Big John wrote:
> Ken wrote:
>> Big John wrote:
>>> I have been running my Toshiba M--35X-S239 for just a little over 
>>> three years (which puts it ou of warranty) and today when I opened 
>>> the lid to turn it on, the fan came on and I got the  bar across the 
>>> bottom indicating that it was coming out of hibernation, then it 
>>> suddenly stopped, the screen went black and the fan turned off. The 
>>> power button still shows that it is on, and the lights across the 
>>> front are all on, indicating a full battery and tha the computer is 
>>> on - but nothing else.
>>
>>     I am probably not the best one to give you advice on a laptop 
>> since I do not own one, but I will suggest a few things:
>>
>>     First I would try to boot to a disk other than the hard drive.  A 
>> CD or floppy if your computer has one would work if the CMOS setup has 
>> them listed in the boot sequence before the hard drive.  If the 
>> computer boots properly to a drive other than the hard drive, it could 
>> mean the hard drive is corrupted.  A driver or a critical file for 
>> Windows could cause your computer to stop like you described.
>>>
>>> I tried to turn it off by closing the lid, but that doesn't work,  
>>> Then I tried to turn it off by holding down the power button - but it 
>>> won't go off!!
>>> Only way to turn it off is to remove the battery!
>>
>>     Can you enter CMOS and does the screen stay present as long as you 
>> are in CMOS?  I assume you have not changed anything in CMOS since the 
>> computer booted properly?  Write back with the results of the 
>> experiment above and any additional info.  One can never have too many 
>> facts even if they seem unimportant at the time.
>>
>>
>>>
>>> Any ideas on what I may do before I take it in to the "Geek Squad". I 
>>> think their standard price is about $90 just to open it up then the 
>>> charges for repair.!!
>>>
>>> I might think that it was a bad screen, but it was good and "strong" 
>>> before today, and the fact that I can't shut it down without removing 
>>> the battery makes me think it may be the power control software. 
>>> Warranty is out by a couple of months!! Grrrrrr!!
>>>
>>> Big John
> I perhaps didn't make myself clear! The screen is blank, I cannot open 
> the CD drive,(it is supposed to slide out, but does not respond when I 
> press the "open" button) so I can't even attempt to boot with a floppy 
> or CD. For all intents and purposes the computer is dead, but the lights 
> all come on and it does get warm if I leave it on for awhile -- 
> otherwise dead - dead - dead!! Like the song says, the lights are all 
> on, but nobody is home!! Thanks for giving it some thought anyway.
> 
> I stopped by the Geek Squad this morning and explained the problem and 
> they just "blinked their eyes" and said bring it in. They could perhaps 
> by-pass something and get it to boot.  It's obviously not a routine 
> problem!!
> 
> bj
        I don't know how much you know about computers, so I don't mean my 
comments to be demeaning.  One of the first things a computer does upon 
boot up is write the bios into RAM.  That is your memory.  If you can 
enter CMOS setup and not have the screen go blank, it tells you a lot. 
It does not mean all the RAM is good as less is used when entering CMOS 
than booting to an operating system.

        If you want to stab at a couple of things, you could remove the RAM and 
clean the gold contacts with a pencil eraser.  Reinstall the RAM after 
that.  You could also remove the battery and try the computer again, 
trying to first enter CMOS.  If it works and stays you can try the CD by 
IMMEDIATELY opening the CD drawer once you turn on power.  Booting from 
a drive other than the HD uses less memory and excludes the data on the HD.

        On the other hand if you would rather pay someone to mess with it, I 
understand.  Write back if you attempt any of the above with your 
results and I might be able to help.