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On a Toshiba Satellite laptop P75-A7200 I am not able to access BIOS setup and install Linux.

I read this suggestion from other user without success.

The board does not have any pins labeled CMOS RESET or similar. There are only G1 G2 G3. There are five pins in a row. I shorted them as well just in case with a staple.

I read other forums and still can't find a solution. The BIOS screen says: setting doesn't reset to defaults.

Do I need to flash the bios? It seems to be a trivial issue. I do not want to break my device by taking extra steps.

When a disk with Windows 10 is inserted the device shows its logo image. When no disk is plugged in it goes straight to a underscore sign and a black screen.

In the boot priority list CD is set as first. CD with Linux (Ubuntu) image doesn't get installed. It goes straight to a black underscore screen.

pabouk - Ukraine stay strong
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Kairat Kempirbaev
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  • What happens when booting? Doesn't the enter-boot button work (perhaps F8)? Why did you change the bios to legacy, for installing Linux? – harrymc Dec 22 '19 at 20:50
  • @harrymc I always thought the legacy is used for ubuntu. With legacy there is no fast boot, am i right? On the other toshiba device i used legacy boot successfuly. That cd is formatted properly because i see installation process on the second machine with legacy boot set up. Both 64 bits. No enter-boot button is displayed. – Kairat Kempirbaev Dec 22 '19 at 21:10
  • @harrymc I have a windows 10 OS on the drive. No enter-boot menu is shown. F2 worked when i made cd/dvd first. Now i can't get into BIOS with legacy. Don't know for sure why. My keyboard is working, caps lock is changing. Hardly F2 became broken right after legacy boot change. – Kairat Kempirbaev Dec 22 '19 at 21:13
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    @KairatKempirbaev Ubuntu has supported UEFI for some time now, incl. Secure Boot. Also, have you reached out to the OEM or looked at the manual for the device? – JW0914 Dec 22 '19 at 23:44
  • @JW0914 Manual is not useful and it is long expired. Even on their website no info. I guess fast boot option needed to be reset first before shifting to the legacy. Pressing F2 while powering doesn't start BIOS setup screen. – Kairat Kempirbaev Dec 23 '19 at 00:11
  • All F keys don't work, Neither del and 0. – Kairat Kempirbaev Dec 23 '19 at 00:12
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    The manual [should] normally cover switching between legacy and UEFI and how to re-enter UEFI once switched to legacy if it's non-standard. I would simply hard reset the UEFI firmware by pulling the CMOS battery... it will either be accessed via the main access panel on the bottom of the laptop or if not, you'll need to [disassemble](https://www.ifixit.com/Device/Toshiba_Satellite_P75-A7100) the laptop to get to where it's at on the motherboard ([upper left corner](https://d3nevzfk7ii3be.cloudfront.net/igi/SdOpbQtbGuPtjlKc.huge)) _(both links are for an A7100, but design should be similar)_ – JW0914 Dec 23 '19 at 03:44
  • @JW0914 Thank you for your time. I took it for 1 night and it didn't reset. Make it again and hopefully this night will make a difference. On the settings page it said this option doesn't reset. Never thought that battery makes a factory reset. Still can't locate pins for 100% factory reset. – Kairat Kempirbaev Dec 23 '19 at 04:19
  • @KairatKempirbaev The CMOS battery _(it's not the laptop battery... the CMOS battery is a coin cell battery, likely a CR2032 - refer to the top left of the motherboard photo in my prior comment)_ allows the UEFI firmware to retain a changed memory state [anything changed from its defaults] and removing the CMOS battery will reset the UEFI firmware to its default state. If you've been told otherwise, it would be highly unusual for a laptop motherboard to require shorting a specific location _(server boards sure, but I've never seen that on a laptop motherboard)_ with the CMOS battery removed. – JW0914 Dec 23 '19 at 04:41
  • @JW0914 My bad. I didn't specify: 3V battery. Thank you for detailed answer. – Kairat Kempirbaev Dec 23 '19 at 04:46
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    @KairatKempirbaev Just to verify, you're also leaving the battery and power adapter disconnected as well right? Just to rule out capacitors, once the battery and power adapter have been disconnected, press and release the laptop's power button once a second thirty times in a row (30s total ), which will cause all capacitors to discharge. If the UEFI firmware is still not reset to default after having the CMOS out for a few minutes afterwards, contact the OEM's [Toshiba] tech support, as they should still troubleshoot this specific issue, outside of warranty without charge. – JW0914 Dec 23 '19 at 04:57
  • @JW0914 Yeah this approach is better. If it fails again i will contact their support office. At least now detached for hours already. My laptop is 6 Years old. Windows became too sow. After re-installation works properly for a few months. Never thought a support office answers such questions for outdated devices. – Kairat Kempirbaev Dec 23 '19 at 05:07
  • @KairatKempirbaev You don't need to leave the CMOS disconnected for hrs, as it's not necessary since once that power source has been removed, the UEFI firmware chip has no way to retain changes made to the default configuration _(it no longer has a power source to maintain it's memory)_. You could also try booting the laptop with CMOS removed and only the power cord connected. You're spot on - most older laptops run much better on Ubuntu or other Linux distros over Windows, especially when they're running <=4 CPU cores and <16GB RAM due to the amount of resources Windows' services require. – JW0914 Dec 23 '19 at 05:16
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    @JW0914 As the CMOS memory power could be independent of the operational main board power it is certainly good to shorten the battery socket contacts after the battery removal to discharge capacitors (in addition to the computer power button presses). It is better to first shorten the contacts using a resistor (could be a pencil lead) to avoid high currents. Also after the shortening wait 5 - 10 minutes as the CMOS SRAM will keep data for a short time event without power. – pabouk - Ukraine stay strong Dec 30 '19 at 11:36

3 Answers3

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How to Enter BIOS on Toshiba Laptop When Your PC Can't Boot

The difficulty of accessing BIOS on laptops with Windows 10/8.1/8 preinstalled lies in that you can't use methods above when your PC can't boot normally such as when you forgot Toshiba login password. Now you can follow the steps below to enter BIOS.

  1. Shutdown your PC while pressing the Shift key to turn off your computer completely. Note: By default, Windows 10/8.1/8 only puts the computer into "Hibernation" not shut down your device completely.
  2. Now restart the computer by pressing the power button - IMMEDIATELY start tapping the F12 key on the keyboard until the "Boot Menu" screen appears.
  3. Using the arrow keys, select and press "Enter".
  4. On the next screen, you are asked to confirm if you want to continue with recovery. Select "Yes".
  5. The computer will bring you to the Advanced startup screen. Click on UEFI Firmware Settings and then Restart. Windows will now initiate the BIOS.

https://www.4winkey.com/computer-help/how-to-access-enter-bios-on-toshiba-laptop.html

Ramhound
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vssher
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This needs clarity, two separated topics/issues are being discussed at once.

  1. As for not being able to install Linux, do try different versions, as some can't and won't install or even boot due to secure boot issues, I've been there and using recent versions did the trick without changing anything on the BIOS, one of the devices in particular was a Microsoft Surface, regardless of multiple users being able to boot it with A, B, C, D Linux versions, I could only boot with D, E, F (more recent ones.

  2. Not being able to access the BIOS after setting it for legacy, well... this will sound insane but I've been there (HP modern All in One computer), and after changing the boot order and using legacy (something that I've done multiple times on this computer) suddenly caused BIOS options to become disable and then unable to set secure boot on again, then after every single change despite saving, it would revert to legacy, yes it makes no sense, and all I did was just keep trying over and over including fully turning off the computer until it worked, until I was able to actually change the settings, save and boot again. I know this sounds more anecdote type post, but it's what it is, sometimes things fail not making any sense and then suddenly work again.

Hector R.
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Clear BIOS by reseating the CMOS battery on the motherboard. It has time and date information. Remove it and place it again.

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Rohit Gupta
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ms2r
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