Customer Reviews

Toshiba Satellite A35-S159 Laptop (2.30-GHz Pentium 4, 512 MB RAM, 60 GB Hard Drive)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I've had this computer for almost three years. About two years into it it developed the heating issue that others have complained about - it began shutting down at unpredictable intervals; usually when I had the CPU running at full capacity. I did some research and discovered that the problem was dust. Namely poor cooling design causes the computer to take dust inside and over time it makes it hard for the computer to release heat properly. I took it to a computing center and got them to open it up and clear out the dust - I'd long since been off warranty.

I also went out and dropped 20 dollars on an extrernal antec laptop fan. It's the kind of fan that you sit your computer on and it operates more silently than the toshiba fan. Together with a regular vaccuming of the actual laptop fan to suck out any dust I haven't had a problem since then. I'm going to take it in again in a month or two to get the dust cleared out BEFORE I start having problems again.

So I know what you're thinking...why the 4 stars? I paid less than 1200 bucks for this machine. A dell machine of similar price would be falling apart in many, many, more critical ways (I should know I used to work in a computer lab), and compaq's/hps are infinitely worse machines. It's speedy, I've had absolutely no connectivity problems with the wifi (I've used over a dozen different wifi connections and I often have a stronger connection than my friends), ditto with the LAN...I've used the modem precisely once so I can't comment on that.

I've put a total of 70 dollars worth of service into this machine. You put way more money into a car to maintain it. A computer is a complicated piece of machinery...I don't understand people who think that they can buy it and not have to do anything to allow it to keep operating in peak condition.

Does this computer have it's flaws? Yes. But for it's price it's a good value. I wouldn't buy a Honda and expect a Mercedes.

i have had this laptop for 3 years now, and during the 1 year company warranty and 3 year with compusa, i had the WORST cooling problem...like the other users on this review forum, I had to ice the heat sinc in order to keep my laptop from shutting off abruptly (note folks that this is a security for your computer, if it continues to increase in temperature while it remains on, your hardware may be destroyed due to intense heat)...thus i had compusa replace the whole cooling system...it was a breeze and on a couple occasion had it it abruptly shut down on its own with the new cooling plates (for the new users without a warranty, the best way to maintain the cooling system is to blow straight into the exhaust while holding a damp cloth up to the fan screen, thus you will catch all the dust build-up)...also while i had my laptop hanging from my shoulder, my mustang door came swinging back at me knocking my laptop to the ground causing the hard driv to fail....this is typcial once excessive shock has been encountered...i simply had this replaced...for the next year and a half i had no problems and with all the things filed such as my library of 1500+ songs and music videos i still havnt filled up the lovely 60GB HDD...it is however as we call it today, a good desktop replacement according to its weight...its weight is on the rim btwn laptops that stay at home and laptops you can lug around at school...lately however iv been using a 3rd party ac adaptor and my ground needle snapped off...eventually i believe the temporary solder work i did to charge the unit caused the lcd backlight to short...after much research NOTE* even though your power jack supply is fused to the motherboard, you can have someone professionally un-solder that jack and replace it with another one at http://laptopjacks.com (which is about $25)...and if you can spot what has caused your backlight to go out like mine, (connections, lcd, bulb, etc) generailly it is bound to be the whole screen...all you need to do is go to a site like http://screentekinc.com and they will provide you a brand new screen (with available extra options like XBRITE in sync with the tech today)for roughly around $250 - $300 brand new... USERS if u made the investment already, take care of it because regardless of TOSHIBA having great technology the only downer is that their parts and durabilty are not necessarily the strongest...in comparison to the new line of Sony Vaio Laptops my A35 is just one big peice of powerful plastic...if u refuse to do repairs there are companies wherein you can sell your computer and they will buy it off you for the good parts...I FOR ONE AM IN NO FINANCIAL POSITION TO GET UP AND REPLACE THE WHOLE THING ESPECIALLY WITH THE NEW COOLING SYSTEM AND HARD DRIVE...it has served me strong for the past 3 YEARS in MOVIE MAKING for school, music promotion, web-design, church-sermon audio recording/digital and many work and school related tasks, so far everything else is good for another couple years...thnx

I've had my AS35-S159 for close to 8 years with almost no problems. I did encounter the overheating issue at some point and all it required was vacuuming off some of the dust and cat hair trapped in the cooling unit. My wife went through 2 laptops (HP, DELL) during the same time.
What sets this laptop apart is stability, I can have 3-4 programs running at once and it never crashes. I will definitely stick with Toshiba for my next laptop - whenever that may be.

I bought this computer about a year ago and like one of the previous owners, I had a problem with it shutting down for no reason. I found after sending it out to get serviced that the CPU fan went bad and when it overheated, it shut down. I like the keyboard feel and the display is good in comparision to my older Toshiba laptop. I wish that it had more USB ports and expansion, but the ability to load it up with 2 gig of ram is a plus. The battery life is good too.

This is my first laptop,i have no major complaints.Performance is great, not really the best deal if you`re an avid gamer, the shared video memory doesnt isnt really too powerful, but most games do run.This laptop is loaded with the 60gb hd,512mb of ram and cd burner/dvd rom, although it could hav an additonal usb port or 2. Cooling is very efficient,doesnt get as hot as a lot of other laptops as long as air flow is unrestricted. It is a bit heavy but still comparable to other laptops with the same features.The display is great,cant ask for much more with the 15" TFT.This is a great product and provides good value for your money, at this price,there isnt much more u can ask for.

I purchased the A35-S159 as a replacement for my son's desktop that failed. This notebook fit the bill. As a notebook, it takes so much less space and less noisy than his previous desktop computer. Conductivity was "okay". It took me about a day to get the Toshiba recongnized by my network (why???) and I'm not sure what I did to get it to work. The wireless was confusing as I was using 128 bit encyrption but the Toshiba would not allow me to input the 25 character WEP, so I had to change my other 2 wireless laptops to 64 bit so that the Toshiba would work.

Other than what I descibed above, the system is perfect for my son's needs. He enjoys the large flat screen.

We are sending this back for the 4th time in the span of a year for the same problem. They refuse to consider replacing the unit although it has clearly not worked throughout its working life. Customer service inflexible. It has shut down without consent of user for no reason whatsoever, repeatedly. When it works, it's okay.

This is my first laptop. I bought this laptop 4 month ago and did,nt have any problem at all. The keyboard is really smooth writing on it and from the hardware side, everything is working as expected.
The reason I gave only four stars to this item is that the connectivity is incomplete and insufficient since most of the todays accessories require USB. There are only two USB ports and located wrongly on the back. There are no serial, fire wire and infrared ports. Also only one PC Card slot in some cases may be resulting to short for todays requirements.
I bought a USB 2.0 PC Card Adapter to upgrade to four USB
ports, which now occupies the only cardslot. Most of todays laptops have at least two PCMCIA ports.
Anyway if you are using the notebook only to travel and not to use as a desktop and only occasionally connect some accessories, the Satellite A135-S159 Notebook may be a good choice.

Bought mine through a major computer retailer (now selling on-line only)over 5 years ago and couldn't be any happier with my Toshiba A-35.
Not a speed demon, but solid and dependible.
The overheating issues have been grossly over stated by a few noisy users. A little care and proper handling/storage and use of this little box and it is happy to perform.
I'm writing this as a testament to Toshiba's quality and reliability. The A-35 is no longer available but Toshiba still continues to make the soundest, best built and nost dependible laptops. Period.
I worked at Microsoft for 4 years, and when I was ready to buy a laptop, I asked around. Engineers, technicians, developers, Program Managers unanimously told me to 'Buy a Toshiba!'. So I did. Good advice.
Toshiba has listened to the marketplace and added more USB ports to subsequent models. The touchpad has improved.
Buy on price point if you dare, but you can't go wrong forking over a few more bones to buy Toshiba's solid dependibility.

I agree with Consumer Reports. I have had this computer for 4 years and going strong. This is a great laptop!!! I will buy another.