HomeI have a Toshiba A105-s2716 satellite. At first the screen would start flashing. The screen went black and sometimes gray horizontal lines would appear. It would then turn black and go back to normal. After a week now, the screen will stay black after ten minutes of using my laptop. It works fine with a external monitor, many people tell me that its a hardware issue. My warranty expired so I’m trying to figure out the problem before I have it fixed. I need to fixed my laptop ASAP because i need for college.
I’ve seen this problem with Satellite A105 laptops before and I believe the culprit is the the motherboard. Even though the external video works fine, it’s still a problem with the motherboard. I think there could be something wrong with the video chip or with the video cable connector. Unfortunately both the video chip and the video cable connector are soldered on the motherboard. It means the whole motherboard must be replaced in order to fix the problem.
Update:
Please read comment 44 posted by Andy:
I tried to replace the whole LCD panel, but it didn’t help. I was going to buy a new laptop, so I just wanted to mess around with the old one. First thing I did – I upgraded BIOS to most current version. I did it just to see how BIOS upgrade works, and it fixed the problem!
It’s possible that Toshiba fixed this problem with the latest BIOS release. I tried updating the BIOS before but it didn’t help, apparently the BIOS version with the fix wasn’t available back then.
I will try it as soon as I have to repair Satellite A105 with a problem like that.
If you find this article useful, please consider making a donation to the author. Thank you!
January 3rd, 2010 at 1:01 pm
Jay,
I fixed many laptops with no image on the LCD screen simply by reconnecting the video cable. I’m glad you fixed your problem. Very good troubleshooting steps!
January 2nd, 2010 at 8:41 pm
Ok, Satellite A105-2101 Powers on fine but screen is completely black. I connected to a external monitor and the external showed up fine. Read all the post and began working.. Turned it off then rebooted and held down FN+F5 and nothing, then removed battery and bezel to check connector on the back of the monitor. I unplugged it then plugged it back in and still nothing. Updated to the latest BIOS and nothing. So I pulled the battery again then the keyboard strip so I could get to the monitor plug on the motherboard. Pulled it out then put it back in then put everything back together and powered it on. The screen came on with no problems on boot up….. Thanks everyone……
December 7th, 2009 at 4:07 pm
Oops my bad, I see that the connections are soldered in place on the motherboard from the first post. Then what connections are needed to be check to make sure they are connected at the motherboard.
December 7th, 2009 at 3:59 pm
My toshiba A105 is having problems with the screen. Similar to others there are horizontal lines that distort the image and will get progressively worse until there are vertical lines and you can see no image. Vertical lines are like #1 here http://www.laptoprepair101.com/laptop/2006/08/17/bad-video-on-lcd-screen/
Only thing is that its only on the lower 2-3 inches of the screen. I have put a external monitor on and there is no problems with that image. If I am lucky moving the screen will produce a image and sometimes it will stay and others it will start with the horizontal lines.
I have checked the back of the LCD and everything seems connected there, tonight we are going to open it up to the motherboard and check there.
My questions are could the LCD be bad only in that section and are the connections to the motherboard soldered in place or plugged in that could be loose.
October 20th, 2009 at 8:42 am
Tanushree,
Sounds like a problem with the video card. I think you’ll have to replace the video card if it’s a discrete module in your laptop or replace the motherboard if the video card is integrated.
October 20th, 2009 at 8:34 am
Hey,
i have a Toshiba Satellite A100-773, my screen refuses to work, its just black. i connected it with the external cable, it shows green horizontal lines n then after a while red n then back to green again.My laptop is not in warranty period anymore, please help me fix my problem at home only.
Thank You
September 8th, 2009 at 7:32 pm
Dan,
I think it’s bad LCD screen. You’ll have to replace the screen.
September 8th, 2009 at 1:06 pm
Hello, i am working on a A104-S4034. The LCD screen displays black and blue lines, it seems like the owner has already tried to update the bios. The monitor output still works fine, I am thinking it might be the LCD controller board.
The following address will take you to a photograph of the screen
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c359/danielosborn/DSC05379.jpg
July 26th, 2009 at 7:41 pm
My screen is doing the same thing and I was wanting to know how to update the BIOS,
Thank you
July 2nd, 2009 at 11:09 pm
Well took the laptop apart while I was awaiting (your fast) reponse. The cable is plugged in, and it appears to be plugged in on the back of the lcd screen. I’m going to slap this back together and try to see what happens.
Thanks…
July 2nd, 2009 at 9:15 pm
Antonio Perez,
Check connection between the video cable and motherboard. Make sure the video cable is plugged all the way in.
I just fixed a laptop with exactly the same problem, it was a Satellite L305. For some reason the video cable wasn’t plugged all the way into the connector. After I reconnected the cable the video appeared on the screen.
July 2nd, 2009 at 7:41 pm
Also, after a few minutes the gray screen will turn black, and when I touch a key or touch the mouse pad the monitor comes back onto the gray screen. Not sure if this can give you any insights into what might possibly be going on.
thanks
Antonio
July 2nd, 2009 at 7:37 pm
Thanks for this wonderful post! I’m working on a toshiba satellite a215-s5837 for a friend. When I turn it on I only get a gray screen…no lines, just a straight gray screen. If I hook up an external monitor the external monitor works fine, so I’m guessing that its not a motherboard problem. I have also tried an ubuntu live dvd to see if it would show up on the laptop, but no go. When I did the f5 + fn trick and set both the laptop and the external monitor as the outputs the external monitor worked, while the laptop kept the same gray screen. Should I try to reseat the laptops video cable? It seems since there is at least a gray screen that the cable is not the problem.
Thanks
Antonio
June 9th, 2009 at 12:09 pm
I have a Toshiba Satellite A105-S2141 that I recently replaced the power adapter since it had a short or splice in the cable.
After it was replaced, it has started to shut off periodically without warning while I am working on it. Have not located any issues in the error log (problem report).
Any suggestions? Anyone?
May 9th, 2009 at 9:56 am
Thanks for the help!
May 5th, 2009 at 10:30 pm
Dave,
That description sound like a problem with the LCD controller board. You’ll have to replace the screen.
To be honest, I’m not sure why the backlight failed after updating the BIOS. Something like that never happened to me before.
The laptop still works with an external monitor and you can see what you are doing, right?
I guess you can download the previous version of the BIOS and try reflashing it again. I’m not sure if it helps, but you can try.
They cannot fix the LCD controller board. They will quote you a new LCD screen. You can try replacing the screen yourself.
April 30th, 2009 at 9:16 am
Please Help!
I have had a toshiba satellite A105-4084 for quite a while and have begun to experience monitor problems. I have experienced the horizontal grey lines, multi-colored vertical lines, ect. After dismantling the LCD covering and ensuring that the LCD cable connection was fine I discovered that applying torque to the upper left corner of the screen fixed all of the problems. Unfortunately, as soon as I remove pressure from the corner the screen again fades and lines begin to form. At this point I was pretty confident that the problem had to do with the LCD circuit board connections very similar to Jonny’s problems (post 40,41) . Reading about all the success with updating the BIOS convinced me to try this step. After installing the new BIOS and having the computer reboot itself the screen has gone dark while the desktop is faintly visible with external light. It seems as if the backlight is no longer functioning. Could it be possible that updating the BIOS caused the backlight to be less active or completely shut down? And if so is there a way to go back to the default BIOS that had not given me any problems until then? Also I am convinced that the problem all along has been with the connections along the top of the screen (unless the backlight just died on me) any suggestions before I visit the repair shop?
Thanks
April 17th, 2009 at 9:15 am
The BIOS update did the trick for me. Thanks!!
April 12th, 2009 at 8:15 pm
Don,
The screen flickers and then eventually goes black. As long as I put a fan underneath the lapton the screen is fine. Also my power cord only works sometimes, I have to move it around to get a good connection. I assume its a overheating problem can I fix itis this right?Not sure about that. You can try cleaning the heat sink and fan, but your problem could be related to the motherboard.
Could be bad power cord or there is something wrong with the DC-IN jack inside the laptop. You cannot tell which one is failing until you test the power adapter with a voltmeter. You’ll have to connect voltmeter to the power plug and touch/move the cable. If the output voltage goes to 0 when you move the cable, apparently there is a short inside the cable and the whole adapter has to be replaced. If the voltage output is stable, most likely your problem is related to the DC-IN jack inside your laptop. Sorry, there is no simple answer for your question.
April 9th, 2009 at 2:19 pm
Here is my problem I have the A105-S2716
The screen flickers and then eventually goes black. As long as I put a fan underneath the lapton the screen is fine. Also my power cord only works sometimes, I have to move it around to get a good connection. For the screen problem
I assume its a overheating problem can I fix itis this right?
With the av outlet should I buy a new cord or do you think its the computer input not the cord.
Thanks in advance
March 4th, 2009 at 11:07 pm
Amy,
Sorry for a late response, I missed your question somehow.
If the video cable has been replaced but you still experience the same problem, most likely it’s related to the LCD screen.
You said the external monitor works fine, so most likely it’s not the video chip.
Again, sounds like a bad screen to me.