Toshiba Satellite M30-304 - reach log on screen then shuts down

[moonfruit]

Hi, I have an 18 month old Toshiba M30-304, Intel Centrino, 1.4GHz, 256 MB DDR RAM, 40 GB hard disk. It has Windows XP Home Edition.

Since last week, when I switch on the laptop, it starts up and reaches the Welcome/Log in screen but then shuts down by it self, and then it starts up itself, and then shuts down and so on.

I have a very basic understanding of computer and would really appreciate some help.

The only things that I can think of that might have affected it is my niece who was playing around with it and I noticed that the screen changed from LCD to that fat, MS DOS type kind of desktop. I tried to change it back to LCD which used to be straightforward to do but just didn't work this time.

Also, I installed MS Word 2002 on the laptop just a few days before this happened.

Please help.

Leila

[pam123]

Do you have an XP cd you can use to repair the install?

[moonfruit]

Hi, I do have the System Recovery CD, and also the Tools and Utilities CD, but there is a warning on the cover which says I will lose all files if use this. I have a lot of work saved on the hard drive/disk.

Is there no other way to get it working without using System Recovery?

[pam123]

We can try.
Can you get into safe mode ?

[moonfruit]

Hi, I am now in Safe Mode. What should I do?

[moonfruit]

I re-booted holding F8, I have a list of options including Safe Mode.

[rjfvillarosa]

From the selection screen select safe mode only you dont need networking for this.
Once you get to the safe mode screen go to Start>Programs>Accessories>Sytem Tools>Sytem Restore
Then select a date prior to your misshap and see if a restore corrects your problem.

[moonfruit]

Hi, I clicked on Safe Mode, and then clicked on Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition.

There was a lot of writing on the page but then it just shut down again, and then re-booted itself.

[rjfvillarosa]

It sounds like it could be over heating, did your niece stuff anything into the air vents when she was playing with it?

[moonfruit]

She didn't touch the keyboard or any part of the laptop, just played with the mouse. But it was quite hot that day and there were a couple of ants lurking around the laptop.

[rjfvillarosa]

Does the laptop have a floppy drive?
Does the machine you are using now have a floppy drive?
Do you have any floppy disks handy?

edit.. Just a thought but is that mouse USB? and have you tried the suggestions with the mouse unplugged?

[moonfruit]

The laptop doesn't have a floppy drive but this computer does and I do have a floppy disk handy.

[rjfvillarosa]

Originally Posted by moonfruit The laptop doesn't have a floppy drive

Thats a pity we could have tried to boot it in to DOS and see if it was a Windows issue rather than hardware.
What about the mouse question?

[moonfruit]

Sorry, I missed that. Yes, it was a USB mouse but it has been unplugged since laptop stopped working.

Shame about the floppy. There were a couple of other Safe Mode options, like Command Prompt, is it worth trying those?

[rjfvillarosa]

At the moment we need to establish wether it is hardware or software related, your laptop probably wouldn't have booted into DOS anyway as it is an XP machine but the idea is to try and get it to run before the hard drive boots up and to see how long it will last before shutting down again.
Boot the machine back into Safe Mode and watch it for ten minutes on the selection screen, if it reboots then I think it is probably hardware related but if not then hopefully it is a Windows issue that we can attempt to repair.

[moonfruit]

Ok, it's in Safe Mode, will be back in 10. Thanks.

[moonfruit]

Well, the 10 minutes are up and the selection screen is still there!

[rjfvillarosa]

Ok well at least we are reasonably confident that it is not over heating, two things now, it is either hard drive related or MBR/Windows software related.
Please do not put the Toshiba rescue disk in the machine because as the label says it will wipe your hard drive clean.
Because of the machines age I am assuming it has XP Home/service pack 1 installed (don't worry if you have done the service pack 2 update since).
Do you know anyone with an original XPHome SP1 disk?
Is your Windows Keycode still visible on the label on the bottom of your laptop?

[moonfruit]

Yes, the key code is visible, but I don't know about the XP Home SP1 disk. Will have to ask around.

[rjfvillarosa]

With the XPHome SP1 disk and using your Key code you will be able to attempt a Repair/Install.
This process starts as a new install of XP but during the process Setup detects an existing copy of XP and then gives you the oportunity to repair it and this is what you want, your copy of XP is stored on a hidden partition on your hard drive and the Toshiba rescue disks access the hidden partition, Format your hard drive and reinstall XP, setting the machine back to "as new" when it left the factory, destroying all of your work, obviously that is not what you want.
See if you can find an XPHome disk and come back to us, the process is very simple and painless and plenty of people here know how to do it and can help you.

[moonfruit]

Ok, rfj, I'll ask around or look on ebay. Thanks for your help.

Does the following web page offer good advice?

http://www.digitalwebcast.com/articl....jsp?id=8658-0

[rjfvillarosa]

I don't know that particular site but I doubt it will give you any better advice than you will get here.
If you can't find an XPHome SP1 disk just try and get an XP disk with a valid key code and we can do it that way, you will have to do it all twice because you cannot use the same disk on two machines but at least we can try and save your work before then running the Toshiba rescue disks, quick question does your laptop have a CD burner and just how much work will you need to save?

[moonfruit]

Yes it does have a CD burner. I'd like to save my coursework, pictures and AOL emails. It's not that much, really. This is my sister's DELL pc, and she has Windows XP Home Edition, will ask her if she has the XPHome SP1 disk, and there's a new one on ebay at the moment.

Thanks for all your help rfj...is there somewhere I can rate members?

[rjfvillarosa]

You will not be able to use your sisters DELL disks as they are tied to the DELL machine and literally will only work on a DELL.
Don't worry, try and find a disk and we will go from there, assure anyone who is willing to lend you the disk that it will be used to repair your machine and nothing else.
What I am proposing is to repair your machine and then off load all the files, pictures and emails whatever before running the Toshiba rescue disks.
Please don't buy the one from Ebay, I am sure you can get a copy from someone, personally I don't trust Ebay for software and there are cheaper more reliable sources than Ebay.