Toshiba Satellite L305D S-5895 Will Not Boot

Started by .Seth December 12th, 2009 11:05 AM
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  • 12 replies

.Seth

.explorer.

Male
A capacitor in a power supply board.
Seen February 8th, 2016
Posted December 30th, 2010
1,644 posts
14.9 Years
My laptop, a Toshiba Satellite L305D S-5895 will not load Windows. It will load the "Toshiba" screen (I think that's called the BIOS screen), and it will show the "_" character blinking in white over a black screen after the Toshiba Screen. The fan will work, the screen loads, occasionally the HDD Activity Light (shows when the HDD is in use) will blink. Also, the "Plugged In", "Battery", and "Power" lights will blink.

Also, after about 5 minutes more or less, the computer will simply turn itself off.

I've looked into resetting the BIOS, but is that necessary? I can access BIOS Information (sometimes known as the F2 Menu) and the Boot Menu (F12 Menu). I have also tried to boot from a CD/DVD Media (for example, my Windows 7 CD) and I get the same result (black screen). The monitor stays on until the computer shuts itself down.

Does anyone have an idea as to what might be the problem?

.Seth

.explorer.

Male
A capacitor in a power supply board.
Seen February 8th, 2016
Posted December 30th, 2010
1,644 posts
14.9 Years
Sounds like your Motherboard went bad as this is exactly what happens when Toshiba laptop motherboards go bad.

Reset the bios though, see if that helps
Well, crap. >< Motherboards are expensive. I guess I'll be using this IBM for some time. I'll try resetting the BIOS.

.Seth

.explorer.

Male
A capacitor in a power supply board.
Seen February 8th, 2016
Posted December 30th, 2010
1,644 posts
14.9 Years
How old is the computer? And how did it happen? :O It may be supported under warranty
I got it in November of last year. I really don't know how it happened. Perhaps it's just old? My computer's been through a lot. It's had two HDD replacements. I'm just glad it's not the HDD again. I despise losing my programs, etc.

It's not supported as the warranty's been up for about a few months now.

twocows

The not-so-black cat of ill omen

Age 32
Male
Michigan
Seen February 19th, 2023
Posted April 30th, 2021
4,307 posts
14.2 Years
Could be a corrupt bootloader or something. Try doing a repair install from the Windows CD and see if that fixes the problem.
VNs are superior to anime, don't @ me

.Seth

.explorer.

Male
A capacitor in a power supply board.
Seen February 8th, 2016
Posted December 30th, 2010
1,644 posts
14.9 Years
Could be a corrupt bootloader or something. Try doing a repair install from the Windows CD and see if that fixes the problem.
That's the problem; it will not load a CD/DVD Media or from the HDD.

Archer

NSW, Australia
Seen January 26th, 2020
Posted January 5th, 2020
3,956 posts
16.6 Years
Can you try booting off another HDD, then? Otherwise, you may have to reset the BIOS, which are the internal settings. First, look for the Setup/Settings/somethingelsethatsoundslikeitwantstoeditsettings shortcut key on the Toshiba screen. Key hitting that as soon as you hit the power button until it loads the BIOS. (it will usually be F8, F10, F12 or Del) From there, you'll need to find the setting for "Reset to default/failsafe settings." Set to default, save the changes and try to boot again. If it was a Desktop, you could, you know, rip the MB battery out and put it back in, but yeah.

If you still have no luck, and you're not prepared to reflash the BIOS, send it to a computer repairs store, although be prepared for them to tell you the motherboard is dying, as that's what it sounds like. In which case, you're usually better off getting a new computer, as laptop MBs are a pain to track down and will set you back at least AU$150. Add in repair costs and you're better of getting a second hand laptop that works.

twocows

The not-so-black cat of ill omen

Age 32
Male
Michigan
Seen February 19th, 2023
Posted April 30th, 2021
4,307 posts
14.2 Years
That's the problem; it will not load a CD/DVD Media or from the HDD.
Did you try changing the boot order to boot from CD first?
VNs are superior to anime, don't @ me

.Seth

.explorer.

Male
A capacitor in a power supply board.
Seen February 8th, 2016
Posted December 30th, 2010
1,644 posts
14.9 Years
Can you try booting off another HDD, then? Otherwise, you may have to reset the BIOS, which are the internal settings. First, look for the Setup/Settings/somethingelsethatsoundslikeitwantstoeditsettings shortcut key on the Toshiba screen. Key hitting that as soon as you hit the power button until it loads the BIOS. (it will usually be F8, F10, F12 or Del) From there, you'll need to find the setting for "Reset to default/failsafe settings." Set to default, save the changes and try to boot again. If it was a Desktop, you could, you know, rip the MB battery out and put it back in, but yeah.

If you still have no luck, and you're not prepared to reflash the BIOS, send it to a computer repairs store, although be prepared for them to tell you the motherboard is dying, as that's what it sounds like. In which case, you're usually better off getting a new computer, as laptop MBs are a pain to track down and will set you back at least AU$150. Add in repair costs and you're better of getting a second hand laptop that works.
I already tried resetting the BIOS settings. It actually turned out it was the HDD. I think the connection between the HDD and MB is bad or something. I'm posting this from the Toshiba with a new SeaGate HDD. It works, I just reinstalled 7. (I should know to reinstall my OS over what the technician installs.

Did you try changing the boot order to boot from CD first?
No, but it was actually the HDD again.

twocows

The not-so-black cat of ill omen

Age 32
Male
Michigan
Seen February 19th, 2023
Posted April 30th, 2021
4,307 posts
14.2 Years
I already tried resetting the BIOS settings. It actually turned out it was the HDD. I think the connection between the HDD and MB is bad or something. I'm posting this from the Toshiba with a new SeaGate HDD. It works, I just reinstalled 7. (I should know to reinstall my OS over what the technician installs.

No, but it was actually the HDD again.
I figured it was a HDD problem. Did you try slaving the old HDD to another computer so you can grab your data off it?
VNs are superior to anime, don't @ me

.Seth

.explorer.

Male
A capacitor in a power supply board.
Seen February 8th, 2016
Posted December 30th, 2010
1,644 posts
14.9 Years
I figured it was a HDD problem. Did you try slaving the old HDD to another computer so you can grab your data off it?
No, but there wasn't that much on it anyways.