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Screen goes dark - Brand new Satellite A215

post #1 of 17
1/12/08 at 4:24pm
Thread Starter 
Hi folks,

I have a brand new (less than a week old) Toshiba A215 loaded with Vista. Starting on about the second day, the screen will just suddenly go black without warning. There is a faint glow which indicates to me that it has power, but the only way to recover the computer is to do a forced shutdown by holding the power button until it shuts off.

The day I brought the computer home, I loaded Office 2003 and set up Outlook. I downloaded and installed Mozilla Firefox, downloaded AVG Free Edition (Anti virus software). I then removed McAfee and Norton but left the Windows Firewall up because AVG Free doesn't have a firewall. That's about it.

Aloso, I have a Belkin laptop stand/external fan that gets its power through a USB line, so I don't believe I'm having any heat issues because the bottom of the laptop is not laying on any surface and gets free airflow, enhanced by the fan.

Do you guys think this is a Toshiba hardware problem or is it mosre likely a Vista issue? I've never seen this before with any of my previous laptops (the last one ran XP, which I loved).

Thanks
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post #2 of 17
1/13/08 at 12:57am
Thread Starter 
Never mind. I returned the laptop to Best Buy, got a full credit from them, and bought another brand altogether.
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post #3 of 17
1/19/08 at 3:29am
Hello all,
If at all possible, I would like to discuss the problem. I seem to be in the same situation, except I have not un-installed anything and only added office 2k7. I have allready exchanged once with bestbuy and am wondering if it's something I'm failing to do thats causing this mysterious black screen?? I am not noob to toshiba, this is my third satellite series and have loved every one, so any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
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post #4 of 17
1/19/08 at 4:53am
did this happen before or after u installed office?

cheers ...
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post #5 of 17
1/19/08 at 8:56am
What Antivirus program are you using now. Did you buy the Norton/McAfee after the three months expired??? Are you running any spyware utilities. What firewall are you using. XP firewall is only one way and not very good.
Any error messages with the black screen???
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post #6 of 17
1/19/08 at 11:09am
It happened after I installed office, but it is the same copy that I run on my desktop which works fine. Yes it has mcafee and all standard programs from the factory on it for the sole reason of the first one doing the same thing. It has struck in the most random of times.
1) after playing DragonWarrior on a NES Emulator after 2 hours
2) 30 mins after boot downloading Itunes
3) after working in Excel for about 45 mins (all heat issues were addressed)
4) last night after booting, playing my first game of Freecell (so about 4 minutes

I did read another thread I have tried, but has not acted out yet. Something about changed the automatic reboot option in the system menu.

There seems to be no rhyme or reason? And like the other gentlemen, it will without warning stop working the hard drive, screen goes black other than a backlight. But the fan is still going and there is no keyboard response.

I appreciate everyone using their gray-matter to help!
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post #7 of 17
1/19/08 at 1:19pm
You are saying that you purchased McAfee after the trial ran out. If not, your antivirus system is not working.
Do a Google search for online virus scans and run the TrendMicro. Then to get rid of all the spyware that is probably on there and slowing things down, download, install, update then run SuperAntiSpyware free edition
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post #8 of 17
1/20/08 at 6:15am
I've had the same problem and I don't know what the heck caused it. I really don't think it has anything to do with spyware or virus' or antivirus programs. The only thing i did was delete all the crapware including the McAfee trial to where i had the firewall and all other protection but the antivirus and spyware program.
I've also had another freakin' problem. Sometimes when i've been playing for an hour or so the laptop decides to shutoff. It could be because the vent is blocked but sometimes I just leave it sitting closed and when i open it back up it shut itself down. Any hints to either of these probelems would be great because this is my first laptop and I love the thing. I do have Vista too.
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post #9 of 17
1/20/08 at 9:11am
Well Sir, I can guarantee you, if you have deleted the trial version of McAfee and have not installed a new working antivirus program, your computer is undoubtedly full of viri, trojans, and spyware and this will certainly cause it to shutdown
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post #10 of 17
1/20/08 at 4:57pm
I installed Symantec Endpoint Protection virus etc protector and have scanned quite a few times -- nothing. The shutdowns again could be because of overheating, but the vent is on the side and I've made sure it isnt covered.
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post #11 of 17
1/20/08 at 5:43pm
Well, if you guys have ensured that it is virus free and there are no software conflicts (added any strange SW) then I would contact Toshiba and make use of the warranty
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post #12 of 17
1/20/08 at 6:26pm
Thanks. I just wanted to see if the problem was me and see if it was an easy fix before I had to rely on callin' the freakin' techs.
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post #13 of 17
1/28/08 at 1:00am
well... this is a temporal fix .. go to control panel , power options, power plans... advanced power options then put the minimum processor state on 100% .... i hope that the toshiba tech center will come out with a better fix.... it seems to be an ati/amd interaction issue in this chipset that has to be rechecked...
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post #14 of 17
1/28/08 at 2:32pm
Do not use it on a soft surface and block any of the fans on the bottom. If you use it on your lap, I would suggest using a kitchen cutting board or something underneath the laptop.
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post #15 of 17
1/29/08 at 2:01pm
Hi, my name is Robert, I'm a certified Toshiba technician in southern california.

The A215, unfortunately, seems like a problem child in the midst. We get quite a few in here each month with various problems, including that dreaded black screen. In most cases, we've simply replaced the system board and the problem was resolved but for only a short period then it would return. My guess is that the company who actually designed and manufactured the board, prolly somewhere in china, messed up. Clone boards, such as any AMD board in a toshiba, are VERY finicky and do some of the wierdest things. And for the record, I am a toshiba certified technician but I don't work for Toshiba so that means I can pretty much say what I think freely

Personally, the A135 is a bigger problem child but I'd personally take ur's back and exchange it for a P205 or something, something with intel's processor, much more stable and less problematic. At worst you will maybe get a failed LCD cable or two with that one.
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post #16 of 17
3/7/08 at 8:11pm
Hi... Toshiba has released (finally!!) a fix for this bug, check the latest BIOS update on the toshiba support site for the A15 Models ... i´ve flashed the BIOS and changed the minimum processor settings in the power saver mode to 5% and everything is going OK! now this is a EXCELENT notebook for the price! and the batery life is about 30 or 40% longer with the power settings working the way they should!!
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post #17 of 17
3/8/08 at 5:39pm
Toshbia now has a fix for the dreaded black screen on their website.
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