Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

Help anyone!  I have a new Toshiba A75 laptop--only a few months old.
Suddenly, the AC power plug does not seem to be working.  The battery
is down to 13% even though it's plugged in to the wall.  I checked all
the connections, unplugged and plugged them again; I tried another wall
outlet, just in case.  But the battery is draining and no power is
getting to it.  Anyone heard of this?  When I pulled the power cord out
of the back of the machine, it made an odd squeaky noise.  Other than
that, I have no symptoms to report.
 
Please let me know if you have any ideas.  I tried searching Ask Iris
on the Toshiba site, and of course, found nothing.
 
Regards,
Diana

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

dianadiehl@cox.net wrote:
: Help anyone!  I have a new Toshiba A75 laptop--only a few months old.
: Suddenly, the AC power plug does not seem to be working.  The battery
: is down to 13% even though it's plugged in to the wall.  I checked all
: the connections, unplugged and plugged them again; I tried another wall
: outlet, just in case.  But the battery is draining and no power is
: getting to it.  Anyone heard of this?  When I pulled the power cord out
: of the back of the machine, it made an odd squeaky noise.  Other than
: that, I have no symptoms to report.
 
The "squeaky noise" could be an indication of a loose or even broken
power connector on your laptop, which would make it impossible for
your laptop to get power.  Unless you are handy with a soldering iron,
you're going to have to get it serviced in that case.  Is it still
under warranty?
 
What if you wiggle the plug going into your laptop just a tad?  Do you
notice the power coming back on, even briefly?  (Seen most obviously
by the power LEDS coming back on.)
 
Or, the "squeaky noise" might have always been there and is a normal
sound and your AC adaptor simply died.  Mine died on my Toshiba
Satellite slowly last fall - at first, I could twist and turn the
black box part of the adaptor a few times until power kicked in (not a
connector issue, since I would do this without touching the laptop
end).  It just got worse and worse until it completely stopped
working.  I got a replacement from Ebay which has worked perfectly
ever since.
 
Andrew
--
----> Portland, Oregon, USA <----
*******************************************************************
 ----> http://www.bizave.com  <---- Photo Albums and Portland Info
 ----> To Email me remove "MYSHOES" from email address
*******************************************************************

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

If it's only a few months old, it's under warranty.
 
Problem solved.
 
 
dianadiehl@cox.net wrote:
 
> Help anyone!  I have a new Toshiba A75 laptop--only a few months old.
> Suddenly, the AC power plug does not seem to be working.  The battery
> is down to 13% even though it's plugged in to the wall.  I checked all
> the connections, unplugged and plugged them again; I tried another wall
> outlet, just in case.  But the battery is draining and no power is
> getting to it.  Anyone heard of this?  When I pulled the power cord out
> of the back of the machine, it made an odd squeaky noise.  Other than
> that, I have no symptoms to report.
>  
> Please let me know if you have any ideas.  I tried searching Ask Iris
> on the Toshiba site, and of course, found nothing.
>  
> Regards,
> Diana
>

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

Additional symptoms/facts:
 
*  Of the 3 lights in the front, the first one that has a plug icon
stays on and green.
*  So does the middle light.
*  The 3rd light is not on now, but yesterday, it was glowing orange.
*  Now, with the 2 green lights on, if I scroll over the task bar item
for the battery, it states that the machine is on battery power, and
the battery charge gradually decreases
*  I left the machine plugged in all night last night and power was up
to 97%.
*  I left the machine plugged in all day today and it was only at 67%
when I came home.
*  My nice bright screen is fairly dim.  Occasionally, it brightens up
for a few seconds and reminds me why I bought this model.
 
I have to check the warranty and hope that it's for a whole year.  If
not, I'm going back to Dell's.  the trick now is to pull my hard drive
and get a replacement while this is in the shop.  I have to be able to
compute for a number of reasons, including work.
 
I wish there were a quick answer--and no, I am not good with a
soldering iron.  Thanks for your reply (everyone).
 
Diana
 
Andrew wrote:
> dianadiehl@cox.net wrote:
> : Help anyone!  I have a new Toshiba A75 laptop--only a few months old.
> : Suddenly, the AC power plug does not seem to be working.  The battery
> : is down to 13% even though it's plugged in to the wall.  I checked all
> : the connections, unplugged and plugged them again; I tried another wall
> : outlet, just in case.  But the battery is draining and no power is
> : getting to it.  Anyone heard of this?  When I pulled the power cord out
> : of the back of the machine, it made an odd squeaky noise.  Other than
> : that, I have no symptoms to report.
>
> The "squeaky noise" could be an indication of a loose or even broken
> power connector on your laptop, which would make it impossible for
> your laptop to get power.  Unless you are handy with a soldering iron,
> you're going to have to get it serviced in that case.  Is it still
> under warranty?
>
> What if you wiggle the plug going int*  o your laptop just a tad?  Do you
> notice the power coming back on, even briefly?  (Seen most obviously
> by the power LEDS coming back on.)
>
> Or, the "squeaky noise" might have always been there and is a normal
> sound and your AC adaptor simply died.  Mine died on my Toshiba
> Satellite slowly last fall - at first, I could twist and turn the
> black box part of the adaptor a few times until power kicked in (not a
> connector issue, since I would do this without touching the laptop
> end).  It just got worse and worse until it completely stopped
> working.  I got a replacement from Ebay which has worked perfectly
> ever since.
>
> Andrew
> --
> ----> Portland, Oregon, USA <----
> *******************************************************************
>  ----> http://www.bizave.com  <---- Photo Albums and Portland Info
>  ----> To Email me remove "MYSHOES" from email address
> *******************************************************************

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

Hi, here's an update on my Toshiba Satellite A75 with the failing power
cord.  I took it in for repair today.  The service rep says this is a
known problem with this and one other model (M35?  Sorry, can't
recall).  About 60% of this model fail because of a poor connection
between the power cord receptacle and the motherboard.  They will have
to replace the motherboard one that has a properly attached/epoxied
power cord receptacle.
 
The squeaking that I had heard, the inability to get power from the
cord when the battery was removed, and the apparent looseness of the of
cord (it wiggled easily when I plugged it in) were diagnostic.  This
assessment was at first glance, so I do not consider it to be the final
word, but I consider this to be gross circumstantial evidence
supporting the most likely cause.  Thanks all for your time and
comments.  Wish me luck for going cold turkey for a week.  (All my
other computers are disabled or disposed of)
 
Regards,
 
Diana
 
 
dianadiehl@cox.net wrote:
> Help anyone!  I have a new Toshiba A75 laptop--only a few months old.
> Suddenly, the AC power plug does not seem to be working.  The battery
> is down to 13% even though it's plugged in to the wall.  I checked all
> the connections, unplugged and plugged them again; I tried another wall
> outlet, just in case.  But the battery is draining and no power is
> getting to it.  Anyone heard of this?  When I pulled the power cord out
> of the back of the machine, it made an odd squeaky noise.  Other than
> that, I have no symptoms to report.
>
> Please let me know if you have any ideas.  I tried searching Ask Iris
> on the Toshiba site, and of course, found nothing.
>  
> Regards,
> Diana