Question Toshiba Qosmio Powered Off and Wont Turn Back On

[ndjester]

Have tried the standard hard reset (unplug power, remove battery, gold power button for 30 seconds, plug back into power, insert battery) to no avail. When plugged in, I can tell I am getting power because the LED is it for the power indicator on the front but it will not power / boot up - any other ideas?

 

[AlHuneke]

You have done the simple things. I would try one more thing--hook up an external monitor and activate it (there is usually a function key for this but it varies by manufacturer. There is a small chance the display is bad. Also, if there is a drive activity light, check to see if it is flashing on startup,

 

[ndjester]

Thanks for the feedback

External monitor says "no signal" which is what I would expect. When I try to turn the laptop on, there is no response. No winding up of a hard drive. No light flashing. No evidence whatsoever.

There is one light that is lit red when I am plugged into the outlet that goes dim when I unplug, so I know I am getting power to the laptop. I did leave the computer on and unplugged for a few days (which of course sent it into hibernation / sleep), started it up (after plugged it in). Windows started, apps loaded all fine. About 5 - 10 minutes in, computer abruptly turned off and has been unresponsive ever since (save the red power light) - any other thoughts?

 

[AlHuneke]

Try to shut the laptop down completely with power disconnected. Let it cool down--put it in a cool (but not real cold) spot if you have one. Leave it for a few hours. See if it then starts. Makes me wonder if there is a thermal problem. If there is, that will still be tough to find and not likely easy to fix. I used to use "freeze mist" to find problems like that but it has to be done with care and if you find a bad component, replacing it can be tough without special equipment,

 

[ndjester]

I am planning to call a battery outlet today to get a replacement battery, but would hate to spend the money unless we think there is a chance that it is simply a failed battery. If I pull the battery out, should a laptop like this still be able to run off outlet power, yes? If so, then it seems that the battery would not be the problem.

 

[COLGeek]

I am planning to call a battery outlet today to get a replacement battery, but would hate to spend the money unless we think there is a chance that it is simply a failed battery. If I pull the battery out, should a laptop like this still be able to run off outlet power, yes? If so, then it seems that the battery would not be the problem.

Yes, a laptop should be able to run without a battery when the AC adapter is connected to it.

What happened/changed (if anything) just before this issue occurred?

 

[ndjester]

I was operating my laptop in a room downstairs (office). Decided a couple of mornings ago to bring it upstairs but left it on the couch still powered on. Well, I am sure it turned off on its own (hibernation / sleep). Yesterday, I plugged it in and turned it on. It booted up just fine and I started a game. About 5 minutes into the game, the laptop powered off and it has yet to be able to boot back up again. The only thing I can get out of it visually or sound-wise is the red LED at the front that says the battery is drained (I believe that is what a non-flashing red light means). Also, is evidence that the cord / outlet is working.

 

[AlHuneke]

So there is no power light coming on near the connector? Was there before it broke? If that's the case, the problem is a bad charger, a bad connector or a problem with the internal circuitry related to the power supply. This is unlikely to be a battery issue.

The problem with leaving it on the coach is there could be an issue with adequate cooling air i vents were obstructed and the unit could overheat. It should shut down if this happens but may not and something was damaged relating to the charging circuitry. I think you probably need to take it to a repair shop.

 

[ndjester]

Thanks
There is no power light near the connector because there is no LED there to light up There is one at the front of the computer that is a battery light and it is simply glowing red - if there was a problem with the outlet, power cable, or connection to the laptop otherwise, Im not sure how that light shows red at all, especially after a couple days.

When I left it on the couch, none of the vents were obstructed - it was like keeping it on a table, honestly. I have had this laptop for about 4 or 5 years so its probably time for a replacement anyway. Now, I have the unenviable task of somehow getting all my data off the hard drive and on to my new laptop - I have no idea how to start that process, since the laptop wont even turn on

 

[AlHuneke]

Getting the data off is easy. You just need to remove the drive and get a USB adapter made for that drive. Plug that into a new computer and it will act just like a USB stick. You need to know what type drive you have,

 

[ndjester]

"Get a USB adapter made for that drive" is where I will need to do some research - I have also never opened up a laptop

First time for everything!

 

[AlHuneke]

If you are a heavy laptop user, 4-5 years of life is not bad. If you can spend a few dollars, go to a repair shop and have them pull the drive. They could also tell you which adapter type you need. Probably would take them 10 minutes. If you want to do it yourself, try to find a disassembly video on youtube or the service manual for your machine. You will need a few tools. When the drive comes out, handle it by the edges only and wrap it in a piece of foil until you install it in the adapter. Don't tound any of the exposed components. Just the very edges on the circuit board or metal casing,

 

[ndjester]

Great feedback - I think I need the professionals for this one

 

[ndjester]

OK, it was actually quite easy to pull out the hard drive - now just need to figure out an adapter - its too bad I cant tell whats wrong with this thing, but its time to take it out behind the shed ....

 

[AlHuneke]

If you have questions, take a few pictures of the drive and post them here and we can help.

 

[ndjester]

Sorry I missed your reply!

OK, so have my new laptop and pulled my old hard drive from the Qosmio. Plugged it in to the new laptop with the adapter cable and it seems to work great. HOWEVER, there is a lot of data missing (largely data you would find in your typical "userdata" data tree). This is probably because I had a "C" partition (mainly programs) and a "D" partition (mainly data) but I just assumed that was all on one drive. Looking in my old laptop, I dont see another drive, so now I am wondering where all that "C" information is or was held - any ideas out there?

 

[AlHuneke]

You may need to assign another drive letter. Type Computer Manage into your windows search bar and click on Run as Administrator. Then under Storage, click on Disk Management. You should see your external drive showing up (make sure one of the View options is Graphical). You will see several partitions. One will probably be called Windows and will correspond to your old C drive. There should be another large partition that used to be your D drive. RIght click on either (or both) of these partitions and select the Change Drive Letter and assign it some letter. I'll be curious to hear if that fixes the issue. If not, post a screen shot of the disk manager window.

 

[ndjester]

OK, ran it as administrator and a "C" "Windows" entry did indeed appear. I tried to change it to "G", got a warning that some programs or files may not work if they rely on drive letter, and then it gave me the message "the parameter is incorrect". Note I chose "change" and not "add" or "remove". I am trying to attach a screenshot, but the only image attach options I see are to include a url, which is obviously not appropriate.

 

[AlHuneke]

THe warning can indeed be ignored as your data files typically won't care. I don't know why you got the parameter is incorrect error. Did you notice two large partitions? One should be your former C drive and one should be your former D drive. Make sure you are working with the correct drive!!! It will usually be the highest number. Drive 0 will be the drive installed in your machine (as far as I have every seen).

 

[AlHuneke]

Something else that may help. It can be tricky to figure out which drive and partition is which. Go to Windows explorer, right click your external drive, select properties and change the drive name to something like OldDrive. That will show up in Drive Manager. Now you will know for certain what disk drive is your old drive and which partition it is.