Sudden shutdown at all stages of bootup, and running

[MarkZaff]

Toshiba Satellite A205
Vista SP2
2G RAM
BIOS 2.5



Shutdown problem started after battery charging system stopped working and progressively got worse. Behavior is like pulling the plug....can happen at startup or while booted up and sitting idle. I have ruled out heat problems as it happens from cold starts as well as others.

Bootup fails (abrupt power failure) anywhere from a few seconds after launch to recurring stages of the process (i.e. after "Windows loading files" progress bar or even as far as Windows bells and logo screen). Occasionally can start in safe with or without networking, last known good configuration or a startup check.

There seems to be no repeating consistency other than when it's trying to boot. Sometimes its as though I can get it past a "crash point" then it either starts or fails at another point. If I do get it started it can run anywhere from an hour to a day without incident. Sometimes crashes at launch of an Application or new browser window.

Error log doesn't show anything that I can tell (not even sure if I am looking at correct log that would display the scenario.

Have run all the normal Virus, Malware, reg cleaners.

Looking to the experts for some solutions.

Toshiba makes no recovery disk other than wiping the HD which I would like to avoid. Instability of system makes troubleshooting that much more difficult.

Any Ideas where to begin?

Mark

 

[Mark56]

The first test I would do is on the hard drive. Follow this guide, you will need another PC with a CD burner to make the diagnostics disc.

Identify the make of your hard drive and then use one of the links below to get the manufacturers diagnostic for ISO CD. Burn the image file to a CD, boot the PC with the disc in the drive and run the diagnostics. You first need to set the CD drive to 1st in the boot order in the Bios setup.

If you do not have an image burner use this free software to make the CD.

http://www.isoimageburner.com/


ExcelStor: http://www.excelstor.com/eng/support.php?sub_id=3

Hitachi/IBM: http://www.hitachigst.com/support/downloads/

Samsung: http://www.samsung.com/global/business/hdd/support/utilities/Support_HUTIL.html

Toshiba, Fujitsu: http://sdd.toshiba.com/main.aspx?Path=SoftwareUtilities#diagnostic

Seagate, Maxtor & Quantum:http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/support/downloads

Western Digital:http://support.wdc.com/product/download.asp?lang=en

 

[MarkZaff]

Toshiba HDD ISO

The link you supplied for the Toshiba tech support is broken....


I found this post though that might be a problem:

Toshiba
Toshiba
N/A (N/A)
Toshiba does not provide diagnostic tools for hard drives, currently.

Hard Disk Drives and Optical Disk Drives purchased as part of a complete system are warranted by the system OEM. Please contact your system manufacturer for further details. 2.5" Hard Disk Drive ("HDD") products purchased in the United States and Canada from Toshiba authorized distributors carry a 3-year limited warranty. 1.8" Hard Disk Drive ("HDD") products purchased in the United States and Canada from Toshiba authorized distributors carry a 1-year limited warranty. Optical Disk Drive("ODD") products purchased in the United States and Canada from Toshiba authorized distributors carry a 1-year limited warranty. Toshiba's USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive carries a 1-year limited warranty. Click here for additional information.

For warranty service, please contact the Toshiba SDD Repair Center.

 

[Mark56]

I've updated the link.

 

[MarkZaff]

ISO CD or Flash drive

Can I burn a recovery image to a flash drive or only a CD. Will a DVD blank work as well?

MZ

 

[Mark56]

I presume when you say "a recovery image" you are talking about the hard drive diagnostics disk or is this a change of subject. A Recovery Image is used to reinstall a mirror image of your hard drive and you cannot make that until the faults are repaired.

You can burn the diagnostics for dos to a CD or DVD, I believe that the format has to be different for a flash drive but no harm in trying if you can make it bootable.

 

[MarkZaff]

How do I make bootable CD with the diagnostics tool on it. The link is just for the repair tool itself. Computer seems to boot more frequently into SAFE (with or without NTWKNG) and can run there ok for awhile but will crash eventually / unpredictably if I launch an application or IE usage intensifies. If I boot in regualr mode it crashes (today) after login screen shows up and apps continue loading in background before passwd is typed in. Two days ago it ran in regualr mode for several hours with NO PROBLEM

 

[Mark56]

How do I make bootable CD with the diagnostics tool on it

The image you download from the site is all you need, just use image burning software like the one in the link I gave.

http://www.isoimageburner.com/

That will produce a bootable CD. Just make sure you download the tool that is for DOS.

Get that done and test your hard drive, then we can move on.