspected the System-board and
found that the Power/ Charger socket on this board had almost all of its solder contacts cracked. This had previously not been visible using the naked eye. These cracked solder joints looked fine until the particular socket leg was prodded using a needle or similar small implement. It seems to me that this model has a design flaw with possible board flexing in this area. I wouldn't be surprised if this has happened to other units. The socket in question is tiny with numerous connections, the technique I used to re-solder these is to run a fine tip soldering iron along one side at a time, applying fresh solder this joins all the legs together but after this use a good quality solder wick and remove the excess. This has to be done using the Stereoscope, Its impossible to inspect these connections without it. I am aware that the actual repair may not be possible for some but I am sure System boards have been replaced in the past when all that was required was this fix."

So there you have it. Instructions, reasoning and repairs. Hope it helped. If doing those doesnt fix it, your graphics card may have come out. I am not aware of the symptoms of this happening

A fix for this can be the following...

"Tor-Espen Austheim Jun 24, 2004, 12:50 PM Message - Profile - Add Buddy - Alert Moderators
Re: toshiba 6100 wont turn on
Hi guys!
I had the excact problem your talking about and it was indeed the video card.
I just had to open the computer, take out the video card and put it back again.
If you need pictures, I can post them.

This is the way:
Unscrew all the screws under the computer, remove the small cover on the upper side of the keyboard and unscrew the two screws underneath. Lift up the keyboard and loosen the flat wide wire on the motherboard side. Loosen the two screws on the back of the computer. Open the small cover underneath the computer with the star screw and loosen the wire inside from the tape.

Now loosen the two wide flat cables running from the monitor into the video card, same locking mechanism as the keyboard.
You should now be able to totally remove the top cover including the monitor from the base of the computer. There should be two clips in front of the computer, use a flat screwdriver to loosen them. You can hear the click.

The Video card is the biggest card in the middle of the motherboard, unscrew 3 screws on this card and lift it straight up. Then you can put it firmly down on place again. Alternately you can look for some bended pins to make sure theres nothing else wrong.

Put everything together and start it up.
Helped for me!

Good luck!

Post Edited On: Jun 24, 2004, 12:51 PM "

The above "" quoted instructions are not my doing and i dont take any responsibility for any actions which you might decide to do or anything like that, they are merely a suggestion and a guide - No more. You make your own decisions. You put any of the above information to use at your own risk.

Hope that fixes ur problem.

Oh yeah, and that laptop which stars in the motherlan review is the one i bought for $300, its mine and i bought it off a mate. Unfortunately the laptop has started playing up again so i took the laptop to an IT techy on friday and am still waiting for it back. he rkns the soldering job was poor and he could easily tell that it was an amateur job straight away. Hes had to take all the solder off and then resolder the entire lot of 80 pins. As i write this, my laptops still on his desk in pieces and i havent been able to use it since i gave it to him. So yea, just bear in mind that an amateur job may not be the best option.

I just fixed a toshiba 2405-S201 that would not turn on. The power light would flash amber when I tried. I disassembled the laptop, attempting to turn it on at each safe step (don't do this if you removed the cpu h/s). I found that it turned on OK when the touchpad ribbon cable was unplugged. Upon further examination/disassembly, The touchpad button/scroll PCB had something spilled on it that must have been causing a short. I disassembled the touchpad as far as was possible, soaked the offending parts in rubbing alcohol, gently scraped the remains off of the PCB, reassembled the laptop, and everything turns on beautifully. Now to optimize windows...

The link for the Solering does not work.
Can you email the pics to me please.
Im DYING for the fix cuz I dont wanna go buy new parts.

Thanks

*BEFORE TAKING ACTION ON ANY OF THE BELOW REPAIR INSTRUCIONS, PLEASE READ THE FULL POST!!!*

Sounds like uve got the same problem i had with mine :rolleyes:

Its easy to fix on the basis that you have the right gear and a steady hand, this can be done with your own knowlege (You will know what to do if u have the equipment because the equipment is what a pro/experienced solderer uses)

If you want a basic repair, check the below listed site for details on how to do a very amateur job:

Http://motherlan.cyberprune.com/solder1.html

Please bear in mind that the above link does not take responsibility for any damage done to your computer in the process. It worked for them however it may not work for you.

If you prefer to take a walk on the easy side however do the following.

Open your case and check out the PSU connector. There is an image in the above link. Its a little white plug and has 40 connectors each side. Its located about the centre of the keyboard vertically and at the bottom horizontally.

Using a pin, gently press on the solder connections, if you see or hear anything at all, your pin could be broken and so you will therefore need to get it checked out by a professional solderer or electronic repairman.

- I get the amber light as well, i dont reccommend it but i found that an even easier way to check if your pins are broken, is to move the laptop around a fair bit and then try it again, may not work tho. Eitherway, your not alone on this problem and i know many others who have the same issue.

Heres one guys instructions on how to fix it from another forum:

"Jim Michael Jun 22, 2004, 06:15 PM Message - Profile - Add Buddy - Alert Moderators
Re: toshiba 6100 wont turn on
Unplug the power supply. Slide the battery out a bit and then reiseat it. The blicking amber should go out. Plug in the power supply and the power lite should be green.

Post Edited On: Jun 22, 2004, 06:18 PM"

Heres anothers which goes a bit more technical:

"Mark Hannaford Oct 30, 2004, 12:47 PM Message - Profile - Add Buddy - Alert Moderators
Re: toshiba 6100 wont turn on
Hello, I am new to this site but I hope my experience with the 6100 may be of interest.
My 6100 had similar symptoms, in that it was unable to power up with the battery and only very occasionally started with the AC adaptor only. The RTC was also not functioning correctly. Initially I thought it was the Power Supply Charger Board but before I purchased one (at great expense) I decided to have a closer look. Using a 30X magnification Stereoscope (Microscope) I inspected the System-board and
found that the Power/ Charger socket on this board had almost all of its solder contacts cracked. This had previously not been visible using the naked eye. These cracked solder joints looked fine until the particular socket leg was prodded using a needle or similar small implement. It seems to me that this model has a design flaw with possible board flexing in this area. I wouldn't be surprised if this has happened to other units. The socket in question is tiny with numerous connections, the technique I used to re-solder these is to run a fine tip soldering iron along one side at a time, applying fresh solder this joins all the legs together but after this use a good quality solder wick and remove the excess. This has to be done using the Stereoscope, Its impossible to inspect these connections without it. I am aware that the actual repair may not be possible for some but I am sure System boards have been replaced in the past when all that was required was this fix."

So there you have it. Instructions, reasoning and repairs. Hope it helped. If doing those doesnt fix it, your graphics card may have come out. I am not aware of the symptoms of this happening

A fix for this can be the following...

"Tor-Espen Austheim Jun 24, 2004, 12:50 PM Message - Profile - Add Buddy - Alert Moderators
Re: toshiba 6100 wont turn on
Hi guys!
I had the excact problem your talking about and it was indeed the video card.
I just had to open the computer, take out the video card and put it back again.
If you need pictures, I can post them.

This is the way:
Unscrew all the screws under the computer, remove the small cover on the upper side of the keyboard and unscrew the two screws underneath. Lift up the keyboard and loosen the flat wide wire on the motherboard side. Loosen the two screws on the back of the computer. Open the small cover underneath the computer with the star screw and loosen the wire inside from the tape.

Now loosen the two wide flat cables running from the monitor into the video card, same locking mechanism as the keyboard.
You should now be able to totally remove the top cover including the monitor from the base of the computer. There should be two clips in front of the computer, use a flat screwdriver to loosen them. You can hear the click.

The Video card is the biggest card in the middle of the motherboard, unscrew 3 screws on this card and lift it straight up. Then you can put it firmly down on place again. Alternately you can look for some bended pins to make sure theres nothing else wrong.

Put everything together and start it up.
Helped for me!

Good luck!

Post Edited On: Jun 24, 2004, 12:51 PM "

The above "" quoted instructions are not my doing and i dont take any responsibility for any actions which you might decide to do or anything like that, they are merely a suggestion and a guide - No more. You make your own decisions. You put any of the above information to use at your own risk.

Hope that fixes ur problem.

Oh yeah, and that laptop which stars in the motherlan review is the one i bought for $300, its mine and i bought it off a mate. Unfortunately the laptop has started playing up again so i took the laptop to an IT techy on friday and am still waiting for it back. he rkns the soldering job was poor and he could easily tell that it was an amateur job straight away. Hes had to take all the solder off and then resolder the entire lot of 80 pins. As i write this, my laptops still on his desk in pieces and i havent been able to use it since i gave it to him. So yea, just bear in mind that an amateur job may not be the best option.

Can you send me tthe soldering pics as well via email because the link does not work

I just finished repairing this machine.. in this case, it was also the video card which needed to be reseated as was stated in a previous post. However, none of the bottom screws need to be removed, only the bezel over the keyboard, the two screws holding on the keyboard, the keyboard ribbon and the three screws securing the video card. To clarify, the video card is the same board that has the keyboard and trackpad ribbon attachments. After removing the screws on the video card, pull straight up on the board to remove it. The first time I reseated, the machine would then turn on and boot with video, though there was slight video interference (sort of an interlaced line dimming), after pulling the card again and cleaning the contacts with a q-tip and alcohol the display is perfect.

Before this repair, the machine exhibited the exact problem as first reported, a flashing amber power light. Sometimes, the machine would power on for 20-30 seconds with no video, read the hard disk in the process as if booting, then shut off.

Hope this helps.

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