Toshiba Satellite C855-S5115 Troubleshooting

Your computer is running abnormally slow.

Computers get slower the older they get. If the computer is more than 5-6 years old, it is normal for it to slow down. Hard drives are moving disks that can degrade over time. To find the production date of your computer, simply find the model number on the back and google “(model) production date.” You may be able to improve performance by upgrading the hard drive or RAM sticks.

Right click the taskbar at the bottom of your screen and go to “Task Manager.” Then look at the “Disk” column and if it is 99% or 100% usage, something is wrong. This is usually an indicator that a service or program is having an issue.

Programs that launch immediately when the computer starts up can cause the computer to be unresponsive. To stop this, right click the taskbar > task manager > startup. Programs that you have installed can most likely be stopped at startup. Make sure to not disable any startups that are vital to the system. To disable a startup, simply right click on the program and hit “disable”.

Your computer has trouble connecting to the internet.

Make sure you are logged onto the wifi by going to the bottom left of your screen and clicking the wifi symbol. At the top of this menu you will see which wireless signal you are connected to. If nothing is selected, click on your wifi and connect.

To ensure network card drivers are properly installed, hit your “windows” key and “x”, then hit Device Manager. After this you will see a list of all drivers currently on your computer. Expand the Network Adapters section. Right click on your network adapter and click on update. If this does not fix the issue you can reinstall the drivers. Simply right click on the network adapter > uninstall. Then right click on the “Network Adapters” section and click scan for hardware changes.

You can reset the winsock catalog by doing the following: Open CMD as administrator > type “netsh winsock reset” > hit enter > type “netsh int ip reset” > hit enter

Your laptop struggles to display the image correctly, or at all.

Make sure your drivers are up to date by clicking Windows key & “x” > device manager > expand display adapters > right click your device > update drivers.

If your laptop has any damage to the hinges the ribbon cable could be damaged. This would cause your screen to malfunction or go completely black. If this is the case you, will need a hardware repair done at a computer repair shop. In most cases, it’s harder to find older laptop replacement parts and it may be beneficial to buy a new computer and transfer your data to the new one.

You have trouble hearing the sounds coming out of your laptop.

Go to the bottom right hand section of your screen and click the volume label. Adjust the volume slider to a higher setting.

Make sure your the sound drivers are updated by clicking the Windows key & “x” > device manager > expand sound, video, and game controllers > right click your device > update drivers.

Right click the sound label in the bottom right of your screen > output. Make sure the device you are listening to is the device the computer is outputting the sound to. If it is not, right click the right device > set as default device.

The touchpad is not responding to your touch.

Try swiping left to right out of scroll. If this does not work, hit Ctrl + Alt + Delete, go to task manager, and hit the synaptic touchpad icon, then press "end task". This should take you out of scroll.

Check the USB inputs to see if a different mouse device is connected. Unplug the separate mouse device if one is connected.

The computer will turn off randomly and feels excessively warm or hot.

Excessive dust on the fan blades or cooling unit can cause overheating. Remove the backplate to get rid of any dust on the fan blades and cooling unit. Using an air compressor is especially effective.

The computer screen remains black after power button is pressed. No sound is emitted from device.

If the laptop turns on only when plugged in, the battery needs to be replaced. Learn how to replace the battery by using this Battery Replacement Guide.

Plug the the charging cable in to a working outlet and connect to the laptop. If the charging light does not come on, the cable is faulty and will need to be replaced.