I bought 2 Toshiba laptops for me and her that was supposed to get us through at least the initial part of our odessy only to find that they are really just expensive boat anchors. I'll never buy another Toshiba product, these laptops are slow, difficult to use and now the usb controllers have died for all intents and purposes. They don't recognise anything that inputs via usb including the mouse and the external hard drive. Using that idiot input device with its own performance criteria that has little resemblance to what I want is driving me crazy. Anyone got any recommendations for a laptop that actually does what it's supposed too?
-- Edited by D and D on Thursday 16th of January 2014 11:33:50 PM
Pete49 said
11:53 PM Jan 16, 2014
won't have anything else. They work well and if new they should be under warranty which they honour. What OS is it win ?? I keep mine for at least 3-4 years before they are replaced and somebody always buys them quick.
Pete
Bunkerbob said
11:55 PM Jan 16, 2014
IPad or Laptop is a thread on the General Forum. 2 pages of comments. Most agree that Macintosh - Macbook Air appeared to be the choice - was the better deal. Their are some who are having fun using PC with Microsoft or Linus or other operating systems but for absolute ease of use - Macbook Air.
JB Hifi currently have a 10% of Macintosh. Hardly Normal, most not all, sell Macintosh now, Neale IT in Esperance are a dream to deal with and there is an excellent Macintosh forum that doesn't have the bitchiness that is on some forums.
I got mine for about $1100 but for ease of use, brilliant.
Bob
blaze said
11:59 PM Jan 16, 2014
I have had Toshiba as portable computers for 15 years , non better IMO. Your problems sound like software problems and nothing to do with the computer itself. I would advise you to format the harddrives and reload your operating system. The only thing one my Toshiba laptops I have replaced has been a battery on 1 recently that is very old, that old its a 486 base system running win95 and my signwriting software. Also replaced a keyboard on this one I am typing on because of a stray cup of coffee
cheers
blaze
The Phantom said
12:08 AM Jan 17, 2014
I, also, have used Toshiba laptops for many years without a problem. Absolutely reliable.
I agree with Blaze. It would appear to me to be a problem with your OS. My bet is you are using Windows 8. Get rid of it completely and load the FREE Linux Ubuntu 12.04 LTS or Linux Mint 15. No more problems.
For mine, steer clear of any Apple product unless you have loads of disposable cash to give them.
If you are really keen on changing, try any Lenovo product. The stuff coming out of China these days is amazing.
The Phantom
-- Edited by The Phantom on Friday 17th of January 2014 12:11:15 AM
Bunkerbob said
12:30 AM Jan 17, 2014
Phantom, why the comment about needing loads of disposable cash for Macintosh? We have had ours for 3 odd months and have only needed to get another mouse because I dropped mine on its end and its light went out. Apart from that we have not needed extra disposable cash
Bob
D and D said
01:07 AM Jan 17, 2014
The Phantom wrote:
I, also, have used Toshiba laptops for many years without a problem. Absolutely reliable.
I agree with Blaze. It would appear to me to be a problem with your OS. My bet is you are using Windows 8.
Sorry mate but you are totally wrong - I wouldn't look at Windows 8 - it's Win7 and I'm not happy about that either - much prefer XPbut warrantee prevents me using it as well as MS's decision to remove support. I'd only had the damn thing for a fortnight when I had to re-install the OS from the recovery disk that I'd fortunately made - should have returned it then and tried to get my money back.
Get rid of it completely and load the FREE Linux Ubuntu 12.04 LTS or Linux Mint 15. No more problems. No just he hassles of keeping Linux happy and working properly, been there,done that - give it a miss
For mine, steer clear of any Apple product unless you have loads of disposable cash to give them. Never used Apple but I'm aware of the cost of peripherals and I know some friends who reckon they make a great product.
If you are really keen on changing, try any Lenovo product. The stuff coming out of China these days is amazing. Thanks I'll have a look, can't be any worse than what I'm putting up with at the moment.
The Phantom
-- Edited by The Phantom on Friday 17th of January 2014 12:11:15 AM
D and D said
01:14 AM Jan 17, 2014
blaze wrote:
I have had Toshiba as portable computers for 15 years , non better IMO. Your problems sound like software problems and nothing to do with the computer itself. I would advise you to format the harddrives and reload your operating system. The only thing one my Toshiba laptops I have replaced has been a battery on 1 recently that is very old, that old its a 486 base system running win95 and my signwriting software. Also replaced a keyboard on this one I am typing on because of a stray cup of coffee cheers blaze
Been there, done that within a fortnight of purchase - luckily I'd made a recovery disk otherwise I would have been buggered since installation & recovery disks are not supplied (nor do other manufacturers from what I understand). That should have sounded warning bells but didn't and now I'm stuck where I am. Hopefully be back to the supplier next week but God knows how long they'll want it.
MOLLUSCAN said
02:10 AM Jan 17, 2014
Apple is the only way to go. A Beautifully made product, work like a dream and so user friendly. You'll never go back to Windows. I have a Macbook Pro, an iPad and a Macbook Air. The Air is so light.I find when we are away, the iPad and the Air do the job. iPad has 3G.
bill12 said
06:29 AM Jan 17, 2014
Had tosh laptops for years and any probs I have had are with the operating system, mostly.Used to build my own desktops, but find the toshs more reliable.Win 8 has givenme more strife than antthing else, but was brought up on windows,so can,t use anything else.Have tried android,but went back to win. Blame Bill Gates..........Bill
Big Gorilla said
07:57 AM Jan 17, 2014
The first Toshiba Laptop I purchased was in 2009. In early 2013, 4 years later, I had a problem which I diagnosed as the hard drive. The cost to replace was prohibitive compared to a new laptop which I bought 2 of from Grays Online Auction. One for me, one for Mrs. Gorilla !! These are loaded with Windows 7 and are great.
Now even if you buy a Rolls Royce, there will always be one that gives trouble. I assume your Laptop is under Warranty. You get 12 months and can buy another 12 months additional for small cost.
Is this problem with one Laptop or both ? When you say "Slow", this will depend on the Memory and the Processor. If you bought the cheapest, it probably has a slow processor. My suggestion is write down all the problems you are experiencing and take it/them back to the point of purchase for Warranty service.
Jonathan said
08:08 AM Jan 17, 2014
Hi folks ..
.. I've had no great problems at all with Toshiba through out the last 15 years .. I recently changed units because I found that ASUS had a great Gaming Machine that provided me with the power and speed that I lacked in a Toshiba ..
There is currently a problem whereby retail stores are selling Windows 8 on laptops that don't give "us" the option to correctly return them to a non-interactive state as used in Windows 7.
If you have the knowlege, one can fully install Windows 8 in a non-interactive mode on many new lappy's .. (but that doesn't make it a retailers best option) ..
Even some Toshiba units aren't suitably structured internally (capacity to operate interactively) because of their basic design .. by simply providing a large memory does not make it suitable nor does the manipulation of tuning.
After some years using Toshiba, I did find them most reliable but their technology preparation was only par for the present and lacked foresight and common communicatiion with Gates' Windows.
I can't comment on Apple but have many friends using them and swear by them .. but I haven't found sufficient cause to sway me in their favour .. (yet) !
and I'm still using Windows 7 ..
dorian said
08:10 AM Jan 17, 2014
I despise Apple and their iThings. To all those people who sing their praises, wait till something breaks (it will) and then you'll find out why you should have never bought one. Price gouging on a momentous scale. And just read some of the "technical" support forums. All they talk about is beeps and balloons, not bits and bytes.
As for the Toshiba laptops, the first thing to do if it feels slow is to run some benchmarks. Test the CPU, memory, and hard drive. HD Tune is a good program for the latter. Also check what programs are running in the background. You can disable many, if not most, from your startup profile.
To troubleshoot the USB port problem, check whether you can measure +5V at the USB connector. There is a fuse for this supply on the laptop's motherboard. If the +5V supply is missing, then I suspect that the most likely culprit may have been an overload from your external hard drive. These require nearly 1 amp to spin up. A USB 2.0 port can only supply up to 500mA continuously.
I've had a Toshiba for years too and would happily buy another, but that doesn't solve D&D's prob.
_wombat_ said
09:14 AM Jan 17, 2014
have you tried plugging in the item you want to use BEFORE turning on your pooter?
Done that, ok try this, pooter running, plug in to USB point and go to start button/Help an Support/ and type change drive letter, then click on Change, add or remove a drive letter, then click on click to open Computer Management, then click on Disk Management, under the volume tab find a drive with no letter, right click and create you own drive letter and there you now have a drive when you open My Computer.
I have to do this every time I do a backup on Mrs W Toshiba system which is 6 years old, I just tell her it must be trying to catch up with her age, that does not go down to well but at least I get to do the backup.
SnowT said
10:03 AM Jan 17, 2014
Ok let me get this correct..
You have no Recovery disk..
Your running Windows 7.. and the computer's slow..
If your systems are running slow check your RAM...
I know that the store are trying to sell Laptop with only 2gb's of RAM.. Well 2gb's or RAM will just run Win 7 forget about running any other Program's.
- My system at the moment is using 3.37gb of Memory just running Now.. Browsing here/Downloading some stuff/Watching a Video.. I generally also have a game going at the same time which chews more memory..
-- > How much RAM do you have..? Anything Less than 4gb is not enough.. 8gb is Better.. Yes Win 7 & 8 are a RAM hungry system..
Apples sorry, I will not touch..
Windows 8 I will never touch as I hate their user interface.. and their access to control Panel is a Bitch to find if you don't know win8..
Juergen
moblet said
12:01 PM Jan 17, 2014
It sounds like you have defective machines and will have to make a warranty claim. The speed and input device issues may be endemic to the machine (you haven't told us what model it is) so if I were you I'd be pursuing a refund or exchange for something else rather than having these replaced or repaired and returned.
One thing I always do when confronted with problems like these is to google the model and problem to see if it's a common issue with a known fix. E.g. the USB port problem might be driver related. Given that you've had other failures though, I'm suspecting defective hardware and would take them back before investing too much effort in trying to get them to work.
Did you play with one of these before buying them? Sounds like that's something you should do before getting something else.
I use an HP dm1 which is cheap, small, light, has a good keyboard, and uses little power. It struggles to keep cool in high temperatures so I wouldn't recommend it for hot conditions unless it's only being used in short bursts. My touchpad occasionally misbehaves but as I prefer a mouse anyway this isn't an issue for me and I haven't tried to solve it. Some others have video syncing issues supposedly due to chipset drivers, but this hasn't happened to me.
_wombat_ said
12:35 PM Jan 17, 2014
SnowT, sorry but i have to disagree with you in regards to Win 8, I run Win 8 on one of my systems and I do not use the tiles, I installed a program called Classic Shell and it put the start button back and it operates just like Win 7.
Another thing, if you get the tiles show up on startup then just press the Windows key and the X key at the same time and there you have your the option to select your desktop.
Get Classic Shell here for Free, not just a free download and then a trial it's free to use forever
http://www.classicshell.net/downloads/
Sorry guys but my link page is not working on GN you will need to copy and paste to get that program, anybody else having problems with links?
-- Edited by _wombat_ on Friday 17th of January 2014 12:38:33 PM
Hendo said
01:58 PM Jan 17, 2014
Buy an Acer, have had an Aspire 3610 for over ten years, it goes where I go, no faults,
brian said
02:29 PM Jan 17, 2014
Juergen, I have to agree with wombat on the win8 situation. I also have mine set up so that I can access a standard desktop layout from anywhere in the system. I can also get there just by hitting the windows key.
_wombat_ said
02:38 PM Jan 17, 2014
brian wrote:
Juergen, I have to agree with wombat on the win8 situation. I also have mine set up so that I can access a standard desktop layout from anywhere in the system. I can also get there just by hitting the windows key.
brian, have you tried Classic Shell?
brian said
03:18 PM Jan 17, 2014
_wombat_ wrote:
brian wrote:
Juergen, I have to agree with wombat on the win8 situation. I also have mine set up so that I can access a standard desktop layout from anywhere in the system. I can also get there just by hitting the windows key.
thanks Sheba, what has happened to my links, still not working
Sheba said
08:12 PM Jan 17, 2014
_wombat_ wrote:
thanks Sheba, what has happened to my links, still not working
No problem mate. Have you tried deleting the last letter/icon then re-typing it and clicking Enter straight away ?
Cheers,
Sheba.
justcruisin01 said
08:36 PM Jan 17, 2014
Had mine for 5 1/2 yrs & stills does the job, been carted all over the country.
JC
_wombat_ said
08:40 PM Jan 17, 2014
Sheba wrote:
_wombat_ wrote:
thanks Sheba, what has happened to my links, still not working
No problem mate. Have you tried deleting the last letter/icon then re-typing it and clicking Enter straight away ?
Cheers,
Sheba.
no, trying that now, just found that there has been a change, the links used to show up as underlined now they do not, jus have to put my cursor over the link and it underlines it and click away it goes to the link, all sorted now, well for today anyway.
_wombat_ said
08:41 PM Jan 17, 2014
justcruisin01 wrote:
Had mine for 5 1/2 yrs & stills does the job, been carted all over the country.
JC
they are a good machine, been around years, must be good to last that long
NeilandRaine said
08:46 PM Jan 17, 2014
maybe Toshiba is a bit like Jayco or Holden, they sell so many you will get the odd lemon, well maybe not so much Holden anymore. My wife is on her second Toshiba and have had great warranty service
I have a hp it is also very good
I bought 2 Toshiba laptops for me and her that was supposed to get us through at least the initial part of our odessy only to find that they are really just expensive boat anchors. I'll never buy another Toshiba product, these laptops are slow, difficult to use and now the usb controllers have died for all intents and purposes. They don't recognise anything that inputs via usb including the mouse and the external hard drive. Using that idiot input device with its own performance criteria that has little resemblance to what I want is driving me crazy. Anyone got any recommendations for a laptop that actually does what it's supposed too?
-- Edited by D and D on Thursday 16th of January 2014 11:33:50 PM
Pete
JB Hifi currently have a 10% of Macintosh. Hardly Normal, most not all, sell Macintosh now, Neale IT in Esperance are a dream to deal with and there is an excellent Macintosh forum that doesn't have the bitchiness that is on some forums.
I got mine for about $1100 but for ease of use, brilliant.
Bob
cheers
blaze
I, also, have used Toshiba laptops for many years without a problem. Absolutely reliable.
I agree with Blaze. It would appear to me to be a problem with your OS. My bet is you are using Windows 8. Get rid of it completely and load the FREE Linux Ubuntu 12.04 LTS or Linux Mint 15. No more problems.
For mine, steer clear of any Apple product unless you have loads of disposable cash to give them.
If you are really keen on changing, try any Lenovo product. The stuff coming out of China these days is amazing.
The Phantom
-- Edited by The Phantom on Friday 17th of January 2014 12:11:15 AM
Bob
Been there, done that within a fortnight of purchase - luckily I'd made a recovery disk otherwise I would have been buggered since installation & recovery disks are not supplied (nor do other manufacturers from what I understand). That should have sounded warning bells but didn't and now I'm stuck where I am. Hopefully be back to the supplier next week but God knows how long they'll want it.
The first Toshiba Laptop I purchased was in 2009. In early 2013, 4 years later, I had a problem which I diagnosed as the hard drive. The cost to replace was prohibitive compared to a new laptop which I bought 2 of from Grays Online Auction. One for me, one for Mrs. Gorilla !!
These are loaded with Windows 7 and are great.
Now even if you buy a Rolls Royce, there will always be one that gives trouble. I assume your Laptop is under Warranty. You get 12 months and can buy another 12 months additional for small cost.
Is this problem with one Laptop or both ? When you say "Slow", this will depend on the Memory and the Processor. If you bought the cheapest, it probably has a slow processor. My suggestion is write down all the problems you are experiencing and take it/them back to the point of purchase for Warranty service.
Hi folks ..
.. I've had no great problems at all with Toshiba through out the last 15 years .. I recently changed units because I found that ASUS had a great Gaming Machine that provided me with the power and speed that I lacked in a Toshiba ..
There is currently a problem whereby retail stores are selling Windows 8 on laptops that don't give "us" the option to correctly return them to a non-interactive state as used in Windows 7.
If you have the knowlege, one can fully install Windows 8 in a non-interactive mode on many new lappy's .. (but that doesn't make it a retailers best option) ..
Even some Toshiba units aren't suitably structured internally (capacity to operate interactively) because of their basic design .. by simply providing a large memory does not make it suitable nor does the manipulation of tuning.
After some years using Toshiba, I did find them most reliable but their technology preparation was only par for the present and lacked foresight and common communicatiion with Gates' Windows.
I can't comment on Apple but have many friends using them and swear by them .. but I haven't found sufficient cause to sway me in their favour .. (yet) !
and I'm still using Windows 7 ..
As for the Toshiba laptops, the first thing to do if it feels slow is to run some benchmarks. Test the CPU, memory, and hard drive. HD Tune is a good program for the latter. Also check what programs are running in the background. You can disable many, if not most, from your startup profile.
To troubleshoot the USB port problem, check whether you can measure +5V at the USB connector. There is a fuse for this supply on the laptop's motherboard. If the +5V supply is missing, then I suspect that the most likely culprit may have been an overload from your external hard drive. These require nearly 1 amp to spin up. A USB 2.0 port can only supply up to 500mA continuously.
pinouts.ru/Slots/USB_pinout.shtml
Had my Toshiba Laptop for 4 years and love it.
OJ
have you tried plugging in the item you want to use BEFORE turning on your pooter?
Done that, ok try this, pooter running, plug in to USB point and go to start button/Help an Support/ and type change drive letter, then click on Change, add or remove a drive letter, then click on click to open Computer Management, then click on Disk Management, under the volume tab find a drive with no letter, right click and create you own drive letter and there you now have a drive when you open My Computer.
I have to do this every time I do a backup on Mrs W Toshiba system which is 6 years old, I just tell her it must be trying to catch up with her age, that does not go down to well but at least I get to do the backup.
You have no Recovery disk..
Your running Windows 7.. and the computer's slow..
If your systems are running slow check your RAM...
I know that the store are trying to sell Laptop with only 2gb's of RAM.. Well 2gb's or RAM will just run Win 7 forget about running any other Program's.
- My system at the moment is using 3.37gb of Memory just running Now.. Browsing here/Downloading some stuff/Watching a Video.. I generally also have a game going at the same time which chews more memory..
-- > How much RAM do you have..? Anything Less than 4gb is not enough.. 8gb is Better.. Yes Win 7 & 8 are a RAM hungry system..
Apples sorry, I will not touch..
Windows 8 I will never touch as I hate their user interface.. and their access to control Panel is a Bitch to find if you don't know win8..
Juergen
It sounds like you have defective machines and will have to make a warranty claim. The speed and input device issues may be endemic to the machine (you haven't told us what model it is) so if I were you I'd be pursuing a refund or exchange for something else rather than having these replaced or repaired and returned.
One thing I always do when confronted with problems like these is to google the model and problem to see if it's a common issue with a known fix. E.g. the USB port problem might be driver related. Given that you've had other failures though, I'm suspecting defective hardware and would take them back before investing too much effort in trying to get them to work.
Did you play with one of these before buying them? Sounds like that's something you should do before getting something else.
I use an HP dm1 which is cheap, small, light, has a good keyboard, and uses little power. It struggles to keep cool in high temperatures so I wouldn't recommend it for hot conditions unless it's only being used in short bursts. My touchpad occasionally misbehaves but as I prefer a mouse anyway this isn't an issue for me and I haven't tried to solve it. Some others have video syncing issues supposedly due to chipset drivers, but this hasn't happened to me.
SnowT, sorry but i have to disagree with you in regards to Win 8, I run Win 8 on one of my systems and I do not use the tiles, I installed a program called Classic Shell and it put the start button back and it operates just like Win 7.
Another thing, if you get the tiles show up on startup then just press the Windows key and the X key at the same time and there you have your the option to select your desktop.
Get Classic Shell here for Free, not just a free download and then a trial it's free to use forever
http://www.classicshell.net/downloads/
Sorry guys but my link page is not working on GN you will need to copy and paste to get that program, anybody else having problems with links?
-- Edited by _wombat_ on Friday 17th of January 2014 12:38:33 PM
brian, have you tried Classic Shell?
That's what I am using.
Here's the Link for Wombat.
http://www.classicshell.net/downloads/
Cheers,
Sheba.
thanks Sheba, what has happened to my links, still not working
No problem mate. Have you tried deleting the last letter/icon then re-typing it and clicking Enter straight away ?
Cheers,
Sheba.
Had mine for 5 1/2 yrs & stills does the job, been carted all over the country.
JC
no, trying that now, just found that there has been a change, the links used to show up as underlined now they do not, jus have to put my cursor over the link and it underlines it and click away it goes to the link, all sorted now, well for today anyway.
they are a good machine, been around years, must be good to last that long
I have a hp it is also very good