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Toshiba notebook starting problem

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by frankwoda

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On switching my Toshiba notebook only one green light (out of four) comes on. There is a sort of a dull click, the hard disk is set in motion (a quiet whirl is heard), but the starting action stops there. Nothing more happens. What can be the problem?

9 replies

by opatzg9

Bad switch or low power, either take it to a tech or try another power supply. If it's not coming up far enough to get the screen going it's tough to diagnose as a software/bios problem so it must be power or hardware. I personally have a fear when opening laptops that I won't get it hooked back together again so I leave those to the experts. Good luck.

by paulp

I used to have a laptop that did this, but it was not a Toshiba. I think it was stuck in hibernate or something. The way I used to correct it was to diconnect the power cord and pull out the battery for a minute or so. For me it worked every time.

by reotech

Try booting the computer with the HDD and the battery removed, then reassemble everything. This should clear any hibernation problem. You can try just with the battery out and booting with AC, but with Compaqs I have to startup with the HDD removed. It could also be a defective battery.

by jboardman

I don't know which model you have, but with our Portege's, we remove the battery and boot with only the external power supply. If that works, the problem is that your battery is dead and needs to be replaced. The whirr is probably the fan, not the HDD. If the battery trick doesn't work, there's a good chance your HDD has died. Try booting from a floppy. If it boots then, the worst has occurred. Or, if you have another unit, swap HDD's and see if that shell can power up and run with a different HDD.

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