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If you've got any information about this Toshiba fault, I'd be keen to hear from you. |
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Introduction I have two Toshiba laptops, a TE2000 and a TE2100. Both are faulty. The TE2100 was my main working laptop. The fault is simple; they won't boot. The problem first showed up as a cmos battery fault then booting became unreliable. It went from reliable operation to no-go over about two weeks. From looking around the web I found that this is a common fault with these Toshiba models. I had a look at the TE2000 to see if I could locate the fault. I thought it shouldn't be too serious because it didn't fail suddenly and completely. I suspected heat or a connection problem. I used the TE2100 for about a year before it failed. It was a good machine. I'd installed a wifi card and upgraded the RAM. It also has some valuable development software licensed to it which is no longer usable. Although a few years old these would still be good machines if working. I was at a computer auction recently where they sold 3 or 4 working and 3 or 4 faulty (no boot) TE2100 laptops. Even though I can't get any help from Toshiba I should make others aware of the fault and warranty issue. A Toshiba Design Fault Toshiba accepted that this was a comon fault; more below. The fault is caused by a connector between the power supply circuit board at the front of the laptop and the motherboard at the rear. The connector is a miniature two row plug and socket that directly connects the two boards. The problem is that with normal handling the small amount of flexing causes the two circuit boards to hinge on this connector. The contacts spread and the connections fail. This connector appears to carry all the power supply control signals and sends some power back to the motherboard. It's a design fault because Toshiba should not have relied on this connector to join two boards that can move slightly relative to each other. It's unrealistic to assume that there will be no movement between these boards. It should have been picked up in the original testing. In normal handling it's common to hold the laptop horizontal in one hand while putting into or removing from a carry bag. This is the most stressful on the connector as the weight of the laptop is applied to the bottom center of the unit. I can confirm that it is only a connector fault because it's possible to "adjust" each pin of the connector and restore normal operation; at least for a short time (depending on how much to move it around). The Toshiba Response After sitting on hold for 45 minutes I spoke to a Toshiba warranty representative who was quite polite. Toshiba recognized this fault and extended the warranty for two years on the main board only. My machines are now outside this period, so no warranty. Also note that if you bought the machine second-hand the warranty is not transferable from the original purchaser. This probably applies to any Toshiba laptop and possible other manufacturers as well. You probably don't have any warranty cover on a second-hand machine, no matter how new it is. If it's not a business machine you may have a claim under the CGA in New Zealand. Your argument would have to be that it's failed prematurely due to the design fault and that it's for personal, home or school use. The Toshiba man did give me the phone number for Parallel Solutions who sell out-of-warrant spare parts for Toshiba. I called the number and talked to a helpful man who sent me some info. Unfortunately the connectors are not available as spare parts; only complete replacement circuit boards. Repair - yes, no, options? I have not yet (18-July-06) repaired either laptop but I would like to repair at least the TE2100. Any repair attempt is risky but the laptop doesn't work, so there's not much to loose. The connectors are surface mounted with a very fine pitch (0.5mm) that will be dificult to remove without damaging the board. One half of the existing connector can be adjusted to work but the fix doesn't last long. The problem is finding a replacement connector that's actually available. I did find one but it was only available on reels of many hundreds. Costly and with a long lead time. If Toshiba have been replacing the motherboard with a new one under warranty, the problem may just be masked for a couple of years. They may have used a better connector; I hope so. Another solution would be to install some sort of flexible ribbon between the two boards. This is not easy due to the confined space and fine pitch. It's also not ideal to hard wire the boards together. It's sad that due to spare parts supply by Toshiba the normal fix for this problem is to replace the motherboard and possibly the power supply board. Probably 50% of the laptop, due to one tiny plastic connector. My Recommendation What really pisses me off is that a perfectly good 3 year old laptop is junked because of a $1 connector and it's a simple design fault. Toshiba should at least make the connectors available; even it they charged a nominal fee. I'd pay $5 + delivery each. Don't buy a TE2000 series laptop. I'd be very suspicious of any Toshiba laptop of the same vintage. Bear in mind that if you buy a laptop second-hand; you probably have no warranty. Beware of adverts that say "only ?? months old, still under warranty", NOT. I probably wouldn't buy another Toshiba product on principal. They've already cost me a lot of money and time. A laptop is a major purchase and a very important tool for many people. It should last at least 5 to 8 years with normal use. This suggests to me that it's not sensible to buy a "good" (read expensive) laptop. If a cheap one can last the warranty period or 2 to 3 years, an expensive laptop is not a good buy. The Warranty Issue Either the laptop is soundly designed and can be warranted for ? years, or it's a shoddy design and it won't last. What has a change of ownership during the warranty period got to do with it. This is likely just a piece of fine print that's designed to reduce the warranty responsibilities of the company. It allows them to offer longer warranties at reduced risk. It's likely that many lease and company owned laptops are on-sold after a few years, terminating any manufacturers extended warranty. This is simply dishonest. You can search warranty info for a particular laptop here: http://www.csd.toshiba.com/cgi-bin/tais/su/su_navShell.jsp?cf=su_wa_cent.html
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last updated: 25 July 2006 |