Toshiba model Satellite A205, model PSAF3U-0NROOV laptop problems

Satellite A205, model PSAF3U-0NROOV is NOT the model numbers. Look on the serial number sticker for something like: A205-S1234 where 1234 is some other number.

That's the CMOS password. Google for "Toshiba CMOS password reset".

You might be lucky and find that just removing the CMOS battery (and the main battery), leaving it sit for maybe an hour, replacing the battery, and trying again, might clear the password.

Here's one method for an A205-something laptop:

There are various schemes and tricks that work on different models.

I believe that the laptop is old enough that the parallel port reset trick will work: (near bottom of page).

Incidentally, there's nothing your wife did that caused the problem. Some laptops spontaneously set a password for no obvious reason. It's a bug that was probably fixed in a BIOS upgrade, which you probably didn't install. Toshiba claims that for "security reasons", they do not offer a password recovery method. They assume that if it's locked, you'll buy a new laptop. My customers reaction is often something like... right, any new laptop except Toshiba.

--
Jeff Liebermann     jeffl@cruzio.com 
150 Felker St #D    http://www.LearnByDestroying.com 
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com 
Skype: JeffLiebermann     AE6KS    831-336-2558

Be careful in there. Look at the harddrive and see if it is a Western Digit al. (I know it sounds a bit off but it's true that it is possible)

The reason for that is that some WD drives do all the sudden start asking f or a password. It happened to me. All I did was enter setup one rime to see if I could disable the webcam (I thought it might be the source of another problem). At this point if all it says is enter password, it might be a HD password. You have no way of knowing unless you have seen that password bo x on that unit before. If you want some info on it just google for "WD1600B EVT password". Those drives were used in Toshiba laptops as well as my Gate ways.

There is a procedure you can do on a Toshiba that fixes it but it won't wor k on a Gateway (lucky me), however it invloves copying and pasting some cod e from a website and then making a bootable CD or thumbdrive and all this c rap.

I found this is a common problem with the 160GB models but nothing indicate s that it is exculsive to them. There's no reason it should be.

At any rate, if you can get the thing to boot, get a bunch of thumbdrives a nd get every picture and everything backed up ASAP. I mean do that first. I f it boots, leave it running and turn off the power saving so it doesn't sh ut itself down. After you have the backup, see if it does have that type of drive and let me know, I'll see if I can find the code and the instruction s again.

However beware, I do not know if recovering the drive with that method save s or destroys the data.

J

something like... right, any new laptop except Toshiba"

I remember in the real old days they had some code you had to copy to a flo ppy to reset the password. It makes sense they just don't do tht anymore. T hink there's any chance of getting a procedure like that some other way, li ke by figuring out the chipset or somethng ?

I hope it's not too stupid a question, I am not quite a guru. My advice her e is based on personal experience. HA, I won't nut another Gateway after th is, I found all kinds of things out about these things after while. For one - seriously substandard sound. I tried plugging it into a decent amp and s peakers and UGH. Terrible. Then I find out that there is no preset "flat" o n the EQ, I had to set it manually ! The camera software sucks ass and what 's more that HD password issue keeps it from booting any other media just b eing there. I even excluded it from the boot menu and it still won't boot p ast it. GRRR. (supposedly that is not true of the Toshibas with the same pr oblem)

Actually while you're here, just what kind of laptop would you recommend ? Maybe an Acer or something ?

J

? Maybe an Acer or something ?

Acer bought Gateway in October 2007. Gateway, eMachines, and Acer are all the same thing, and pretty much all of their models are flimsy junk. Also stay away from anything made by Toshiba, the power jack breaks on most of them...I've seen 22 Toshibas in the past year for a variety of problems, all but 3 had a broken jack.

Look at reviews if considering Sony. The high end stuff is quite nice, but quality of the lower-end stuff seems to vary by model.

I personally like the HP Probooks and Dell's Vostro and Latitude stuff. They're a bit more expensive (and things like a webcam are often extra, these are mostly sold as enterprise units), but many models from those lines can take a serious beating. Many models will probably obsolesce before they break. Also, at least in my experience, they came with limited bloatware that actually uninstalled cleanly, so you don't have to format as soon as you get it.

I looked for a model number Jeff and it is A205-S5804. And it appears to be one of the models covered by the procedure under the first link that you s ent me. I thought that it was interesting that pulling the CMOS battery as one guy had tried) didn't help at all. This automatically created password shit reeks of "virus", and certainly must be a nice little money maker for the dirt bags at Toshiba. Almost like the bastards designed it to do this. Thanks a bunch guys, I'll get into it this week and let you know if it work ed. Lenny

, a website dedicated to Toshiba laptops, is great for repair information. Iris refers to Toshiba's awful Ask Iris help database at their website and is what their level 1 and maybe level 2 tech support have to rely upon for all their information. If you want real help from Toshiba for their hardware, ask for level 3. OTOH their software tech support seems decent.

I also have an A205, and it's not difficult to remove the hard disk to make a backup with a desktop machine or with a SATA-USB adapter:

Remove the screws from the lid on the bottom that covers the hard disk, then slide the disk toward the edge of the computer to disconnect if from its SATA data and power connectors. Pull up on the flexible plastic strip to remove the disk. Clone it to another notebook hard disk, in case the original disk fails. Notice the disk is set inside a metal cage, and you'll need to use that if you replace the disk in the laptop, or else the disk will flop around inside and maybe even unplug itself.

There are cheaper sources than Batteries Plus, like almost every place except Toshiba themselves. OTOH be careful about buying really cheap laptop batteries because some of them don't contain a temperature sensor to tell the computer when to stop charging but instead they have a fake sensor (fixed resistor) that makes the computer charge at a low current forever, rather than stop when done. That can be really bad with lithium batteries, which are particular about how they're charged.

If the Toshiba doesn't grossly lose track of time, then I seriously doubt its internal CMOS battery is bad. OTOH if you do replace it, be sure to get a RECHARGEABLE lithium battery for the CMOS because there are non-rechargeable lithiums that look just like it and even have the same cable attached.

Maybe an Acer or something ?

I usually get into trouble making such recommendations. The problem is that by the time we have a good idea of the long term survivability of the laptop, it's obsolete and no longer being sold. To recommend a current model laptop is risky, as it may contain problems which will not appear for many months or years. For example, I didn't know about the crappy soldering, exploding batteries, defective video chips, and early hard disk failures found in many laptops until well after the warranty periods had expired. Caveat emptor.

So much for the ritual disclaimer. This week, for new machines, I like Lenovo. Not every model Lenovo, as their bottom of the line models are marginal junk. The one's costing $500 and up seem decent. Avoid 1366x768 screens, which don't really have enough dots to be useful.

Note that you can almost buy two bottom end $350 laptops for the price of one decent machine. If expendable laptops are your style, I would recommend buying the cheapest, and just plan on having it blow up just after the warranty expires.

For older machines running XP, I'm partial to IBM/Lenovo Thinkpads. I have several customers runing T61p laptops, which are a good compromise between price, performance, and reliability.

For those with an unlimited budget, I like Panasonic Toughbook machines. They're built like a tank (magnesium case), and everything is shock mounted. They weigh a ton, but will survive being dropped on a hard floor. Performance sucks, but that's because they use older known components instead of the latest greatest fresh off the prototype line.

--
Jeff Liebermann     jeffl@cruzio.com 
150 Felker St #D    http://www.LearnByDestroying.com 
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com 
Skype: JeffLiebermann     AE6KS    831-336-2558