A new blue screen of death?

July 14, 2007 9:17 PM

Tech help please. I've got a Toshiba Satellite laptop and sometimes the display stops working.

The computer (an A105) is just over a year old. It's running Windows XP. As far as I can tell, its also running all the newest drivers.

Sometimes the screen turns completely blue. It's still getting power. The computer is still running - for instance, I can still hear the music from Itunes or the sound from a tv show running in Firefox. It doesn't seem to matter what programs are open, but generally I'm running firefox, Itunes, and gotomypc. Sometimes Word. This happens maybe once a week. Any ideas?

posted by dpx.mfx to computers & internet (8 comments total)

Do you notice that this happens when the lid moves, or would it happen if it was completely still?

What resolves the issue? Moving the lid, reboot, time?

What model Satellite is it??

Is the warranty expired? If not, you probably just want to get it fixed through the warranty. If it is expired, chances are that fixing the issue will require opening the laptop up.

My wifes laptop screen used to turn off when she moved it, but it would go black and not blue. This turned out to be a connection to the graphics card and required me taking apart the laptop, tightening some screws and all was well.

Being that you are getting a blue screen, it sounds to me like a hardware issue, most likely the video card. The video card may be getting too hot or a number of things.
posted by B(oYo)BIES at 9:29 PM on July 14, 2007

The warranty is out. It's an A105. It happens even if the computer is completely still. The only way I've found to resolve it is to turn the computer off and then back on. I would believe that it has something to do with the computer getting hot -- it seems to only happen if the computer has been on a while. Is there some way to keep it from getting hot?
posted by dpx.mfx at 9:33 PM on July 14, 2007

It is a blank blue screen, or it has an error on it?
posted by B(oYo)BIES at 9:36 PM on July 14, 2007

Blank blue, no error. And I meant to say A105-S2716.
posted by dpx.mfx at 9:38 PM on July 14, 2007

From this site:

"I’ve seen this problem with Satellite A105 laptops before and I believe the culprit is the video chip on the motherboard. Even though the external video works fine, it’s still a problem with the motherboard. Unfortunately the video chip is integrated into the motherboard and when it goes bad, the whole motherboard must be replaced in order to fix the problem."

posted by Xere at 10:33 PM on July 14, 2007

Here is some more information from people that are going through the same issue with "Blank blue screen":

http://forums.techguy.org/windows-nt-2000-xp/512492-blank-blue-screen.html

http://forums.techguy.org/windows-nt-2000-xp/451214-blank-blue-screen.html

I would have to lean towards overheating. Being that the graphics card in onboard, it is not far fetched to think that it would overheat. Is there a way to stop it from overheating? Nothing other than, keep it clean and free of dust, turn the computer off when you are not using it, and don't set the computer on surfaces that help the heat like, the sofa, the floor, or even your lap. You might buy one of those lap pads with a plastic surface. Neither of these links have solutions, so from what I can find I believe that this is a case of bad design. Hate to say it, but you might think of getting rid of it and finding another laptop, unless of course you can handle it. I hope I am wrong though. Maybe somebody will come through with some good info for you, but either way... Good Luck.
posted by B(oYo)BIES at 11:21 PM on July 14, 2007

I've got a similar problem on this 5 year old Toshiba Satellite 1095-S301. It's not a thermal problem (it happens cold.) It's not a software problem (I've installed new video drivers and the problem is unchanged.)

My guess is that it's a problem "somewhere" in the video driver - probably a flaw in a Toshiba chipset. Most likely something so stupid as an unresolved race condition.

The only solution I've found is to re-boot. And to not make the mistake of buying Toshiba again when this machine finally craps out.
posted by three blind mice at 11:49 PM on July 14, 2007

Seconding three blind on running screaming away from Toshiba in the future. Screen on my 1705-yadda series started going dead intermittently like this while it was IN WARRANTY. They said nothing was wrong, natch. I can still run it using an external monitor, but the onboard display is toast.
posted by O Blitiri at 6:35 PM on July 15, 2007