Toshiba Laptops with dodgy screws

[bitznpcz]

Hi Everyone,

 

Has anybody had an issue with Toshiba laptops where the screws drop out of the bottom plastic chassis?

 

I had a call from a school today with a faulty Toshiba Satellite Pro R50-B-12N. The laptop just had a flashing white power light, so I assumed that it was the usual power issue so I removed the battery and power, pressed the power button for 30 seconds and reapplied the power. Still dead!

 

On moving the laptop I noticed that a number of screws had dropped out of the bottom chassis and there was a rattling sound inside. On taking apart, a screw dropped out of the inner casing and I noticed a burnt area on the motherboard.

 

 

I've had a Twitter chat with Toshiba and they are claiming that this is an impossibility. It has happened however, but I have no way of proving that it's an inherent fault in that the screw mounts are dodgy.

 

I have had a number of Toshiba's recently with screws dropping out, but has anyone had one with a screw getting inside?

 

Hope someone can back up my claim! The owner of the laptop is a heavily pregnant deputy head and would not have taken the laptop apart!!!

 

Thanks everyone!!

[hardtailstar]

Ive had Toshibas lose screws before but none into the casing.

[bitznpcz]

Ive had Toshibas lose screws before but none into the casing.

 

Thanks for your reply. I've pretty much lost all faith in Toshiba's and have moved most of my business to @VeryPC

[robyholmes]

I've seen this as well. Try these guys:Toshiba Laptop Repairs - UK authorised service and repair provider

 

They're a Toshiba approved repairer and can do things under warranty. You might want to ring them before sending it and state whats happened. As far as I know Toshiba are aware of the issue so make a point you want it under warranty.

[AliG]

It's a known problem with Toshiba R50 laptops they used the wrong loctite!

[bitznpcz]

Thanks for your replies. The supplier, CBC Computers, are going to have a look and see if they can resolve with Toshiba. Failing that i'll try the company mentioned by @robyholmes

[difinity]

I can't see how a screw can get inside from outside. There are I think there are five screws internally holding the motherboard, fan and other boards in place. I think it must be one of those.

[AliG]

The internal screws also come loose and short the main board again due to incorrect loctite we where told. Our repair agent sent us screw kits and we bought the correct loctite. One laptop had 12 screws out of 20 missing from the back panel.

[bitznpcz]

I can't see how a screw can get inside from outside. There are I think there are five screws internally holding the motherboard, fan and other boards in place. I think it must be one of those.

 

There's one screw in the fan, one holding the motherboard and 3 holding the heatsink. Higher res picture here: https://goo.gl/photos/W6FZsGNYS8V7cHvm9

 

- - - Updated - - -

 

The internal screws also come loose and short the main board again due to incorrect loctite we where told. Our repair agent sent us screw kits and we bought the correct loctite. One laptop had 12 screws out of 20 missing from the back panel.

 

Thanks - fingers crossed we'll get an out of warranty repair...

[icemonkey]

We have quote a few R50's around now, I just thought the missing screws were down to careless staff!

 

Not had any rattling around inside (that I can remember anyway) but definitely going to keep an eye on them now!

[bitznpcz]

We have quote a few R50's around now, I just thought the missing screws were down to careless staff!

 

Not had any rattling around inside (that I can remember anyway) but definitely going to keep an eye on them now!

 

I had one a few months ago and put that down to the member of staff being careless. Looking online it's a common fault, but I may struggle to prove a screw made its way inside... Still dodgy loctite is an inherent fault so they should fix for free out of warranty...

[Symbiosis]

Yep - had the same fault here with missing screws (although not INSIDE the casing). Complained and promptly got some free bags of replacement screws and a letter from Toshiba advising which Loctite to put them in with...

[NviGate_Systems]

The more a unit is subjected to impacts (typical movement such as picking unit up and placing down on surface) and vibration forces (if unit is equipped with optical drive) it will exert a force that slowly "unscrew" screws that are not locked down properly. I've seen this after 1-2 years on consumer models mostly on lower chassis screws. But if an internal screw comes loose, that is a short circuit waiting to happen.

 

There are two major versions of loctite that I know of, blue and red. Blue is low temp general use, perfect for exterior screws. Red is high temperature resistance which would be more suited to inside the laptop where temperatures could be an issue.

 

For anyone else that had this issue, perhaps you could scan the letter that TOSHIBA gave you and upload it so Op can provide this as proof of an issue to TOSHIBA, I've seen before where companies deny issues until they are told to look up a certain errata/KB. Sad but happens.

[difinity]

There are two major versions of loctite that I know of, blue and red. Blue is low temp general use, perfect for exterior screws. Red is high temperature resistance which would be more suited to inside the laptop where temperatures could be an issue.

 

The colours are related to strength not temperature. It's blue for laptops, red requires heat to break it's bond. There are higher temperature types of Loctite available in both red and blue if required but standard Loctite of any colour is good for up to 150c, there is also purple (low strength Loctite).

[Symbiosis]

if it helps - I was advised (by Toshiba) to use Loctite 243

[RichCowell]

I've always used clear nail varnish for loose screws... it's always done the trick nicely!

(got a bottle specifically for that, it's not something I use personally!)

[smurfomatic]

Glad we're not the only one suffering with this problem with R50s. Glad we have switched to Stone to supply our laptops!

[Oaktech]

I've had the same issue with some r930 machines, randomly not switching on. I didn't even open it up, I just told warranty it was rattling. One went back under warranty no question, but the other was just out. The one that was out had some bright green gunge on the screws which looked more like a lubricant than a thread lock. I had a battle royal with Toshiba over that and they ended up sending me screw kit and giving me a 75% discount on a new MB, I think just to shut me up. The screws that turned up were probably all a MM longer and coated in blue or red threadlock. Take from that what you will.

[Clifton]

We've purchased 100's of R930 & R30 laptops from Toshiba both have which have suffered with this problem. The R30's have brackets that stabilize the optical drive, due to the movement of laptops and vibrations of the optical drive the screws come loose on these leaving the brackets and screws floating around inside the chasis, this then results in the motherboards shorting and dying. We're trying to get our warranty company and Toshiba to acknowledge this issue, although have had very little joy at all at the moment...

 

It's reassuring to hear that we're not the only ones having this issue.

[GuyJD]

I had a problem with Screws falling out of Toshiba laptops back in the days of the L300 and I've steered clear of them ever since.

[clockend25]

Only supplier we've had this issue with is Very PC. Whole batch of Thinbooks where the two screws into the screen hinges have fallen out of all 15 with 12/15 months of purchase, in some cases resulting in some serious damage.

[bitznpcz]

We've purchased 100's of R930 & R30 laptops from Toshiba both have which have suffered with this problem. The R30's have brackets that stabilize the optical drive, due to the movement of laptops and vibrations of the optical drive the screws come loose on these leaving the brackets and screws floating around inside the chasis, this then results in the motherboards shorting and dying. We're trying to get our warranty company and Toshiba to acknowledge this issue, although have had very little joy at all at the moment...

 

It's reassuring to hear that we're not the only ones having this issue.

 

I couldn't get Toshiba to admit any liability, but the original vendor did fix out of warranty. If Toshiba admit any liability, I'm sure they'd open the floodgates to lots of complaints.

[bitznpcz]

Only supplier we've had this issue with is Very PC. Whole batch of Thinbooks where the two screws into the screen hinges have fallen out of all 15 with 12/15 months of purchase, in some cases resulting in some serious damage.

 

I've moved most of my laptops to Very PC as I've been impressed with them. Most come with a 3 year warranty so most issues would be covered anyway.

[bitznpcz]

I had a problem with Screws falling out of Toshiba laptops back in the days of the L300 and I've steered clear of them ever since.

 

I'm avoiding them too, but where do you go? Most OEMs are supplying poor quality devices these days... Lenovo, HP, Dell etc all seem to have issues...

[GuyJD]

I'm avoiding them too, but where do you go? Most OEMs are supplying poor quality devices these days... Lenovo, HP, Dell etc all seem to have issues...

I stick with HP now, I did try some Fujitsu's a few years back but they had a lot of wifi issues.