Laptop troubleshooting

[BubbaGump69]

I need some help troubleshooting a Toshiba Satellite. I couldn't find the model but the serial number is 1800-S254. I don't know much history on it. A friend from work told me it didn't work. Well I tried turning it on and it keeps rebooting itself once it gets to the windows xp splash screen. I thought maybe it was the battery. I checked the batt with a multimeter and it showed good power but the computer will not boot on the battery alone. It needs the ac adapter plugged in. Would a dead battery cause this problem? I have tried to go into safe mode and safe mode command prompt but it still just tries to restart. It seems like a power problem to me. I am not getting any beeps or other errors.

 

[Calibretto]

My aunt has a Toshiba Satellite which I've used alot. I've never really had that problem. You might be right on the battery theory since you need your AC to make it work. What does the battery percentage say in the system tray?

 

[evelmunkey]

Why would the battery matter if it is plugged in?

 

[wasisnt]

If it boots plugged in and not with just the battery I would think it was the battery.

 

[Win2kpatcher]

The battery does not have to be in a laptop for it to boot. I have one that I use at home with no battery installed and it boots fine of AC power only. Sounds like something with the OS went south. I would try running a repair on the OS and see if that fixes it.