Student-Contributed Wiki
An awesome team of students from our education program made this wiki.
Your Toshiba Satellite A105-S4074 does not stay on or charged for very long when used without the power adapter. It used to last for two hours; now you are lucky if it even lasts an hour.
If the green light on the power adapter is not lit, make sure your power cord is fully seated in the power supply or electrical outlet.
The adapter may be plugged into a faulty or reset GFCI electrical outlet. Check to make sure the outlet is working by pressing the test and then the reset buttons on the outlet. Then try plugging the adapter back in. If the green light is still not lit, try plugging in another electronic device into the outlet; i.e., cell phone charger, or try the adaptor in another working outlet.
If the green power light on the laptop intermittently blinks on and off, then the problem is a faulty power adapter. A new male and female ended power cord for the existing power supply may need to be purchased.
The male end of the power supply that goes into the power jack may be the problem. If this is the case, then an entire new power supply and cord combination may need to be purchased if both are faulty.
The battery and the computer may not be making contact. Please follow these steps:
- Turn the laptop over and release the battery lock.Slide the release and pull battery out.Check the metal contacts (small metal connectors), and blow them off using a can of compressed air. Then reinsert the battery. Note: Please make sure the computer is off and not plugged in.
Should the solution above not work, a replacement battery may need to be purchased and reinstalled as stated above. See Toshiba Satellite A105-S4074 Battery Replacement.
You may find that while trying to install a program, downloading your pictures or documents onto your computer, the hard drive is almost full—there is low or not even enough storage space on your hard drive.
You may find that your hard drive is almost to capacity. Take some time to go through all your older documents, executable files and unused programs; and delete those that are just taking up space on your computer. When unsure of what to delete, another option would be to purchase a flash drive or external hard drive to store additional documents and files.
Run Disk Defragmenter to reorganize your existing files on your hard drive making them quicker and easier to access as well as freeing wasted space on the hard drive. Please follow these steps:
- Open My Computer.Select (right-click) the drive you wish to defrag; usually C drive.Go to Properties.Select Tools in the Properties window, and then select Defragment Now.With Disk Defragmenter open, click Defragment.
Unused programs that came on your computer or were personally installed can be removed to prevent them from taking up valuable hard drive space as well as RAM reducing the startup time of your computer by following these steps:
- Click Start and then click Control Panel on the right.Then find Programs and Features, the icons should be in alphabetical order.Within Programs and Features, select (click) the unused programs, click the Uninstall button, and follow the subsequent prompts.
Note: Avoid removing any Windows® XP programs or updates. Removal of these programs will have serious harmful effects to your computer. You ONLY want to remove programs that you no longer use and/or additional toolbars and multiple antivirus programs.
Unused documents and files that not only cause a computer to run slowly but take up valuable hard drive space can be permanently deleted by the following steps:
- Select (right-click) the file names within File Explorer and press Delete.Then go to the Recycle Bin on your desktop and permanently delete these files by right clicking and select Empty Recycle Bin.Short-cut for permanent deletion: Shift right-click the file within File Explorer and press Permanently Delete.
Disk Cleanup Utility within Windows® XP Disk Management will remove all temporary files on your PC by following these steps:
- Click Start; then Run.Type cleanmgr and click OK. This will open the Disk Cleanup Utility.
This utility provides many methods to clean up your computer from removing old windows executable files to removing temporary files. Note: When using Disk Cleanup, make sure you only select unnecessary files; Disk Cleanup is permanent.
The Toshiba Satellite A105-S4074 comes stock with a 120GB (5400RPM) Serial-ATA (SATA) hard disk drive; 9.5mm height. This drive may not be enough large space to store all documents, executable files, and installed programs. You may either replace the hard drive with one of a larger storage capacity or purchase an additional external hard drive. See Toshiba Satellite A105-S4074 Hard Drive Replacement.
When booting the computer, if it never reaches the Windows® XP operating system but displays a screen showing the computer manufacturer or other information then your computer could have hard drive failure. A defective hard drive can sometimes be heard as a clicking sound when it is turned on; or if any sound like this is heard, it often can be the hard drive and will need to be replaced. See Toshiba Satellite A105-S4074 Hard Drive Replacement.
The DVD SuperMulti drive door will not open or read any CD’s or DVD’s.
Use Windows Device Manager (WDM) to confirm how serious this problem would be. WDM is installed in all Windows® XP computers to check for issues. If there is any issue with your device, please follow these steps first:
- Select (right-click) MyComputer, then select Properties from the menu that appears.Click Hardware.Click open Device Manager, and look for DVD/CD-ROM drives in the listing.If there is a small, yellow and black icon near the listing, there is an issue with the optical drive.
Should none problems and solutions represent your issue, it is likely that the optical drive in your Toshiba Satellite A105-S4074 has failed. It is recommended that you replace the Optical Drive. The repair guide can be found here: Toshiba Satellite A105-S4074 Optical Disk Drive (DVD/CD ROM) Replacement.
Reasons that the Optical Drive Door may not open are as follows:
- There is a small track that a gear rides on to open and close the door; sometimes this gear can break and get bound up. It is recommended to replace this part. See Toshiba Satellite A105-S4074 Optical Disk Drive (DVD/CD ROM) Replacement.A DVD/CD-ROM may be jammed in the drive and preventing the door from opening. To rule out this problem, insert the end of a large paper clip in the small hole in the side of the drive to release it.
This may happen if the device has been disabled. Follow the instructions above to check the WDM, and follow these steps:
- With Device Manager open, click on the DVD/CD-ROM drives.Right-click on the DVD SuperMulti drive and a new window will open.Check to see if the drive has been disabled.If the drive is disabled, click on Enable to reenable the drive. If it has not disabled, click on Action and scan for hardware changes; this should reinstall the drivers.
Eject the media from the drive and make sure there is not excessive motion while gently pulling and moving the tray from side to side. If so, the drive may be slightly dislodged and need to be firmly pressed back into the computer housing.
Check to make sure the disk was put in the correct orientation. Note: The DVD/CD-ROM label should be facing up.
This can be a leading cause of DVD/CD-ROMs not playing. By following these steps, you can attempt to rule out this problem:
- Inspect the disk for surface defects or deep scratches. If there are any, replace the disk.Start by running warm water over the surface of the disk to remove dirt and debris as to not cause scratches. Then using a soft cloth and rubbing alcohol, clean the surface.
Although not a very common problem because most optical drives read CDs and DVDs without a problem; but to rule this out, try playing different media to make sure it’s not due to the disc.
This can be a problem when installing or uninstalling software to your Toshiba Satellite A105-S4074. In order to troubleshoot this, try installing a different program from the optical drive to check if the problem exists with Media Player. In addition, download another media player and see if the same media will play. More often than not, it is a codec problem. Try reinstalling Windows Media Player; and if that does not solve it, consult Microsoft.
The drivers control communication between the optical drive and the Toshiba Satellite A105-S4074 and need to be kept up to date. Follow the instructions above to check the WDM. If there is a small, yellow and black icon near the DVD/CD-ROM drives listing, then replace the drivers with new or updated versions by following these steps:
- With Device Manager open, click on the DVD/CD-ROM drives.Right-click on the DVD SuperMulti drive and a new window will open.Go to the Driver tab, and select Update Driver.Optionally, you can directly go to Toshiba Drivers & Software by clicking on this link http://support.toshiba.com/drivers and manually search for the most recent up-to-date drivers and install the files if available.
While typing, the keyboard becomes intermittently unresponsive with one or more keys slow, stuck, or producing multiple characters; or the entire keyboard is malfunctioning.
The keyboard is connected to the motherboard by a ribbon cable. Should the keyboard lose connection with the motherboard, it can be safely removed by detaching the ribbon cable from the motherboard and reconnecting that existing ribbon cable or replacing it to ensure a secure connection. Note: Disconnect computer from power source prior to removal. See Toshiba Satellite A105-S4074 Keyboard Replacement.
One of the most common keyboard problems is debris getting inside the keyboard. Like many keyboards, the Toshiba Satellite A105-S4074 keyboard has raised keys with slight open-spacing around each one where debris may get inside through this open spacing. Should keys become unresponsive, there may be debris interfering with the proper key movement; i.e., stuck keys, slow key response, producing multiple or wrong characters. Gentle removal of individual keys or disassembly of the entire keyboard may be necessary, as well as replacement parts may be needed. See Toshiba Satellite A105-S4074 Keyboard Replacement. With regular cleaning using compressed air and wiping keys and hinges with a soft cloth dampened with isopropyl alcohol, keyboard issues are preventable.
The drivers control communication between the keyboard and the motherboard and need to be kept up to date. Should there be any driver issues, check WDM. If there is a small, yellow and black icon near the Keyboards listing, then replace the drivers with a new or updated versions by following these steps:
With Device Manager open, click on Keyboards.
Right-click on the PC/AT PS2 Keyboard and a new window will open.Go to the Driver tab, and select Update Driver.
The Toshiba Satellite A105-S4074 relies on its internal fan located over the main processor to keep cool. If there are issues with your system’s fan, the computer may overheat and shut down.
Your computer may overheat due to dust build-up on the fan between the fins, immensely reducing the cooling power. The heat sink relies on these fins to dissipate the heat, and a dirty heat sink and vents will cause the computer to shut down shortly after the boot process. Although the fan may still be running, look through the vents with a flashlight to see if they are clogged with dust and need to be cleaned. To prevent this restricted airflow, take a can of compressed air and blow the dust out of the vents.
Computer users need to allow for regular maintenance and cleaning of their systems. Without continued removal of the surrounding dust, the internal fan will malfunction causing the system to overheat. Make sure the fan is turning on during the boot process because if it does not, a fan replacement will be the necessary to remedy the problem. See Toshiba Satellite A105-S4074 Fan Replacement.