Batteries and Power

[CyberOptiq]

laptop has taken recently (within last 3 weeks or so) to randomly shutdown and when it boots up, gives me the option to run diagnostics, or boot into Safe Mode, which does nothing and then shuts down again. I understand there have been other issues with Toshiba laptops getting hot and shutting down. Am wondering if Toshiba has been investigating this and, if so, what are we to do? Do we have to send it in for repair/upgrade or is there something we can do on our end to rectify the situation? Please help as this is extremely urgent. I use this laptop for my personal/business use and need to have this running efficiently and not randomly shutting down in the middle of a presentation in front of customers. This happens even while plugged in not only on battery power. Thanks in advance!!

[Pensacola_Tiger]

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CyberOptiq wrote:

laptop has taken recently (within last 3 weeks or so) to randomly shutdown and when it boots up, gives me the option to run diagnostics, or boot into Safe Mode, which does nothing and then shuts down again. I understand there have been other issues with Toshiba laptops getting hot and shutting down. Am wondering if Toshiba has been investigating this and, if so, what are we to do? Do we have to send it in for repair/upgrade or is there something we can do on our end to rectify the situation? Please help as this is extremely urgent. I use this laptop for my personal/business use and need to have this running efficiently and not randomly shutting down in the middle of a presentation in front of customers. This happens even while plugged in not only on battery power. Thanks in advance!!

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The question comes down to 'repair or replace'.  It may well cost as much as a new laptop to fix the old one.  I would suggest that you look into a new laptop for a few reasons, including the fact that a new machine has a year warranty while a repaired machine would have no more than 90 days, and perhaps less.

If you decide on repair, click the 'Repair' link at the top of the page and look for a Premier Service Center near you.  You may have to call and arrange for shipping if one is not near you.  These centers usually can give you more personalized service than the Toshiba Depot.

[Defender]

Sound advice, Service Center for a diagnostic is best recommendation since it may be more intense than we can visualize.  Cost-these days- depends on whether very old unit or your needing a more powerful unit?

[CyberOptiq]

I found that the cause of the laptop shutting down is the battery. I've been using the laptop now without the battery and it has not shut down once. My question now is: can these batteries be traded in for a new discounted battery? I'd sure hate to pay $150 for a new one so that 2 years down the line it needs to be replaced again for the same reason. Thanks in advance for everyones advice and comments. Unfortunately, for a laptop that is factory configured with 2GB's of memory and 120GB hard drive replacing it is out of the question. It's no slacker as far as performance is concerned. Thanks again!!

[Pensacola_Tiger]

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CyberOptiq wrote:

I found that the cause of the laptop shutting down is the battery. I've been using the laptop now without the battery and it has not shut down once.

Glad you were able to troubleshoot the problem.

My question now is: can these batteries be traded in for a new discounted battery?

No.  Batteries have no 'trade in' value.  Usually they are waranteed for a year.  After that, it's discard (properly) and replace.

I'd sure hate to pay $150 for a new one so that 2 years down the line it needs to be replaced again for the same reason.

Batteries typically last only two to three years.  Consider a battery as a consumable, like tires on a car.

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[CyberOptiq]

I purchased a new battery ($75) and the problem still continues. I don't think batteries can be compared to car tires at $150 each or for any price for that matter and I don't agree with the assumption that just because I didn't get the battery from Toshiba that it could also be the problem. This laptop is only 2-3 years old and I have an HP 17" dv8210us model that is still currently using it's original battery and is much older than this Toshiba by 4-5 years. So I need a more realistic solution to this problem. I need to hear from someone who works for Toshiba concerning this problem. Please help with this issue as it is critical for me to have this laptop working without any issues. Could it possibly be BIOS-related? I tried updating the BIOS once but the update file wouldn't work. Thanks in advance.

[Defender]

QUERY:I need to hear from someone who works for Toshiba concerning this problem.

RESPONSE: CALL(800) 457-7777  and speak concern to rep, or take to nearest Service Center for a diagnostic.

As previously informed battery life is limited and many factors come into play-

For more helpful tips on getting the best performance of you laptop battery:

http://laptopbatterynews.com/2009/04/15/how-can-you-maximize-your-laptops-battery-performance/ 

For some battery performance tips and how to condition or recalibrate your battery:

http://laptopbatterynews.com/2009/04/29/treat-your-laptop-charger-with-care/

BATTERY REPLACEMET: Most crucial to consider all specs when getting a replacement, after market general seem fine initially check pin alignment please, but then your back to square one, not saying even OEM will not incur this same dilemna, but they are 'made for' the unit to meet specs.

Your originial battery was   6-cell (4000mAh) rechargeable, removable Lithium Ion (Li-Ion),  Replacement to consider is

PA3480U-1BRS Toshiba Primary Li ION Battery Pack (9 cell-6000mAh), can be utilized to increase battery in use time.

Finally, you may have a more serious problem related to on board BIOS CMOS battery maybe or power connector, best  Service Center for a diagnostic, warranty repair, and peace of mind. Battery's have no trade in value but often[e.g. InterState Battery] will ofter to take battery off your hand and reduce cost $$ to make landfill trash less for recycle aspect.

[CyberOptiq]

Defender...thanks for the reply. I think I may have nailed it down (somewhat) as to what may be causing the laptop to shut down suddenly. I've noticed that whenever it's doing anything that is CPU and hard drive intensive such as virus scan's or defragging the HD that's when it shuts down. So I'm wondering if the CPU is getting too hot?? I've noticed posts in the forums for some that this is an issue. Otherwise, as I use the PC for normal Internet surfing and reading emails it's fine. I tried installing the BIOS update for this particular laptop but was not succesful with that. Do you know if upgrading the BIOS would correct a situation with a hot CPU?? Thanks again to you and everyone else. I'm sorry if I'm a little hard in my posts. I'm just frustrated with this and I feel like putting a bullet in this laptop sometimes.

[Genlew]

I am happy to see my issue is not isolated to me. I have a sattelite A215-S7422 that also randomly shuts down. I also have a problem where it doesn't resume from hibernate mode if I initiate hibernate with the power button.  That I can live with, but can't ignore the bigger issue that in the middle of my work it shuts down.

I thought it was the battery, but now going through the forum I see others have swapped it out with no success. I also thought it was overheating, so the laptop is permantely on a cooling pad, and it still randomly shuts down. Also when it shuts down, the unit is not overly hot.

Has anyone had success with a BIOS update?

[CyberOptiq]

Need some help with this laptop in reference to the BIOS. Tried updating it but was not successful. Does anyone have any suggestions as to how to go about this? Thanks!!