On Thu, 3 Jan 2013 21:28:50 -0800 (PST), klem kedidelhopper
wrote:

So we dumped
the hard drive and reloaded Windows.

What version of Windoze does this Toshiblah run? (Basic, Home, Pro,
etc)? Looking at the specs, it appears to have come with Vista.

What did you use to reload Windoze? A recovery partition on the hard
disk? A Toshiba recovery disk set? A recovery disk set that you
created? A retail Windoze CD? A random Windoze CD? It should be
something from Toshiba or you're guaranteed to have driver problems.

Oddly, I've had difficulties using the recovery partition on other
vendors (HP and Compaq) drives. It installs correctly, but then
Microsoft update refuses to update for various reasons. There are
plenty of workaround but even after they're applied, the system
usually ends up "unstable" or strange. I've had much better luck
using the manufacturers recovery CD/DVD sets.

Now it seems to work fairly well
on battery, however most times, (but not always) oddly plugging the
power supply in will cause the computer to freeze.

Toshiba uses a two wire power jack scheme, so there's no normally
closed connection in the jack. That used to cause such problems on
older laptops, but not this one.

When you say plugging in the power supply, does that mean:
1. 117VAC power is applied to the charger, and then plugged into the
laptop?
2. Or, power jack is plugged into the laptop and 117VAC is applied?
If the latter, I've seen power supplies that belch strange and
disgusting waveforms and DC when starting up and that can confuse the
laptop power management circuitry. If you have another Toshiba or 19V
clone battery charger, try it.

It is then
necessary to do a hard power down and boot back up with just battery.

So, it won't restart if the charger is plugged in? I would normally
suggest that you try running the laptop with just the charger, and
with the battery removed. However, that's risky with a possibly
defective charger, so don't try it. Replacement chargers are $8 and
up on eBay, so it may pay to just order one and see what happens.
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_trksid=p5197.m570.l1313&_nkw=toshiba+a200+ charger&_sacat=0&_from=R40

This has always seemed to work. Most times though if the power cord is
connected it will either not boot, or it will boot, let you do a
couple of things like maybe get to a Website, and then perhaps a
couple of more keystrokes and then it will freeze.

Hmmm... This sounds more like software than hardware. Google for
power management registry repair or try Microsoft Fix-It:
http://support.microsoft.com/fixit/
http://support.microsoft.com/mats/windows_battery_power_settings/

I have repeated
this problem many times now since clearing the phantom password and it
seems to be consistently tied into operating on AC power. Does anyone
have any ideas about this? Thanks, Lenny

Coincidence is a bad substitute for cause and effect. Clearing the
password probably has little to do with the power problem UNLESS you
did the procedure that requires shorting two pins on the motherboard.
One mistake, and poof.



--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558