Really Strange Power Issue with Laptop

[dafoe]

I have a Toshiba Satellite A105-S2194. A couple of years ago it started shutting down for no reason. Eventually it got to the point where it would not turn on at all. When I would press the power button it would start to turn on and then turn off within a second.

The battery is toast. It doesn't hold a charge. So I thought maybe the power jack was faulty. Ordered that on ebay. Took the computer apart, installed it only to find out that the input didn't fit the factory AC adapter. While I had it apart I took the cpu fan/heatsink off and there was a huge dust ball. Cleared that out put the the original power jack back in, reassembled and it worked fine for a couple of months.

Then it started doing the same thing. The weird thing is, if I hold the power down long enough, release it and then turn it on it will actually stay on. The longer I hold the power button down the longer it will stay on. I got it to stay on for an hour once after holding the button down for two hours.

I don't get it. I would like to get it running again because it has sentimental value to me. But I have no idea what the issue might be. Anybody know what could be causing the issue?

[Bjs]

Same as asking how long will data on a dvd last ... till the day you find out it no longer reads

1: Its already suffered a power issue not immediately rectified
2: You've cleared the dust but did you change the heat sink compound ?
3: It's older than 3 years ... if used for a couple of hours each day during this time you've got value out of it

Sentimental value is fine but there comes a time where it's done ... time to move on

After all this my suggestion is firstly check if a bios update was released which affected "power conditions", read carefully then update if needed. Check for hibernation options in bios and control panel are disabled, reboot. if still issue rectify conditions 1 and 2 ... check smart status of hard drive, if stats low, replace ... then maybe you'll get a little longer out of it before its time to move on and replace it

[JVRaines]

Did you check the mechanical and electronic health of the power button and its internal connectors like ribbon cable, etc?

[newpball]

I would spend zero money on this anything over it is a waste, it has a PC Mark of 386 while a decent present day low end CPU easily goes over 5000.

[dafoe]

Yes, I applied new thermal paste. I can't find any relevant BIOS updates. Hard drive is fine. But I have tried several different ones- even a brand new one. The original hard drive is tucked away safely.

Didn't check the power button and internal components specifically, but I've had it apart several times. I'm pretty sure I would have noticed if something was wrong.

While I appreciate that some of you would not spend money on this, this isn't a dollars and sense issue to me. It has strong sentimental value to me. I will die with this in my possession. It's only a matter of whether I can get it running or not between now and then.

Would be nice if I had some idea of what the issue was before throwing money at it. I pulled the battery out today while it was on and it powered off immediately. So the AC adapter charges the battery as much as possible and then stops working. The battery runs down and the laptop shuts off. Very odd situation. I guess I will try another power jack and battery. And if that doesn't work I will wait until I can find another motherboard. PC repair shop would be a last ditch effort.

[JVRaines]

As a last resort, you can try baking the motherboard to reflow solder connections. Worked for me once with a dead video card. The idea is to remove as much plastic as possible, then prop the board up on foil balls in an oven just hot enough to melt solder. More specific directions are floating around the 'net.

[redwudz]

As a last resort, you can try baking the motherboard to reflow solder connections. Worked for me once with a dead video card. The idea is to remove as much plastic as possible, then prop the board up on foil balls in an oven just hot enough to melt solder. More specific directions are floating around the 'net.

If you heat a PC board up to 450 - 500 F I suspect many of the components would be permanently damaged. Reflow soldering doesn't heat a PC board that much and it is very quick. You would also expose your oven and yourself to some volatile chemicals that would be better not to breathe. Older PCs may still have lead alloy solders for one.

[Budman1]

My experience, after repairing computers for over 43 years, has been that this type of problem is:

1. Battery and/or Charger unit. Many (Most?) laptops will not work if the battery is removed or dead. Usually if you plug in the charger and leave it for several hours, you will notice a change in the actions when powering on such as on/off/on/off cycling etc. This is a good indication of battery/charger problem. Also notice unusual heat from charger when powered off and charging.

BTW... Holding power button causes all (almost ALL) power to be removed from MB and this may have allowed your battery to charge a little. The fact that this worked and then didn't might just be the battery deteriorating further.

2. Heat caused by plugged heat sinks, vents, bad fans, hardened thermal compound, etc. If it has gone on long enough the damage can be permanent which is why many suggest not spending money on it.

When you had it apart, you should have disconnected all power from DVD, Diskette drive, and other IO. because they can go bad and drain or prevent battery from working correctly or charging.

Bottom line is, if you want to spend money on it, you can usually get a changer and battery for about $10.00 online and if it still doesn't work, its 'SOMETHING' on the mother board or connected to it.

Good luck.

[JVRaines]

As a last resort, you can try baking the motherboard to reflow solder connections. Worked for me once with a dead video card. The idea is to remove as much plastic as possible, then prop the board up on foil balls in an oven just hot enough to melt solder. More specific directions are floating around the 'net.

If you heat a PC board up to 450 - 500 F I suspect many of the components would be permanently damaged. Reflow soldering doesn't heat a PC board that much and it is very quick. You would also expose your oven and yourself to some volatile chemicals that would be better not to breathe. Older PCs may still have lead alloy solders for one.

As I said, it's a last resort for a board which is already toast. The temperature is more like 385 °F for eight minutes. I tried this trick with a bonkers video card and it worked. YMMV.