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Today I explain how to repair a damaged power connector also known as power jack in Toshiba Satellite L305 and L355 laptops. I started covering this problem in one of the previous posts.
Also this power jack modification should work for the following models: Toshiba Satellite L300, L305D, L355D, P305, P305D, Toshiba Satellite Pro L300, L350 and probably some other Toshiba laptops.
PROBLEM DESCRIPTION. The power jack gets pushed into the laptop base so it feels loose.
I will replace the original plastic jack with a generic metal jack purchased at RadioShack for about $3.
The RadioShack part number is 274-1576. This jack is designed for tip size 5.5mm O.D.x2.5mm I.D. You can order this jack online or pick it up in a local store.
Proceed on your own risk! If you do something wrong, you can damage the laptop.
In order to access and repair the power jack it’s necessary to disassemble the laptop and remove the top cover assembly (palm rest). Here’s an example of removing the top cover assembly from a Toshiba Satellite L355D, you’ll have to follow steps 1-14.
Disassembly steps for all above mentioned models will be very similar.
OK, let’s say the top cover is removed and we are inside the laptop. By the way, I’m fixing a Satellite L305D laptop.
Why the power jack feels loose? You see the answer on the picture below.
In my case both, the power jack and mounting brackets on the base assembly got broken. Even if you replace the broken jack with a new one, it will not stay attached to the base. If you send a laptop with a damage like that to a repair shop, they will recommend replacing the power jack harness and laptop base. This repair will easily cost over $200 but I have a better idea how to fix it for $3 without replacing the base assembly.
Here’s my new replacement panel-mount jack which should last for a long time unlike the original Toshiba jack.
All laptops mentioned above come with one of the following AC adapter: 19v-3.42A, 19V-3.95A, 19V-4.74A or 19V-6.3A.
All these power adapter will fit perfectly into the jack from RadioShack.
LET’S START THE REPAIR.
STEP 1.
Using a pocket knife remove plastic supports from the internal side of the base assembly, so the side where the new jack will be mounted is flat.
On the picture below you see plastic supports removed.
STEP 2.
Again, using the pocket knife remove the plastic wall surrounding the mounting hole. Make the hole larger, so then new jack fits in.
STEP 3.
The new jack is too long and if you install it as is the laptop cover will not sit properly on the base. It happens because one of the speakers (in Satellite L305D) is located very close to the power jack.
It will work if you make the jack shorter. You can cut off part of the long “-” lead or simply bent it as I did. After it’s done coat both leads with generous amount of solder.
STEP 4.
Now remove the damaged power jack from the laptop and cut off wires somewhere close to the jack base.
Remove isolation, twist wires and coat them with solder.
The red “+” wire will connect to the lead in the center of the new jack.
The black “-” wire will connect to the lead on the side – the one you made shorter.
In some laptops Toshiba uses green wires instead or red wires. They also should be soldered to the “+” lead in the center of your new jack.
WARNING! Check the polarity before you apply power to the laptop.
STEP 5.
Now mount the new power jack on the base.
STEP 6.
Solder wires to the new jack. Again, the red wire is soldered to the lead in the center and the black on to the lead on the side.
As you see, I soldered wires at a 90 degree angle to the jack so the top cover (and the right speaker) fits in.
I covered both leads with electrical tape.
The new (modified) power harness has been installed into the laptop base. Now you can tighten the nut on the power jack and secure it on the base.
STEP 7.
You’ll have to modify the top cover assembly a little bit so it fits on the laptop.
Remove plastic reinforcement walls so they do not touch the power jack when the cover is installed. If you leave these walls, there will be a gap between the cover and base.
The plastic walls have been removed.
STEP 8.
Assemble the laptop. You are done!
I think the new power jack is way more robust then the original one and should last for a long time.
And it looks great too.
Here’s an example of damaged power jack in a Satellite L355D laptop. This base is bigger than in Satellite L305 and you’ll have plenty of space for your modification.
Here’s another example of damaged base assembly in a Satellite P305D laptop. Again, there is plenty of space for the jack modification.
By the way, if your laptop is still under warranty, Toshiba might fix this problem at no charge. Call them first or take the laptop to the authorized repair center.
If this modification works for you, please mention the laptop model in the comments. You are welcome to post any suggestions and improvements.
If this fix works for any other Toshiba laptop, please mention the model number in the comments below.
If you find this article useful, please consider making a donation to the author. Thank you!
April 22nd, 2009 at 11:25 pm
I had a problem like that but I didn’t repair laptop myself because it was under warranty. I mailed it to a local authorized Toshiba center (Northwest Computer Support) and they replaced the bottom and power socket at no charge. I got my laptop a week later like new.
You can contact them and fix yours, here’s the link: http://www.nwcsupport.com/ContactUs.aspx
May 1st, 2009 at 6:28 pm
I have to say this was a life saver for me. For $3.00 and an hour of time I repaired my wifes L355D-S7825 (5 months old). I saw no point in getting it repaired with the same type of power jack which may or may not break again in 5 months.
I used a 7/16″ bit to enlarge the hole and a sharp chisel to remove the plastic bits other than that you procedure was perfect for me.
In the L355D there was plenty of room for the new jack to fit.
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!
May 1st, 2009 at 10:21 pm
Kenneth,
The Satellite L355D laptop has a larger case and fitting a new jack in should be a problem. Enjoy your new jack. I think it should last for a long time.
May 5th, 2009 at 10:19 pm
Kenneth,
I think this jack will last for a long time.
I used just a regular pocket knife because I didn’t have your tools.
May 6th, 2009 at 7:23 am
piece of cake L355d has room but my soldering sucks. took 1 hr. used a 3/4 drill bit to open hole ( didnt have a 7/16. after putting laptop back together forgot the Electrical tape. THANK YOU
May 18th, 2009 at 5:05 am
The step-by-step instructions, right down to the case modification, were crystal clear, and spot-on. After opening my nephew’s L355D, I noticed the jack and the base were both intact, and I was about to cement it back in. Then I figured, for $3 and about an hour of time (and a large Dunkin’ Donuts coffee) I would save myself the hassle of most likely having to do this again, and, ultimately having to replace the jack assembly anyway. I would, however, strongly recommend to anyone doing this procedure NOT to do this on the kitchen table with 2 curious cats running around. Otherwise, it’s really quite a simple procedure. Thanks for the clear, concise, accurate instructions! Z
May 28th, 2009 at 10:59 am
Havnt finished the actual repair yet, have to get out of work and run to radio shack for the parts however, i did prep everything so all i have left is the soldiering and such of the new jack. Spot on my friends this is most excellent. Im not really a electroincs guru, my knowledge goes thru high school electonics class, but what i am is a supporter or do it youself. this is much better then the repair would have costed me and the instructions are clear concise and get the job done. Spot on again my friends and i will update when the repair is complete. Doing the repair on a Satelite A-205a so far so good everything is matching up so add another to the list that this will work for. Thanks!!!!!!!
May 28th, 2009 at 10:16 pm
Colin,
Good luck! By the way, you can use these Toshiba Satellite A205 disassembly instructions.
May 30th, 2009 at 10:59 pm
Just did this today with a friend. We soldered wire to the jack then spliced with existing cable. Tested with a multimeter and found my power cable died, got a new one. Be careful when removing the keyboard ribbon, mine got damaged so I got a usb one to get me by. Also when reinstalling the memory, get it right or the display won’t work until you do.
May 31st, 2009 at 1:20 pm
Jared,
If you reassembled a laptop and the screen doesn’t come on, the first you have to check is the memory modules.
June 4th, 2009 at 6:34 pm
I did the process as you detailed, but for some reason my laptop still isn’t charging! There are no clear signs of the motherboard being cracked, or any of that but I feel I may have to disassemble it completely to look at the motherboard.
I have a toshiba satellite a205-s5000 by the way.. any ideas why it may not work?
June 6th, 2009 at 2:53 pm
Coby,
Did you test the AC adapter? Maybe the adapter is dead?
June 7th, 2009 at 8:20 pm
Yeah, the AC adapter is working.. i just bought it :/
I soldered everything solid.. so i’m almost sure thats not the problem..
im gonna do some more freelancing.. then buy a voltometer and maybe its one of the wires that has a short or something. I really should have gotten my A+ lol
June 14th, 2009 at 4:41 pm
I have a Toshiba Satellite L20 & a Toshiba Equium L20, (same mode, different name)
both have new battery’s after the old ones died, I purchased new battery’s for both
but they fail to charge at all (orange LED flashes constantly)
I heard that it’s a chip failure or lock out on the motherboard so as to prevent
damage, has anyone else experienced this problem & found a solution ?
June 20th, 2009 at 9:52 am
It was my nephews L305D. My brother-in-law asked me to look at it. If I hadn’t found this, I would have never attempted to disassemble. But this info, and the specific part number to use, were perfect. Thx!!!! All works great now!!!
June 24th, 2009 at 1:50 pm
Rob,
Maybe you got a bad battery?
Also, try updating BIOS to the latest version.
June 24th, 2009 at 8:57 pm
Wow cool info I’m about to do the same thing to my laptop it’s a 5 year old gateway mx7118 laptop. The DC jack that I’m replacing has six points that I must solderto the motherboard, two I think are for the power while the other four might be just to secure the casing of the jack to the motherboard. If I am to get a replacement jack like the one that you used because it does look more durable overtime and if I do manage to make it fit all then all that I need is to get two cable wires of certain gauge solder them to the motherboard and then to the terminal end of the jack. Will that be able to work or should I go about it another way.
June 28th, 2009 at 10:11 pm
Wondering if you guys can help. Brother’s laptop had had the damaged power jack for a while and the AC jack was just lose in there for a while but it was still working. One morning the laptop stopped working so we figured it was just the AC jack that had gone too far and it wasn’t charging, tested the AC and that turned out to not be working, tested it with another laptops AC with same power and laptop still wasn’t charging. We tried to do this mod and was looking great but when we went to turn it on the laptop was just makes some tapping sound, any ideas?
If no other ideas we are going to check with Toshiba on how much it would cost to fix without warranty, any idea how much this repair would cost?
June 29th, 2009 at 2:51 pm
BlinND,
If you soldered the new jack correctly but the laptop still not working, most likely it’s related to the motherboard.
June 30th, 2009 at 7:36 am
Well, we did have trouble soldering the middle pin, it was kind of hard getting it to stick to that smooth surface. I used a multimeter to test if power was going through and it was so I guess it is now a motherboard problem. Any idea how much a fix like this would cost without warranty through Toshiba?
July 1st, 2009 at 9:21 am
BliND,
Toshiba will not fix the motherboard, they will replace it with a new one. A replacement motherboard for a Satellite L305 will start from around $200. Plus you’ll have to pay labor charge. If you send this laptop to Toshiba, I would say you are looking at about $300. But call them and ask.
Send it directly to Toshiba (not authorized service center) because it might be cheaper.
July 2nd, 2009 at 1:13 pm
Ok, I figured it out. I guess it was just my soldering cause I redid it again this morning and it worked for a while, but again it stopped. Could I like cut some notches or drill a hole on the middle pin for the solder to stick better on it cause I’m pretty sure if I open the laptop again it probably came off. And really, thanks a lot for this guide!
July 2nd, 2009 at 1:28 pm
BliND,
I guess your soldering gun is not power enough. When I soldering the jack I didn’t have any problem. Make sure to use rosin-core solder.
Quote from Answers.com: “Solder made up in tubular or other hollow form, with the inner space filled with noncorrosive rosin flux.”
You can buy rosin -core solder in Radioshack ( Catalog #: 64-013 ). This solder will stick way better.
1. Unsolder wires from the jack.
2. Clean up contacts on the jack.
3. Apply a think layer of solder before soldering wires.
4. Solder wires.
July 8th, 2009 at 5:27 pm
Any chance this will work with A205 model?
July 10th, 2009 at 12:23 pm
Never mind
July 11th, 2009 at 3:05 pm
just applied to daughter’s Equium L350-10L (UK). She needs to use for school so unable to fit replacement power socket tonight., but Maplins JK10L at £1.59 is the UK equivalent and only needs an 8mm hole and is smaller overall @ 11mm dia and 21mm long.
As a temp repair, the locating lugs were not broken and I’ve rotated the existing socket thru 180 and refitted and put a brace section (modified an old desktop card blank cover) to provide support should she put too much pressure on the power lead when connecting. All rebuilt and working fine now; battery charging nicely.
Great info and descriptive pics; donation on the way. Will definitely use the site again (now a ‘favorite’. Thanks and keep up the good work.
July 11th, 2009 at 3:50 pm
I have an A305 satellite laptop. It will only charge if you push the adapter in real hard and hold. I disassembled and discovered the dc jack is broke off from the plastic guides. Since it will charge if pushed in hard enough, is this a power cord connector issue or the jack? I bought the parts to fix this with the co-axial solution, but am wondering if I might still have the same problem after doing this. Any suggestons?
July 12th, 2009 at 5:25 am
Great fix! I noticed that my power socket was loose and found this article. I was wondering how tight the socket is from new as i only have about 1mm of play up and down and about the same left to right with no movement in and out. Even with firm pressure the socket feels secure. I originally thought the socket was soldered directly to the board so any movement was bad news, but looking at the design i’m thinking that it might be normal. Any thoughts?
July 17th, 2009 at 9:16 am
Do I have to take apart the motherboard? like step 14 says?
July 18th, 2009 at 11:53 pm
kevin,
Do you mean remove the motherboard from the base in order to replace the jack? No, you can leave the motherboard in the base, just be careful.
July 21st, 2009 at 6:00 pm
The issue was with the power cord. After I replaced the jack, it still did not charge so I cut open the power card close to the connector and discovered a loose solder on the ground wire in the power card. I got a new power cord since the laptop was under warranty and now I have a much stronger power jack installed as well. All works fine.
August 3rd, 2009 at 6:24 pm
YOU SIR ARE MY HERO! Your guide just saved my laptop. The project took about an hour to complete. The only thing I did different was use a Dremel to shave down the unwanted plastic backets. Thank you!
August 5th, 2009 at 9:44 am
Thank you so very much for your excellent, detailed instructions. The power jack on my Wife’s ‘17″ Toshiba was broken when a grandchild kick the cord running through the house. I warned my wife several times that was going to eventually happen because she is not careful where she plugs in her laptop. She needs her laptop for her home business and was devastated when she realized it could take days or weeks not to mention the expense to have it fixed. Researching the Internet for a repair service I found your instructions to dis-assemble the laptop and subsequently how to repair a broken jack. I ran out to Radio Shack to pick up the jack and within 3 hours of reading your instruction I had repaired my wife’s laptop. So the day after it was broken, I fixed it for 3 bucks. It works great and the new jack is much more sturdy. I do not understand why Toshiba doesn’t make jacks like that. The only thing I did differently was use a 7/16″ drill bit to open the hole for the new jack and it was a perfect fit. Also as another did, I used a dremel tool to remove the support plastic around the jack. Again thank you very much.
~eddie
August 5th, 2009 at 7:38 pm
Great work in providing the steps. This saved my nephews computer. He was about ready to throw it away but thankfully he called me first and when I found these steps I knew this is all he needed. He was so happy that I fixed the problem and he still had a laptop. He was so grateful and I think i’m now his best uncle and he now thinks I know rocket science.
Thanks a ton for taking the time to share.
August 9th, 2009 at 12:06 am
I just want to thank you very much, for putting these instructions online, i see that they have already been a huge success for many others, and i just finished on my satellite L355. My laptop was under warranty still but toshiba still refused to fix it, and considering the shop wanted $330 to fix it, i decided to do it myself. I have to admit, I was somewhat nervous about doing it as I have never attempted, nor had I ever seen anyone else ever open up a computer, but thanks to your clear and concise directions I now have a working laptop again. Thank you so much for taking the time to write out these directions, I will send a donation as soon as I am able to (next payday).
August 17th, 2009 at 12:54 pm
Thanks for the fix, turns out, my lappy, had three problems, bad jack, bad cord, and bad support for the jack, thankfully radio shack also stocked the end of the power cord, so all i had to do was solder that back together, and now my lappy works great,
August 24th, 2009 at 5:50 pm
Hi
thanks for sharing this, its really helpful. I have the same problem my power jack has been displaced, but my laptop goes on battery with this problem, its as if my charger doesnt supply the electricity enough. I have to push the cord in and put the computer in a weird position so it gets charged, which is very inconvient bc most of the time it goes back to battery. So not sure if my problem is the same?
But initially it was caused bc i accidently tripped over my charger and the power jack got displaced inside.
Is the battery problem being caused by the displaced power jack or is there something else?
thanks
August 24th, 2009 at 8:43 pm
Meena,
I cannot tell without looking at the laptop. It’s possible that you damaged the power cord when you tripped over the AC adapter but this is just a guess.
You’ll have to test the AC adapter with a voltmeter and find out if power cuts off when you move the cord.
August 27th, 2009 at 12:27 pm
Hey thanks for ur reply.
So i tried to use my charger on a different toshiba laptop and it was causing the same problems, if u slightly moved it, it would go on battery. So i am assuming the charger is damaged?
I also see the power jack inside the laptop displaced and pushed in, can that alone cause that problem too?
thanks
August 27th, 2009 at 12:36 pm
Meena,
Sounds like you have a faulty power adapter. Apparently the power cord is damaged and when you move it you shorting wires inside the cord.
I doubt it. Most like the jack is just dislocated because the jack housing is broken or the mounting bracket inside the case is broken. Try calling Toshiba, should be covered by the warranty.
August 28th, 2009 at 4:47 pm
I have the same problem too but with mine it was broken since day 1 after i pulled it out of the box.
Boy i wonder if QC was paying attention.
September 3rd, 2009 at 8:36 pm
WOW, this worked like a charm for me. I had never soldered before so there was a learning curve and I screwed it up once but the 2nd time held. I could not believe it when I powered it back up! BTW, my power cord/charger appears to have gone bad simultaneously. I had to replace it. Thanks for submitting!!!!!!
September 3rd, 2009 at 8:49 pm
I have had this same problem, bought an L305 in February (love the laptop, but probably wouldn’t have bought it if I had known about these issues) and had to have the port and keyboard replaced in late August. Barely two weeks later now, and the cord is wobbling again, but it will still charge, plug and unplug properly. Should I be concerned that the cord is wobbly in the base again so soon? I don’t want to replace the port with your steps just yet, as I am pretty sure that will negate the warranty, and it would be my luck that other issues arise, but to be safe I am printing the instructions for when that time comes. I would appreciate your feedback though on the fact that the port was just replaced and is already acting up again.
September 7th, 2009 at 3:44 pm
How do u open the lap top to replace that part
September 7th, 2009 at 5:20 pm
marie,
I linked to the laptop disassembly guide in the post.
September 11th, 2009 at 2:46 pm
Thanks for the guidance – I went for a slightly different approach which involved simply glueing a small wedge of rubber to the side of the power socket so that the mini speaker mounted to the top cover fitted right next to power socket when re-assembled. The shim was around 3mm x 8mm x 10mm but I used a slice of an eraser (that’s a “rubber” for us Brits) and was able to shave bits off as required.
There is still a little lateral movement but it doesn’t move in anymore and I avoided having to visit Radioshack or break out the soldering iron! A new metal power socket does look a bit better though
September 11th, 2009 at 3:00 pm
My power port is having the same problems a second time, though I’ve used the warranty to get it fixed the first time. However, now the warranty is over and I’ll like to try your method. But before I start, can you give me detailed tips on the soldering portion. Not sure what that is or how to go about doing it. Thanks alot.
September 23rd, 2009 at 6:55 am
I have a toshiba p205d-s7802 i have the same problem with the power jack did follow the step by step instructions, purchased the new power jack at radio shack however i notice that there is a significant size difference in the inner prong of the new power jack, it is slightly thinner…is that a cause for concern……input would be greatly appreciated as many others i’m being overcharged for such a simple procedure…thank you
September 23rd, 2009 at 7:43 am
Josh,
I guess you purchased a wrong jack. There are different jacks available at Radio Shack, find one that fits your adapter.
October 1st, 2009 at 2:51 am
Thanks for the guide. Very helpful. This is the second time my power connector has broken on my L355D – it’s still under warranty, though, so I’ll be having it fixed by Toshiba. But, if it breaks again, I’ll try your solution here.
October 3rd, 2009 at 8:54 am
Hello,
My wife’s L305D had the loose power socket. I opened it up with your instructions and found the adapter was just knocked out. No broken plastic or anything. I put it back into the guides and reassembled the unit. Checked the power cord and have power going into the unit. I also checked for power where the red and black wires connect to the laptop and had power. Still will not power up or charge.
Any thoughts???
Thanks in advance!
Thomas L.
October 3rd, 2009 at 9:44 am
My power connector has broken on my Toshiba L350 – bought in january 2009 and still under warranty.
Toshiba ordered me to send it by post 700km from home ! As I wanted to do faster, your solution seemed to me so interesting that I have followed it until page 2 step 11. I didn’t had to disconnect as shown on the step 9. An opening of 3 centimeters was enough to fix the problem.
Thank you very much for your advice.
ps : Have you somme feed back from Toshiba ? Of course Toshiba knows its kind of connector is too fragile. But sincerely with your help I know I will be able to do it again by my own.
October 4th, 2009 at 8:30 am
Hi, I followed your instructions in opening the laptop, and fixed the power port. Now I see the power button working and I could tell that there is power reaching the machine although the screen DOSE NOT DISPLAY ANYTHING. It is completly black as if the laptop is turned off although the laptop is turned on.
Any help please.
October 7th, 2009 at 9:34 pm
Ammar,
1. Make sure memory modules are seated correctly. The laptop will not start with improperly seated memory.
2. Make sure the video cable is properly plugged into the motherboard. Reconnect the cable just in case.
October 7th, 2009 at 9:48 pm
Thomas L.,
First of all, test the AC adapter. Maybe the adapter doesn’t output any power.
If it’s not the adapter, I guess you’ll have to take it apart again.
Remove the top cover and check if the power goes to the motherboard through the DC harness. Plug in the AC adapter into the jack and test voltage at the terminals where the harness is connected to the motherboard.
If the motherboard is getting power but there is no power light, most likely the motherboard is bad.
October 8th, 2009 at 7:29 am
Thomas L,
That’s funny, but right now I’m troubleshooting a Satellite L305D laptop with pushed power jack. Just in case I tested the AC adapter and it’s not putting out any voltage. It’s dead.
Again, before you disassemble the laptop, test the adapter.
October 8th, 2009 at 10:04 pm
[...] My previous post explains how to fix power port in Toshiba Satellite L305/L305D laptops. [...]
October 22nd, 2009 at 4:00 pm
I simply screwed the radio shack into the plastic with pliers. It is very solid and no cutting required. BETTER than new!!!
October 23rd, 2009 at 2:28 pm
i was wondering since the laptop i’m trying to fix has the black and green cables. could there be a chance that the polarity on this laptop is different. the reason why ask is that after changing the dc jack it burn the ac adapter but i also don’t know if the ac adapter was good to begin. also would the the ac adapter get mes up if the dc jack was push in?
October 23rd, 2009 at 2:34 pm
Abe,
It shouldn’t be different.
That’s way I always check the AC adapter before doing any repair. I cannot tell if your adapter was bad or you soldered something incorrectly without looking at the laptop.
Nope.
October 26th, 2009 at 5:52 pm
THANK YOU! I thought my laptop was done, and now it is better than new. Thank you for posting this information.
October 28th, 2009 at 11:48 am
This was so helpful, I was able to do the fix in less than an hour. Did not even take time to price the two toshiba parts. Thanks…
October 30th, 2009 at 9:30 am
i did everything the instructions were great but when i pluged it in after i finished it the computer wasnt chrging or getting any power at all the ac adapter was working i tested it on a nother computer; i deas on what could be wrong
if u have and idea on what to replace please give me the name and where to buy it.
thnz so much
October 30th, 2009 at 10:36 am
Mb,
I cannot tell what is wrong without looking at the laptop. Maybe the soldering is bad?
November 6th, 2009 at 8:04 am
Okay i did this mod, step by step. and the laptop now works great, but the second i put electrical tape on the wires, its starts buring the tape up. any ideas?
November 7th, 2009 at 12:07 pm
Bob,
Maybe bad soldering job? Try resoldering the wires.
November 12th, 2009 at 9:04 am
Great information, I found the RadioShack (274-1576) part on ebay U.K. for only £3.00 (including postage)
Only took about 45 minutes to do, but I made one silly error, I forgot about the nut ;-(
NOTE TO ALL: REMEMBER TO ADD NUT BEFORE SOLDERING
Laptop working/charging great and the conntector is solid, it will last for years.
Thank you
November 12th, 2009 at 9:12 am
Willie,
LOL
I made exactly the same mistake while creating this guide.
I forgot to add the nut before soldering the wires. After that you cannot put it on because of the ferrite core on the harness.
1. Add the nut.
2. Solder the wires.
November 17th, 2009 at 6:03 am
Hello Laptop Tech,
I must admit, you are a life saver (in money terms). lol!. I phoned up Toshiba to ask them how much it would be and withouth any second thoughts they said it’ll be £220.50 ($370.26), only to change the jack!!…Couldnt believe it mate. Anyways, i googled and found your website and followed the instruction one by one and made it happen. The jack is BETTER than new, (Yes, it is. If any Toshiba employee is reading this, your company is a scam). In total, it cost me £22.93. (tools, radioshack, electric tape, solder and soldering iron).
Glad you posted this. Thank you once again.
November 17th, 2009 at 9:38 am
London_Boy,
I’m happy to help. That’s why I keep this site up and running.
LOL. You can buy a brand new laptop for $370.
November 18th, 2009 at 11:03 am
Does this work on the L350D???
November 18th, 2009 at 12:04 pm
Is there an alternative place to get this part, Radio Shack says they no longer carry it?
November 18th, 2009 at 3:12 pm
Cory,
Yes, it should work, it’s similar to L355 or L355D.
Are you sure? It’s still available on their site.
November 24th, 2009 at 8:00 pm
Thank you for posting this! I just performed the fix on my wife’s laptop, and it worked like a charm. If (or maybe when) my own Toshiba’s power jack bites it, I have the parts on hand and waiting. Thanks again – saved us a bunch of money.
November 24th, 2009 at 8:01 pm
Whoops, forgot to mention – our computers are L355D’s.
November 25th, 2009 at 9:39 pm
will this work on a Toshiba L505D-S5965?
November 25th, 2009 at 10:32 pm
Javier,
I think it should work. Your Satellite L505D uses same type of AC adapter (19v-3.95A), so you can use same type of power jack from RadioShack.
Satellite L505/L505D has enough space to mount the power jack. Here are disassembly instructions for Satellite L500/L500D/L505/L505D laptops.
November 25th, 2009 at 10:55 pm
thank you for the info
November 27th, 2009 at 6:17 am
if i filp the wires and plug in the cord will that fry my computer or the adapter?
November 27th, 2009 at 10:18 pm
mb,
You can fry the motherboard.
December 2nd, 2009 at 12:29 am
Wow what a great guide and I can report I now have a working P300. I am in the UK and so I got part JK10L from Maplin (£1.59) and bought a soldering iron and solder. Guide for taking the laptop was nice and detailed and despite it being a complex laptop a bit of patience and it was in bits!
The maplin connector has 3 connectors so a multi meter helps to determine which is positive and which is negative. I used a drill to enlarge the power adapter hole and the new power adapter screwed in without any issues at all.
Thanks for the great guide!
December 3rd, 2009 at 8:07 am
Great walk-through, I loved the detailed pics. I followed the instructions on my L355, and got it back together with no parts left over. However, now it will not boot. I can plug it in, and I get the indicator light below the touchpad showing that it is charging, but the screen never comes on. I can hear the fan, the hard drive spin-up, and the DVD accessing, but absolutely nothing on the screen. After about 8 or 9 seconds, the computer shuts itself off for about 3 seconds, then tries to boot again with the same result. I get the same problem with the unit unplugged if I hit the soft power button above the keyboard. Closing the unit stops the cycle.
I took it back apart to look for anything obvious, but I can’t see what I did wrong. I imagine it is something that I left unclipped, but nothing sticks out at me. Any advice you could offer based on these symptoms? Is there more info I could provide?
Once again, thanks for a great walkthrough. I’m sure whatever I did wrong was something pretty simple, as it is hard to go wrong with instructions that are this detailed.
December 4th, 2009 at 2:26 am
Well, I feel sheepish. After reassembling it twice, I still didn’t have the RAM seated properly. When I started to go for the third time, I noticed it as soon as I removed the cover. So, other readers, if you get the same symptoms I did, try re-seating your RAM. Once again, thank you for creating this web site and taking the time to help out many people you will never even meet.
December 5th, 2009 at 2:38 pm
Thanks for the excellent tip! I’ve got this working on my girlfriend’s computer with no difficulties, and after installing Win7 as well, it’s got a completely new lease on life. The model is L305-S5902. On this model, you don’t need to widen the hole that you put the jack through. If you buy the part suggested by the author (which is hard to find in a RadioShack store), it’s threaded, and it’s enough to tighten it through the plastic with pliers.
December 8th, 2009 at 5:18 pm
Like many others, I’ll add my thanks. Everything worked fine. I hope others note that they can make a PayPal donation – after all, you saved many of us a considerable sum and I’m sure it takes more time that most realize to lay out a set of clear instructions with photos and all.
My main fear was in separating the bottom from the top and also when I removed the keyboard cable and there was no end on it – it wasn’t clear to me that there is no “plug” on this ribbon cable (and a couple of others later on). Also, the directions called for following steps 1-14 but I don’t think #14 was necessary. I also missed the links to page 1,2,3 of the disassembly for quite a while – they look pretty obvious now.
Thanks again.
December 13th, 2009 at 8:23 am
My girlfriend had a similar problem with her L305D the adapter was really loose so when she plugged in her adapter it wasn’t making a good connection. So I removed the top cover and carefully superglued the plastic adapter to the side of the laptop. The ac input is now nice and solid and the adapter plugs in nicely with no play, but unfortunately there is no longer any power at all getting to the laptop so it wont turn on. There appears to be no damage to the motherboard. I was just wondering if anybody else experienced this issue and if they did how they resolved it.
Thanks
December 13th, 2009 at 5:05 pm
thanks very much, keep up the great work. Very detailed and informative.
December 16th, 2009 at 7:13 pm
Worked great on my L305D. Thanks!
December 20th, 2009 at 4:04 pm
I used the procedure on a Satellite Pro L300. All went well, however, removing the top cover is slghtly different. There are 5 additional screws to remove at this stage and only two of the cables need to be disconnected. I liked the use of the guitar pick! Brilliant!
Fixed the DC jack with no problem. Then I converted the notebook to bluetooth by soldering a small BT dongle to a USB port so that the dongle is now located inside the machine. Cheap and easy to do but you lose one USB port.
Thanks for a superb guide which gave me the confidence to tackle a job for which I was quoted £100! Cost me less than £10 including the dongle – and a couple hours sat in the kitchen instead of going down the pub!
Cheers and Merry Christmas!
December 22nd, 2009 at 5:41 pm
Thank you SO MUCH for this clear, detailed set of instructions….my laptop is better than new. I found your site and printed out the instructions, bought the metal jack at Radio Shack for 2.99, and a couple of guys at my husband’s work did the fix in under 30 minutes! I’m so happy!!!
December 27th, 2009 at 7:18 pm
Which solder should I use?
December 29th, 2009 at 7:00 am
I was wondering if this repair would work for a U400. The problem being that the socket is at the back of the case and directly below the hinge for the screen? Also is it necessary to remove all the parts specified (Hard drive, memory and DVD ) in order to remove the top cover to gain access?
December 29th, 2009 at 10:29 am
Ok, after superfluing the old jack back too many times, I decided to finally replace it like described above. In the process of taking apart the Toshiba L355D-S7815 the last time, I seemed to have messed up the cable that goes from the touchpad into the motherboard. It no longer works. The copper spots on the thin cable strip end are all messed up (I guess there is a limit to how many times you can unplug and replug it in
). Although I can use a USB mouse, I would still like to fix the issue. I can’t find any information on how to replace the touchpad anywhere. Can I just replace the cable somehow or do I need to replace the entire touchpad? In looking for a replacement touchpad, I noticed there are 2 part numbers listed. One is $26, the other over $50. Which one do I need if I can’t just fix the cable? Thanks for all your help!
December 29th, 2009 at 10:49 am
Paul,
Yep, sounds like you’ve damaged the cable.
I believe in this laptop you can replace just the cable without replacing the whole touch pad. The problem is that these cables are not sold separately. The touch pad cables are sold with the touch pad board. Here’s the part number: V000140200
I found it for $10 here. Search by the part number I just mentioned.
Buy the touch pad assembly, disconnect the cable and install it into your laptop instead of the damaged cable.
December 30th, 2009 at 8:08 am
I’ve just done the mod on my L300 and it was fairly straightforward and has made a massive difference! Thank you SO much!
For those of us in the UK, the only place to get hold of these jacks with the flange on the front (rather than the nut on the front) is pixmania:
http://www.pixmania.co.uk/uk/uk/1147401/art/radioshack/metal-panel-mount-coaxial.html
They’re only £1 each and the seller is very good.
A few things to note:
BUY AT LEAST TWO JACKS. I messed up the first time and broke one of the terminals off. (They’re quite brittle.) They’re so cheap and definitely worth having in the cupboard.
The knurling on the flange is quite soft. If you grip or screw the thing in with a pair of pliers, you will mangle the ridges straight away, and it won’t look very nice. Either protect the pliers VERY well with tape, or do all the gripping using the body of the jack further back.
On my L300, there is no cutting to be done. No bits of plastic get in the way whatsoever.
For the L300, here is a slightly modified how-to, that takes into account the slight model differences:
There are only two kinds of screws: F6 and F3. F6 are small; F3 are tiny.
1. Remove the bezel and the two F3 screws securing the keyboard. Remove the keyboard and unplug it.
2. Where the keyboard was, remove all the F6 screws that look like they’re holding the top cover.
3. TURN IT OVER! Undo the single cap-head screw holding the memory cover in the middle, open it and remove the single F6 screw that it reveals. This releases the optical drive.
4. With it still upside down, remove ALL F6 screws, and the three F3 screws in the battery compartment.
5. Turn it the right way up and remove the two conspicuous cables plugging into the top of the motherboard: one is a little ribbon to the touchpad, and one is a little white plug for the speakers.
6. It should now require little force to remove the top cover. There are clips to ease open along the sides.
7. Slide the optical drive out the side of the laptop. This gives better access.
8. The power wires run from the motherboard to the jack. Unplug it and remove it from its channel.
9. Instead of folding the outer terminal of the new jack over itself, simply bend the whole thing outwards to about 45 degrees, curving to a right angle if possible.
10. Cut, strip, twist and tin the end of the power wires.
11. Cut the little flange off the outside of the laptop, so the new jack will sit flat. DO NOT enlarge the hole – there is no need!
12. Screw the jack in. It is the right size to cut its own thread in the laptop casing. Remember to protect the knurling so you don’t chew it up. Stop screwing it in when it’s about flush and the negative terminal is at the point closest to the front of the laptop – this is essential for clearance.
13. *DIFFERENT FROM L305* Grab the top cover and put it roughly in place, and have a look under it from the front of the laptop. Observe the limited clearance between the end of the jack and the side of the box containing the speaker. This is why we bent the negative terminal outwards.
14. *DIFFERENT FROM L305* Solder the wires as above, but on the L300, you’ll need to solder the positive wire across, at right angles to the pin, so that the wire and solder does not intrude any further into the laptop than the end of the pin. The wire should come off the jack and travel towards the front of the laptop, then curve inwards. This way it will not foul the speaker box. I’m sorry I didn’t take a picture!
15. Re-route the wire – if you don’t feed it under the little hook that it was previously under, there should still be enough length to allow the little ferrite cube to sit in the little chair it was in before.
26. In true Haynes manual fashion, reassembly is the reverse of removal. The touchpad ribbon cable is not fully seated if you can still see the shiny surface of the connector pads on the ribbon. The keyboard cable is, however, seated with a little bit still visible.
27. Plug in and enjoy!
Jonathan
December 30th, 2009 at 10:06 am
Chris,
I’m not sure if your Satellite U400 has enough space for the new generic jack. I guess if the DC jack is broken, you’ll have to buy another original Toshiba jack (Part number A000024450) and replace the damaged one.
You’ll find disassembly guide for Satellite U400/U405 laptops at http://www.Irisvista.com/tech/
January 3rd, 2010 at 6:28 pm
I would like to know why if the base is broken it doesn’t work? I was thinking it was a safty feature but idk
January 3rd, 2010 at 11:40 pm
Mason,
It doesn’t work because when the base is broken the power jack gets pushed inside the case and you cannot plug in the AC adapter.
January 4th, 2010 at 9:45 pm
Hi did everything step by step to the letter T now getting an error message thats says can not connect all drives when I click on the ballon takes me to a device manager which says memory drive cannot connect and it assigned it the drive letter Z …
January 7th, 2010 at 3:37 pm
Just did this on a toshiba for a client of mine. Works like a chap and looks sick!
January 10th, 2010 at 6:15 pm
Worked great! Got the part from Radio Shack. Followed the instructions to the T and my 9-year old is now a happy camper. Thanks! I have to say it looks better as well. Verty sturdy and stylish.
January 11th, 2010 at 2:01 pm
thanks a million worked fine ……..
January 11th, 2010 at 6:11 pm
Well how comes when I slip the charger into the charging port and have it connected and all chordes hucked up it still won’t charge
January 14th, 2010 at 9:30 am
Great work!! Thanks for the excellent repair guide. Definitely made the job easy.
January 17th, 2010 at 3:37 pm
Awesome guide!!! Took me 20minutes tops, the part was in-stock at our local radio shack and also bought the soldering gun and solder there total price like $15 Again THANK YOU!
January 20th, 2010 at 6:22 pm
Hello…..
Great site. But I am working on a Toshiba Satellite P305D-S8828. The power socket is broken and it needs to be replaced.
My husband is insistent that this guide will not work (the one for the L305D is the one listed here). Please help!!!!
Thanks!!!
January 21st, 2010 at 4:19 pm
Gina,
The last picture shows base assembly for a Satellite P305D. I think this base has plenty of space for a new generic jack.
It should work if you do everything correctly.
January 23rd, 2010 at 2:01 am
i did the repair but it will not charge and no lights come on now
January 24th, 2010 at 12:32 am
Well I must say that this site was very helpful. I had never taken my Toshiba Satellite L355D apart before. The power jack was broke off inside the laptop. I had some quotes to have it fix is was going to be close to $200.00 dollars. I did price the factory plug i located one for $50.00 dollars. Then after reading your site i decided to take this on i had nothing to lose. I went to Radio Shack and got the generic connector which was $3.00 dollars like you said. And took my time taking it apart while just following your steps. It took me 2 hours to fix but i didnt hurry at all. Plugged it up works like a champ. So i want to say Thank You for this site it was very helpful.
January 26th, 2010 at 10:50 am
This rocks!!!! Thought I was screwed, until I found this great tutorial.
I did this procedure on a Toshiba A-305, opening just had to b shaved a tiny bit with an exacto knife. Connector fits like a glove and is way more sturdy. $5 for connector and shrink wrap.
Thank you!
January 27th, 2010 at 11:23 am
I used this website also and installed the power jack for a toshiba P305D and that part is working ….. atleast the plug light and battery light are working now, but the laptop will not power on?? Any suggestions….anyone??
Thanks
Shirl
January 30th, 2010 at 7:46 am
Thanks very much for this guide to replacing the power jack on my otherwise-admirable Toshiba Satellite L305.
A question before I begin opening the computer:
I’m reading the (generic) Satellite L355D disassembly instructions, steps 1 through 14. Why is it necessary – or IS it necessary – to remove the modem, wireless card and DVD drive, if one’s goal is to remove the keyboard and top cover for access to the jack?
I may well be misreading your instructions; perhaps it will become apparent why these components should be removed, once I get into it. Thanks for any replies.
February 3rd, 2010 at 7:39 am
This worked like a miracle for my Satellite A135 (S4427). The problem I had before I did the fix was that the jack itself was dead. I was having to wiggle the cord to get it to work, then it died completely. I opened the computer and realized I’d have to get a new jack. I was frustrated until I read this fix.
I didn’t have to shorten the long lead on the jack in the A135. It fit in there with no trouble. I widened the hole by using drill bits of increasing size, and twisting them by hand. The inside plastic support walls I removed with a pair of wire nippers and pliers.
February 5th, 2010 at 6:44 pm
Dude, you rock!
Awesome tutorial, worked fine on the L305. There was a slight bulge in the case from the speaker crowding problem, but it was not really a problem. Total work time about 1 hour.
Thank you!
February 6th, 2010 at 8:00 am
hi. could you use conductive silver paint instead of soldering?
February 7th, 2010 at 4:20 pm
david,
You’ll have to solder.
February 8th, 2010 at 4:38 am
Is the jack in this tutorial that same size as the existing (bad) jack. Will the same ac adapter work with it. As luck would have it, the one that I am fixing is an L305D. If the same adapter will not work, do you know which ac adapter I would need to get. Thanks so much for the help.
February 8th, 2010 at 11:09 pm
Stacey,
Yes, that’s the trick! The generic jack has same size as the existing factory jack. The generic jack works fine with the original factory adapter.
February 15th, 2010 at 7:55 am
I have sat. L305 with this problem, I repaired the power jack with no problem but the machine is dead. I have checked the output of the jack thinking a cold solder joint could be the problem but I have the required 19Vdc coming in and going out of the jack. I checked the battery charge parts for voltage and read the same 19Vdc. There doesn’t seem to be a problem with the jack but the original reason I repaired it remains. No power indication at all; whether or not the power supply is plugged in. Any tips?
February 17th, 2010 at 9:24 am
Great website and I’m looking to do this repair myself but I called Radio Shack (The Source in Canada) and they don’t have the part that you suggested. They want me to call Toshiba directly and I am hoping that I won’t have to do that. Any suggestions where I could source the part somewhere else here in Canada?
February 18th, 2010 at 3:17 pm
Holly,
Is there any way you can order this jack online (maybe from the US site)?
Calling to Toshiba will not help you go find this jack.
February 20th, 2010 at 8:35 pm
I have the same issue and its killing me!!!!!! I’m no good at soldering any chance I could buy a completed unit from you?
February 22nd, 2010 at 4:53 pm
First off, your directions were spot on, thanks for posting them!
Unfortunately… I broke an end off the little white plastic clip that holds the keyboard ribbon to the Motherboard… any idea where i can get a new one or maybe a work around that would do the trick????
Thanks again!
February 22nd, 2010 at 8:52 pm
John,
Try this:
http://www.laptoprepair101.com/laptop/2009/11/17/fix-broken-keyboard-connector-on-laptop-motherboard/
February 23rd, 2010 at 12:31 am
hi! an “electrical” question. The jack you show is metallic, the outer ring would connect to the ground cable. Isn’t that dangerous? I mean, if I accidentally touch the outer ring while in use?
Thanks!
February 23rd, 2010 at 5:13 pm
amz,
You mean touch the ring with your fingers? Nope, it’s not dangerous. It’s same like touching metal casing on your microwave oven.
February 23rd, 2010 at 7:14 pm
Hi,
I asked because the jack’s body is connected to the ground terminal. For example a common 3.5mm audio jack is basically the same, BUT it has a plastic housing around it. On the image above step 1 it clearly shows the body of the jack is directly connected to ground solder point…
February 26th, 2010 at 3:11 am
Just did the repair, took 5 hours, 3 hours spent on soldering the power cable to the RadioShack part. I was about to give up because I had screwed the part in and soldered already.
All in all, easy fix overall since now I know. Thanks for the guide, now I wish I would of asked for more money from her, but she was too cute to ask for $100, so I just asked for $20 for the repair.
February 26th, 2010 at 8:09 pm
okay so i did this mod… after finishing i tried to boot up my laptop to see if the green light would come on but no light omg i was hopeful this would not happen i have no direction at this point… somebody please tell me what the problem could be! and i checked if there was a flow of electricity and it was but still no charge
February 27th, 2010 at 11:49 am
Kam,
Did you solder wires correctly? Did you check polarity?
March 1st, 2010 at 11:01 pm
Hi,
I just finished the repair and when i put my charger in, it charges. But when i hit the power button, the power doesnt stay on and comes on but the screen never comes on. I feel like I didn’t hook something back up correctly. Is this correct? and is there something i can do that will fix this
March 2nd, 2010 at 12:11 pm
Raven,
I cannot tell what is wrong without looking at the laptop.
Check all connections. Make sure memory is seated correctly if you removed it for some reason.
March 3rd, 2010 at 7:59 am
Hi! thank you so much for going to so much trouble posting this site. Hopefully by the end of the day I will have finished this repair on my p305d. I will be donating too and I hope that everyone else does. If they haven’t shame on them! because you’ve saved all of us alot of money!
This will be my first computer repair. I’ve rarely failed at things like this being a pretty successful do-it-yourselfer and I like to be very prepared and make sure I understand everything before i proceed. I have all supplies, even an antistatic wriststrap as well as an antistatic mat to be safe. so my 3 questions are very basic, but i want to know before i proceed:
where do I clip the antistatic mat/and or wristrap? It’s evident on a desktop but I’m not sure on a laptop.
How do I check polarity? (this is my main question….it seems very important…the other questions i can figure out as i go, so if you don’t have time please just answer this one)
Will I have to shorten the jack for the p305d (i noticed some comments where some models didn’t actually require it…if so how do i shorten it?
Thank you again! and it’s tax season so I will definitely be donating!
March 3rd, 2010 at 9:48 am
deanna,
You can attache it to one of the frame screw on the desktop. Somewhere on the back of the desktop.
If you don’t have antistatic mat or wrist strap, it’s not critical. Simply touch the metal desktop frame before touching internal parts in the laptop. It will remove any static from your body.
In my example the red wire is “+” and the black one is “-”.
The red wire should be connected to the connector in the middle of the generic jack. The black cable is connected to the connector on the side.
You can see it on the step 6.
I don’t think you have to shorten it for Satellite P305D. As you can see on the last picture in the guide, it has enough space for the generic jack.
Good luck and proceed at your own risk!
March 4th, 2010 at 3:01 pm
Hey i did this fix on my l300 all charges ok now. The only problem i have is when i plug the ac adaptor the touchpad becomes very irratic. My cursor goes really jumpy it is extremely hard to use. As soon as i take the ac adaptor out the mouse works smoothly again.
I also noticed that if i put my fingers on the silver part of the dc jack thats visible when charging the mouse goes smooth again. so i end up holding that with one hand while trying to use the laptop with the other.
I havent a clue whats causing it. If anyone can help any advice would be greatly appreciated
March 4th, 2010 at 3:06 pm
Aaron McAllister,
I have no idea what’s wrong.
Bad soldering? Grounding issue? Maybe the jack is shoring something.
I cannot tell without looking inside the laptop.
March 4th, 2010 at 4:05 pm
ok so i have just taken the laptop upstairs and plugged it into a socket in my bedroom and it works almost perfectly,
if i move the mouse round quickly in circular motions it only freezes for a fraction of second about once every 10 seconds whereas downstairs i wouldnt even be able to move more than a few mm before it darting off in another direction.
March 4th, 2010 at 4:10 pm
and since ive been upstairs the taskbar has frozen and crashed 3 times. i dont see how that could be linked but my taskbar has never crashed.
apologies for the multiple posts
March 4th, 2010 at 5:50 pm
Hi!
(the plastic doesn’t go all the way flush from the cord into the jack…but it didn’t when i just plugged it on before all the work just to see how it fits) I got the exact jack that you mention. could it somehow be wrong for the p305d or is this okay to have that little space of the post showing? or is it just enough to not make a circuit and power up? so there’s no usual indication that i’ve just plugged in and the battery is now charging. could i have used too much solder? wires were tightly connected to the jack. i worried that maybe i should cover some of the wire and solder with electrical tape, maybe i shouldn’t have? what do you make of this? i wonder if after all this hard work it was just a faulty power cord. i have no indicator lights on that to be sure. i’d love some advice if you have any and sorry for nearly writing a book here LOL hope you can help 
well i survived this entire process. I didn’t know you had a tutorial for taking apart my p305d and i actually found it before i started. soldering is probably the most aggravating part. aside from dropping a screw in the tiny hole in the hard drive housing…argh! thought i was going to have to take it all apart again just to get the screw. anyways, i found that the power jack was not near as broke as yours only loose….slightly. it’s taped down and harnessed very well, so surely it didn’t come loose from the motherboard itself. i kind of wish i’d have super glued the darned thing back and been done with it. long story short, i got the new jack in, all parts back together and working great..tested that out first on battery to make sure i didn’t ruin something else in the process…..crossed my fingers and plugged her in…..and……..nothing
March 5th, 2010 at 11:07 am
Deanna,
I cannot answer all these questions without looking at the laptop.
If the laptop base is not damaged, maybe you should buy a new DC jack harness and install it instead of the broken one?
March 12th, 2010 at 4:19 pm
Hi, I was looking to fix this on my laptop. I went ahead and followed instructions on removing everything and i got everything out according to plan. only problem i have is the dvd drive. on the site you referred the L305 model doesn’t have a little slot to push the drive out. and really don’t have anything (at least where i looked on where to remove it.) I did however put a lil something inside the laptop kind of like wedges to keep the power jack in place (while not interferring with anything else that’s electrical) because my power jack housing was broke, but its nice and firm and so far so good. if you can post a link or somewhere where you can remove the dvd drive in order to fully get to the power jack cord that’s underneath it I would really appreciate it. Thanks in advance.
March 12th, 2010 at 4:36 pm
Worked like a charm on my wife’s L355.. took about 3.5 hours this afternoon… much of that was dremel’ing down the plastic parts. THANK YOU!!
March 15th, 2010 at 1:40 pm
Hi,
Before I start pulling apart my L355D, how far do I have to disassemble it to get to the Input jack? Completely? I will be following your tutorial on how to disassemble an L355D, so what step (of the 20 posted) should I stop at?
March 17th, 2010 at 4:11 am
im in the uk and the online jack i could get closest to the one in this guide has 3 pins – a centre one (for the positive?) a shell one and one that says normally closed switch contact , do i have to put the negative to the shell or the switch one? that’s ill happily donate if you reply
March 19th, 2010 at 1:38 pm
Perf guide works like a charm. On L300 there are only 2 screws on the keyboard and to get to the power jack u dont need to remove RAM or HDD just unscrew all the screws on the bottom ( dont forget there are few under the battery that hold the top cover). On the top part just remove the keyboard bezel unscrew the 2 screws and unplug the keyboard cable and 2 more you will see them if you carefully lift up the top cover a bit. I have got an alternative fixing of the jack if you cant get the metal jack. all you need is a melting gun like this one for example:
http://letsmakerobots.com/files/imagecache/robot_fullpage_header/field_primary_image/24076.jpg
hold the jack close to the hole where it is supposed to fit and put some of the glue stick around wait 5 min then remove tha plastic reinforcement wall of top cover as shown in step 7 and you are rdy to go.
March 19th, 2010 at 9:05 pm
Aaron,
Thanks so much for mentioning your problem. I noticed that my mousepad started having the same problem and didn’t realize it might be related to this fix. I wonder if I just need to ground the metal washer on the inside of the case.
Unplugging the computer or touching the metal on the outside of the case seems to “fix” the problem. I started using a wireless keyboard and mouse to get around the problem and thought there was some kind of driver issue.
Thanks again!
Jeff
PS. InsideMyLaptop.com’s solution for this problem was awesome, paypal payment on it’s way soon.
March 19th, 2010 at 9:09 pm
Marcus,
I also have an L305D, and ended up disconnecting the power cord near the DVD player, pulling it up a little and this gave me the room to work with the wires for soldering. It also made me feel more comfortable about doing the soldering and not worrying about transferring heat thru the wires.
March 23rd, 2010 at 12:35 pm
This was very helpful, thanks a lot. I was able to fix mine easily. Flipping down the jack did the trick.
March 25th, 2010 at 1:17 pm
Marcus, I am currently trying to fix a L305 as well. In order to remove the DVD drive from the laptop, remove the ram cover on the back, there is a single screw holding the DVD player in place remove it and the DVD drive slips out easily.
March 28th, 2010 at 1:21 pm
Thanks for the excellent guide. I was searching for a guide to take apart my L355D for this exact problem. I did not replace the jack (probably will eventually) but instead used a piece from an 1/8″ rubber tile spacer to put between the jack and housing to get it to stay in place. The housing was intact enough to allow this. When this fails me I now know what I need to do a permanent repair. Thanks for the guide, really helps.
March 30th, 2010 at 7:12 pm
I just used these instructions to fix an L505D. There are a few extra sneaky screws and the cover has 3 extra cables to unhook that the 300 series doesn’t. There’s also extra space for the new jack, so I didn’t have to clip the terminals or modify the cover to put it back on.
Thanks for the massive help!
March 31st, 2010 at 10:38 am
Ike,
Thanks for the comment. I haven’t tried this fix on Satellite L505D. I guess it works for Satellite L500/L505 too. Did you use the same power jack from RadioShack?
April 6th, 2010 at 7:43 am
While using your instructions to install the Radio Shack power jack on a Toshiba Satellite L305-S5955 that everything went well with one exception. The speaker that sits next to the power jack required a slight modification by sawing off about a 1/4 inch on the side next to the power jack to permit the top cover to go back together.
I added a small piece of 3 x 5 card glue to the side of this after the speaker modification and colored it black afterwards. It doesnt affect the speaker performance and did afford me enough room to put the machine back together. This was after I had bent the negative pin back and all.
Just an FYI and thanks for the great instructions.
Alan T. Parent
askoleal
April 11th, 2010 at 6:12 pm
Oh thank you sooooo much! I knew immediately that my power jack had pushed too far into my laptop (after tripping over and BREAKING the plug!). I had removed ALL of the screws in the back of the laptop, and didn’t know what to do. I even started searching for new Satellites on Ebay, Amazon, and Toshiba Direct.
Such a blessing that I typed into Google how to take apart your Toshiba Satellite P305 laptop, and your website came up. I used hot glue (no where near the wiring) and electrical tape for a temporary fix, but I will follow your full instructions as soon as school gets out (teacher) and I have time to practice my soldering.
You will definitely be getting a donation from me when I get paid in May!
Thank you again!
April 14th, 2010 at 11:14 am
I have traced the input voltage from the jack to the leads for charging the battery and see that there is 19 Volts DC on all pins except pin 3..probably a ground. Does anyone have knowledge if this voltage is accurate(supposed to be on all pins)? Or perhaps there is a short on the board making the voltage appear across all pins?
Otherwise, if anyone knows a means to have the battery checked and verified, that would be helpful to me. Seems this issue occurred suddenly, and I would have expected the battery to die slowly.
April 18th, 2010 at 10:24 pm
Thank you so much! My power jack got loose before when i first purchased my laptop from fry’s. I had to argue with them for like 5 hours that that need to cover it under my 2 year extended warranty…always they finally fixed and 2 weeks later same problem and fry’s is such a headache i didn’t feel like dealing with them…and everyone wants 150 to fix it and thanks to you i can do it myself! although i never fully fixed it just put it back into place and used a little electrical tap….i know eventually i will have to i just don’t know how to solder right now….. THANK YOU!
April 19th, 2010 at 9:22 pm
Hey great guide!
I think this must be a very common problem. The thing must be made very, very cheaply. I think they did not understand the need for strong reinforcement on a part of the product that would be pressed and pulled many times in everyday use.
I just soldered the replacement and closed the machine up, but it won’t turn on now. It has the orange light on for the battery and the green light on for the DC, so maybe it still needs time to charge…we’ll see. It’s been about 20 minutes. I’m afraid I may have accidentally done something to the motherboard or something, but as I can see from the green and orange lights, the replacement worked the way it was supposed to. Maybe people need to be more careful than I was, but this should do the trick. I think if the motherboard is functional, this modification will extend the laptop’s life greatly as I had no issues with it whatsoever until the jack fell into the unit.
April 20th, 2010 at 6:40 pm
I talked to a guy i met, says he refurbishes laptops and computers and such. for 60$ he would super glue it into place so that it wouldnt move anymore.. would this work? if so i feel like i could do it myself easily. just thought id ask. I’ve had this problem 6 or 7 times with my laptop… frustrating.. so i’m hoping to learn to fix it myself cheaply and quickly. I’ve never worked on a laptop before but i did build my desktop. That is as far as my computer background goes though. Should i just not open it up and pay the 60? or should i go for it?
April 20th, 2010 at 7:15 pm
Ray,
I doubt that superglue will work for plastic parts. Epoxy might work.
May 2nd, 2010 at 8:11 am
I just used these instructions to fix my L355D. Excellent guide! I’ve never soldered before so it took a bit longer than I expected but, really, this guide had every single step along the way. I didn’t run into any surprises! Thank you so much!
May 6th, 2010 at 6:07 pm
I did the step By step and everthing looked fine.
I was happy because I thot this was going to work. I plugged in the charger but nothing happened. no orange charging lights or anything came up.
Can you tell me what happened??
I just brought a whole new DC Jack harness online so I hope that will fix the problem. I’m going to have to gorilla glue it in place since I had to take off the supports when I put the metal connector in there. If it doesn’t them I’m screwed
May 11th, 2010 at 9:20 am
Hi i have a P305D-S8828… i’ve read through all 6 pages of posts from people and only a few have the same model it seems but all were unsuccessful… does anyone with a same model as i gotten theirs to work?
May 11th, 2010 at 10:02 am
Anyhow i went out and bought the parts from radio shack… about to start this fix… i noticed there is a washer on the radio shack part… is this part needed ?
May 11th, 2010 at 12:08 pm
Ok i finally finished it… was pretty easy considering the fact i never soldered before. total time took me about 1.5 hours.. im sure trained individuals can finish way faster. I have P305D-S8828 and i did the method of using an aftermarket radio shack jack. EVERYTHING WORKS PERFECT!!!! There is enough room inside the p305 to fit the jack in no problem no need to cut anything and it clears the speaker assembly. everything powered on charges.. Thanks Laptop Tech for takin time to post this here for all of us. u saved me 2-300 dollars easy.. defintiley worth a donation!!!
May 14th, 2010 at 9:59 am
Fantastic, it works great, it took about two hours to open the lap top and perform de fix. I also added a small drop of super glue on the nut of the new connector so that it wont come lose. Thanks…
May 16th, 2010 at 9:56 am
Jason,
Thank you for your donation!
May 16th, 2010 at 10:00 am
New harness didn’t work either.. U know wut went wrong tech?
I think I’m going to just buy a new laptop and get a Sata Usb enclosure for my hard drive in my toshiba
May 16th, 2010 at 10:10 am
Rodriguez Beast,
Did you replace the jack because it was broken?
If you installed a new harness but there are no lights when you plug the AC adapter, it could be one of the following:
1. Bad AC adapter.
2. Bad harness.
3. Bad motherboard.
I cannot tell which one is causing the problem without testing parts.
May 16th, 2010 at 4:33 pm
“If you installed a new harness but there are no lights when you plug the AC adapter, it could be one of the following:
1. Bad AC adapter.
2. Bad harness.
3. Bad motherboard.”
I tested my ac and it gives power. Matter of fact the whole motherboard gets power but still no power lights.
My guess is that it’s the motherboard?
May 16th, 2010 at 4:47 pm
Rodriguez,
If the motherboard gets power but has no signs of life, probably it’s the motherboard failure.
May 16th, 2010 at 5:01 pm
Fantastic fix. Took me about 2 hours but I watched TV and haven’t done much sautering. Well worth a small donation. fyi Satallite L305.
Thanks!
(p.s. my brother had the same problem a few years ago and got rid of his laptop… too bad he didn’t find your directions…)
May 16th, 2010 at 5:15 pm
Alan P,
I’m glad that my guide help people. Thank you for your donation.
May 17th, 2010 at 11:44 am
Thanks for the guide. My computer’s power jack broke last week and I was worried I would have to pay a lot of money for the fix. Now it looks like I will be able to do it for around $10, simply because I don’t know where my wire pliers are and I am going to have to buy new ones. Otherwise I have everything that your guide shows me needing. Thanks a lot. I would donate but I don’t have a credit card.
May 17th, 2010 at 7:30 pm
Thanks for the fix. It worked perfectly. Only somehow I managed to mess my trackpad up in the process. Any ideas on how to fix that? I think i know what it is. My computer isn’t detecting my trackpad and I downloaded Toshiba’s driver software for it and its still not working. I would love to have my trackpad back because I play my laptop when I am laying in bed and it is very annoying to try to use my wireless mouse for it.
May 17th, 2010 at 7:58 pm
Travis,
1. Make sure the touchpad (trackpad) cable is properly connected to the motherboard.
2. Try enabling the touchpad with Fn+F9 kesy. Hold down the Fn key and at the same time press once on the F9 key.
May 18th, 2010 at 3:08 am
The wire is connected properly because the power lights are connect with the same wire, and it is enabled because that was the first thing that I tried.
May 18th, 2010 at 4:53 pm
My bracket broke a bit differently. I disassembled my laptop as described and just used some “J-B KWIK” epoxy from J-B Weld and glued the socket back onto the casing where it was supposed to be. Held just dandy… This web page is excellent help! Except, when I viewed the diassembly webpage, the “red arrows” were not shown on the pictures. And then a description of how to remove the flex connectors would also have been helpful…
May 19th, 2010 at 6:23 am
Does this sound like a damaged power jack issue before I attempt to do this. When I plug the ac adaptor into the wall and my laptop the charging and ac connected light do not come on and when I go into windows it does not show that it is connected or charging either.
I have tested the ac adaptor with a volt meter and it still works. The ac adaptor is a third party adaptor.
May 19th, 2010 at 3:49 pm
OK, so I get lights when I plug it in. It charges the battery. When I press the power button, it powers on. I can hear the fan running. There’s no light for acessing the hard drive and it doesn’t appear to be trying.
Is the motherboard just fried or what…? A new motherboard would be somewhere between $200 and $400, right? Service techs at the local electronics stores were pretty much telling me to buy a new computer from the second the jack fell off the mounts (yeah, guys, I love buying an entirely new laptop every year as soon as the warranty dies) so I don’t think I can find much “real” professional help….
May 20th, 2010 at 11:12 am
I really like to do this but I am afraid to make it worse. My jack broke yesterday and Geek Squad told me that I need a whole new mother board. Do you live in Michigan? lol
May 21st, 2010 at 3:22 am
Hey,
ty for tips!
just bought all the stuff and about to start work on P300, and also A200 toshiba laptops,
I will update after I’ve finished
May 21st, 2010 at 5:30 am
Ok,
so I just put in the new jack into my P300-16T,
sadly my adapter was slightly too long, but with my recently acquired soldering iron I was able to mend my old one and now all is working fine
hopefully this should be good enough to persuade my mum to let me fix her A200
Thanks for all the help!
Luke
May 21st, 2010 at 7:31 am
ann marie,
What Toshiba model you have? If it’s Satellite L305/L355, you don’t need a new motherboard. The jack is located on a harness which can be replaced separately.
May 21st, 2010 at 7:55 am
Patrick,
Could be memory failure. Try removing memory modules one by one. Test the laptop with only one modules installed, try different slots. It’s very unlikely that both modules failed at the same time. If one of the memory modules is bad, the laptop should start properly when it’s removed.
Also, try minimizing the system. Remove the hard drive, DVD drive and turn it on again. Can you get video this way?
If testing with different memory modules and removing parts doesn’t help, most likely this is motherboard failure.
Just in case, test the laptop with an external monitor attached to the VGA port. Can you get video on the external screen?
May 22nd, 2010 at 10:31 am
Works GREAT!!! Followed these steps for a Toshiba Satellite L305D. thank you!!
May 23rd, 2010 at 7:41 am
Hi again,
now my adapter has almost gone and will cost me £25 to replace!
my other adapter does not work even though it fits and both worked with old fitting
anyone got any thoughts on this:
working part no. PA3486E-1AC3
non-working part no. PA3467U-1ACA,
also my mum has a different adapter which also doesn’t work, although again being the same size.
I know the adapter I am using now is on its last legs and I want to sort this fast
thanks for help!
May 23rd, 2010 at 11:28 am
Luke,
Not sure what is your question?
May 23rd, 2010 at 11:57 pm
Heya, I must say, first off, that this is a great guide! It helped me out so much when I needed to rplace my power unit in my Toshiba Sattelite L305D-5895
I was easily able to fix that no problem, getting a new adapter and soldering the wires properly to it, but ever since then, every time I go to power up the laptop, it shows power, runs the fan on the CPU, and it reads the DVD drive a moment, but the screen stays completely blank and the laptop shuts itself down after about three to five seconds, so it doesn’t even seem like it’s getting past the POST.
I have looked at the Inverter in the back and the cable connecting the motherboard to the LCD screen, all connections are secure and seated properly.
I’m wondering what could be stopping the laptop from doing its POST. I’ve tried booting it with practically everything out of it (battery, hard drive, RAM, DVD drive) and everything inside, but no matter what I try, it does the same thing.
Would love any and all help on this! Thanks a ton! ^_^
May 24th, 2010 at 9:30 am
Ok,
old matter resolved.
just finished work on A200,
again works fine
thanks very much
May 27th, 2010 at 7:43 pm
Very interesting web page. Do you know the exact name of the replacement part (jack) that you used? We have no Radio Shack close by so I’ll need to find a part online or somewhere else.
May 28th, 2010 at 7:19 am
Garth Holman,
I guess you can buy it from Radio Shack online. The jack model number is 274-1576. Search their site for this number.
June 1st, 2010 at 12:58 am
On step 9 on how to remove top cover assembly, the wire with the black plastic hook to them. How do you plug them back in? I try but I dont want to force it and break it. here the link to the page
http://www.irisvista.com/tech/laptops/Toshiba-Satellite-L355D/laptop-disassembly-2.htm
June 5th, 2010 at 3:52 am
I have a Satellite L505D S5965 – one month away from one year warranty. Mine is broken just as yours. Toshiba advised that this is not on their defective list, and it will not be covered under the one year warranty period. I cannot pay hundreds of dollars to fix this laptop. I am deeply upset that they will not stand behind their product!
My question is, will this model work the same as the instructions listed above?
Thank you, very much!
Vicki
June 5th, 2010 at 7:18 pm
Worked Great for me on L350D. Thank You
June 6th, 2010 at 7:16 pm
Vicky Roges,
I believe you can use this guide to fix your Satellite L505D.
This model uses same 19V adapter, so the jack should fit.
There is enough space inside the laptop case to install a new jack.
Here are laptop disassembly instructions:
http://www.irisvista.com/tech/laptops/Toshiba-Satellite-L505-L505D/remove-laptop-motherboard-1.htm
Proceed at your own risk and good luck!
June 7th, 2010 at 1:10 pm
Great info! Model L355D. I had this happen once under the 1 year warranty and they repaired it no questions asked by requesting the shipping box and sending it in. It was loose again recently and I wanted to be pro-active this time and fix it once and for all and the guide worked flawlessly. I haven’t soldered anything in about 20 years and even then it was 1 time to make a circuit board for shop class and was able to do this no problem. Only mistake I almost made was to use a drill bit slightly bigger than I should have chosen to drill the hole larger to fit the metal replacement jack. It was almost too big and the metal piece almost could have slid through there, but turned out fine and it’s nice and snug with no issues. Donation sent, thanks!
June 7th, 2010 at 6:55 pm
Chris,
Thank you for the donation!
June 11th, 2010 at 4:17 am
Worked perfectly. As mentioned, the AC adapter fits pretty snugly in the jack. There’s not a whole lot of plastic to hold the jack into place, so be careful not to apply too much pressure when inserting the adapter. I recommend a twisting motion when inserting the adapter, which will help it slide in without too much inward pressure.
June 11th, 2010 at 4:29 am
Eric wrote:
On step 9 on how to remove top cover assembly, the wire with the black plastic hook to them. How do you plug them back in? I try but I dont want to force it and break it. here the link to the page.
Eric, I believe you mean the ribbon cables. That cable and the keyboard ribbon cable jacks have a little plastic piece on the front of them that slides out. Use a small, thin flat-head screwdriver to pull the piece out from each side of the jack, a little on each side until it’s out as far as it will go. Once it’s out all the way, the ribbon will slide back in place easily. Once the ribbon is in, use the screwdriver to push the plastic piece back in to lock the ribbon in place. Good luck!
June 11th, 2010 at 9:59 am
Hi,
i have the L305D-S5897 toshiba laptop and my dc jack got broken and my ac adaptor went out also.I repair it carefully as you said but my system don’t want to power up.
Is it possible my harness section is bad also? Thanks for your help.
June 12th, 2010 at 8:56 am
I see how you did all the work. I have a L305 as well. Only question I have is how do you remove the DVD drive so you can perform the activities mentioned by this post? I can’t find anything regarding the disassembly of this model relating to the DVD drive.
June 12th, 2010 at 9:13 am
Paul,
I linked to the disassembly site at the beginning of the guide.
It’s not enough to remove the DVD drive, you’ll have to remove the top cover assembly.
Here’s a link to the disassembly guide for your model: http://www.irisvista.com/tech/laptops/Toshiba-Satellite-L305-L305D/remove-screen-replace-video-cable-1.htm
June 12th, 2010 at 2:41 pm
Phillin,
I cannot tell without looking at the laptop but you can plug the AC adapter and using a multimeter test voltage on the terminals where the DC jack harness connected to the motherboard.
If the motherboard gets power but will not turn on, it’s possible the motherboard is bad.
June 13th, 2010 at 3:31 pm
I did this repair and all was well until I plugged it in. No power. My model is the L305. I will test the connection as you reccomended before and try to find the problem. My question is this: What is that little metal/plastic piece that the power wires are wrapped around and through? Is it important? Mine is broken. Thanks for the assistance and the instrucitons.
June 13th, 2010 at 9:43 pm
Hi well i have the dc jack problem but im using this guid to take the top cover off. Problem is i cant even get the top cover off ive tried guitar pics to knives please hel pim going on a trip tomarrow and I really need my laptop fixed by tonight
June 14th, 2010 at 5:40 am
Laptop Tech:
I did take apart the top cover assembly. However, that disassembly guide only shows up to the top cover removal. It then proceeds to disassemble the LCD screen. In the L305, the cable for the power jack runs underneath the DVD drive. I can’t see any visible way to remove it. Can you please enlighten me?
Thanks.
June 14th, 2010 at 5:14 pm
regarding post 184:
Patrick,
I get lights when I plug it in. It charges the battery. When I press the power button, it powers on. I can hear the fan running. There’s no light for acessing the hard drive and it doesn’t appear to be trying.
Could be memory failure…
I’m not qualified to give pc repair advice but I have had two different toshi’s not detect ram until I wiggled it a few times. I’ve taken out and put ram in dozens of desktop and laptops without a problem but both toshi’s I’ve had have had fussy ram jacks. First time I actually took it back after pulling it and putting it back in a few times. Once it finally got in it never gave me any more trouble. They were both satellites. I think they acted the same as yours when they new ram was in but not detected though. It threw me cause I thought when you have no ram it will tell you “memory failure” or something. But the screen was blank with the fan on and little or no hdd activity like you say.
June 15th, 2010 at 2:38 pm
Paul,
The screw for removing the DVD drive on my L305 was under the RAM cover. I didn’t see it at first, my daughter did. It is just to left of the opening.
Laptop Tech,
Good job with the instructions. All of issues are resolved or answered. The piece I mentioned below is called a ferrite choke apparently, anyway thanks for the page.
June 19th, 2010 at 5:48 pm
Great job. I had the same problem on an L505D Satellite. I did not replace the jack but instead glued it to the wall with superglue (cyanoacrylate). I hope it will hold in place, at this moment it has endured for 2 months. I suggest to take into account that the soldering of a new jack should be isolated thoroughly. I heard of a guy who had a little ball of tin wandering inside the notebook due to a non isolated wire welding that ended in a costly motherboard replacement. I reminded of that looking at the original jack wires (isolated with some type of silicone).
Thank you very much
June 24th, 2010 at 12:09 pm
OK – I bought all the parts, but am still deciding how I want to proceed. The jack itself is perfectly fine. However, the bracket that is attached to the base (dumb idea of Toshiba’s!) is broken at the bottom and on one side, but the entire bracket itself is still in tact. I am also picking up the smallest L-bracket I can find and see if that would work rather than do a modification. I had one heck of a time getting the laptop apart in order to get to this part. I purchased the entire guide for repairing a Toshiba laptop. If you would like to put it on your site, I can upload it to you – just let me know and I will do so. There are almost 50 screws that are required to take the thing apart just to get the top off! Also, the guide describes how to remove connectors properly so that nothing gets broken. Your instructions are vague at best – so I figured this guide may help with your following.
I will update after I finished either super-glueing the L-bracket and existing bracket together or whether I do your modification.
June 24th, 2010 at 5:20 pm
Thank you soo much this worked perfectly. I was a little scared at first because like Patrick my screen would not show so plugged in my memory modules and it worked!!! Thank you for saving my laptop and making it look good too.
June 24th, 2010 at 11:40 pm
Angela Monroe,
I would suggest using epoxy instead of superglue.
June 25th, 2010 at 8:29 am
Mortfan,
Thanks for the heads up on the screw under the ram cover. Worked like a charm! Thanks again for this great site!
June 25th, 2010 at 5:56 pm
Thanks, You saved my laptop. L355d-s7901. i epoxyed the old one back in place. If not for your guide i would never have tried All the computers your saving is costing the Toshiba people a bunch of money. Keep up the good work! Eddie.
June 25th, 2010 at 7:10 pm
Well, after I purchased the Toshiba guide for tearing down the computer, I ended up doing the repair with your modification. It took me forever to get everything soldered, as I have not had to solder for a very long time. After all was said and done – the repair as you wrote it works great! Besides being a modification, I feel that this repair is actually an upgrade over what was actually there as made by the manufacturer. I do not understand why Toshiba makes such a great laptop, yet has a flimsy piece that holds the jack in place. Thank you so much. Now my nephew won’t have to buy the bottom part of the case. The only thing left to do is to replace one of the bad hard drives and he’s totally back in business. I’ve chosen a different drive than he has now. I think he’ll be very happy to have it back once all is finished – with the upgraded drive that I’m going to be dropping in.
June 26th, 2010 at 8:22 pm
This worked well for the inside the laptop part — downside? The jerry-rigged fix I was using until I could get the permanent fix done bent and damaged the female coaxial connector on the AC-Adapter. Sooooo now I get to find the correct piece and have my ‘big brother’ solder THAT to the power adapter. *bangs head on desk*
June 28th, 2010 at 1:04 pm
Angela Monroe,
June 29th, 2010 at 8:59 am
Hello!
Im an 15 year old owner of a Toshiba L300 labtop, which also got this problem after nearly 2 perfect-working years.
I still got a month or something of my waranty, do you think it will cover it? It´s just getting worse at the moment.
If not im ready, to try to fix it myself! But im a little unsecure how you open it, so i will be able to make the repair.
Could you help me, mate?
July 3rd, 2010 at 9:34 am
Excellent!
I just did this with a friend’s Toshiba Satellite L350-170, and it looks like a complete success!
The part I used was a RadioShack Panel-mount Coaxial Power Jack Size N, looks a little different to the one you used (this one http://pan5.fotovista.com/dev/5/6/00563565/l_00563565.jpg ) but works possibly even better- I didn’t have to cut the hole any larger and there was sufficient space to thread the nut on nice n tight with a washer.
Thank you for your guide
July 5th, 2010 at 8:21 pm
Thank you. Absolutely perfect jack. It’s rock sold. Best to you.
July 6th, 2010 at 10:02 pm
how would i do this for a toshiba satellite p205d-s7454 thanks
July 10th, 2010 at 11:04 pm
latoya,
Take a look at this disassembly guide for Toshiba Satellite P205: http://www.irisvista.com/tech/laptops/toshiba-satellite-p205/removing-motherboard-1.htm
July 13th, 2010 at 11:16 pm
Hi, my laptop has been out of warranty for a year and I have the same problem. I’m not very good at computers and so I contacted a repair center and they wanted to charge me $100 for the fix. I can’t afford to spend $100, but I’m too afraid to try fixing this myself.
Will leaving the dc jack as is (pushed in) affect my laptop? I have not had any problems other than the jack being off center and pushed in.
July 18th, 2010 at 1:14 pm
I have a Toshiba Satellite L355D. Mine is almost a year old. I bought it at Best Buy;it was one of the closeout models they were not carrying anymore. Today a friend who knows how to fix this type of problem, opened it up and sure enough the plastic square jack piece had broken/melted in two places just like in this guide. He had never replaced a jack with a different part but we got the piece installed and everything works great. Great job on the guide; it has saved from the overpriced work that many places charge.
July 23rd, 2010 at 9:51 am
I am having trouble removing the top cover assembly any tips, by the way which disassembly guide should i use there r so many people say you can use i have a Satellite L305
July 23rd, 2010 at 10:20 am
Delip,
All instructions are posted at http://www.irisvista.com/tech/
Here’s the link to Satellite L300/L305 disassembly: http://www.irisvista.com/tech/laptops/Toshiba-Satellite-L305-L305D/remove-screen-replace-video-cable-1.htm
July 24th, 2010 at 9:01 am
This worked for my Toshiba A-505D.
August 3rd, 2010 at 8:01 pm
Dude, thank you so much for this idea! I can’t believe so many people are having this problem. Cheap plastic parts!
August 5th, 2010 at 5:54 am
Great mod
the only thing is that i can’t find the in the UK…..i have the same power jack in size M….Do you know where i can get a size N in UK or will the size M fit ? can someone please help me on this 
Thnx for a great mod
August 10th, 2010 at 10:15 pm
i just have one question my soldering experience is very limited any advice you can give me ? and also the advice you gave no.226 to delip about the 305 model what step do you stop on ?
August 11th, 2010 at 8:38 pm
OK i need your help please, when i got done soldering the two wires i plugged the power plug to the power jack and there was a spark in the area were the the i solder the middle wire, i thought it was common so i went and put my lap top back together but now when i press the power button the screen doesn’t come on, i can see the light indicator for the power and the disk drive open but the screen stays black. did i do something wrong? is my computer completely f*ed? please help!
August 13th, 2010 at 1:31 am
Wanted to say a big thank you to the author, you saved me so much money. This was a great modification, and works beautifully with my l305. Everything I did was my first time and was very easy. The only thing which I highly recommend is that I watched a couple YouTube videos on how to solder. But Just have patience, don’t rush, and think twice before each step to get it right. thanks again
August 13th, 2010 at 3:56 pm
THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!! I had a friend do all the soldering for me and it works perfectly!
August 14th, 2010 at 10:07 am
nasim,
You are welcome! Satellite L305 is a very easy model to take apart. If you are careful, there shouldn’t be any surprises.
August 14th, 2010 at 10:36 am
juan martinez,
Any sparking is not normal.
The laptop still gets power, that’s good.
1. Did you remove memory modules? Make sure both memory modules seated correctly. Try reconnecting them.
2. Test your laptop with an external monitor. Can you get video on the external monitor? If yes, check connection between the video cable and motherboard. It’s possible the video cable is not seated correctly.
August 15th, 2010 at 6:53 pm
Thanks for the information.. Very well done.. One thing that I might add is how to release the ribbon cables for the Keyboard, the Touch pad so that people aren’t just yanking them out. This worked great for me although frustrating because I also had a bad power adapter, so when I went to test my work nothing powered up.. I voltage metered it and found the culprit. Thanks again for the great tutorial.
Kenn
Fuquay Varina, NC
August 28th, 2010 at 12:33 pm
Thanks for this great how to website. I did the repair in a few hours. My screen would not come on, so I read the other postings and re-inserted the memory modules and it worked! Thanks.
August 29th, 2010 at 11:11 am
luke,
This is a very common mistake during laptop re-assembly.
If your laptop has no video after re-assembly, always check RAM modules first.