Customer Reviews
a very great computer 
2006-02-28
fist of all, i'm not under 13. anyway, i think this notebook is very great. it doesn't shut down all the time. i read other reviews about this computer. it seems that the people who wrote the review was either pissed off about this computer, or they are jealous because other people have it and they don't. this notebook has satisfied all my computer needs. it has a dvd and cd player, 256 mb ram, runs on 1.2 GHz, and dvd and cd buttons to play, pause, skip backwards and skip forward buttons, and a stop button for your cd and dvd. it doesn't have a wireless card, so i bought one. it is worth the price. i mostly use this computer to watch movies. it isn't really for games. i tries playing a game, but it didn't work. but it is a very good computer. buy it if you have the money and want a notebook.
Solutions to your Toshiba problems 
2005-09-20
Hello fellow toshiba victims,
I have experienced the same problems, random shutting off and MASSIVE slowdown of speed over 2 years. I have the toshiba 1900.
I have solutions to both problems.
A) The random shutdown problem, I've discovered, is actually something that only happens when the cooling fan is covered underneath the computer. It will only shut down randomly when it is on your lap, on a bed, or something that block it off. If you leave your computer on your desk (flat surface) with nothing blocking the underside of your computer, it will NOT randomly shut down. DO NOT UPDATE YOUR BIOS, it will only slow your processor down. Toshiba is aware of this problem and their only solution is to slow you down. Don't do it.
B) My computer slowed down to the point where I wanted to throw it out the window. Choices, 1) Do I throw it out the window and drop $2K on a new laptop 2) Do I strategically upgrade?
What you need to do is spend $300 and buy 512MB more of DDR RAM and then go ahead and buy a new harddrive, 7200 RPM (most are 5400 standard). Over time, computers slow down mainly because your harddrive starts corrupting slowly and subtly. A new harddrive and ram, and trust me on this (luxterg at hotmail dot com if it doesn't work)your computer will run better than new.
I wish you all the best of luck, despite toshiba being a useless useless useless company, there are solutions.
Kindly
Lucky G.
You take the good with the bad 2004-09-01
I have owned the Toshiba 1805-S254 for 3 years now. it has been a pretty reliable computer overall. No problems with the DVD or issues with ports of any kind. If I can fault this computer, it would be the ever persistent overheating issue everyone mentions. My laptop started to overheat 3 months or so after I purchased it. It is indeed a design flaw, and I believe it to be mainly the cause of dust. Dust gets stuck in the fan screen, and ends up overheating the laptop. While the problem is persistent, it can be helped by a) having your laptop slightly elevated so that it does not have dirrect contact with the desk, and b) blowing air into the fan opening to clear at least some of the dust out.
The only other I have had is a battery issue. Mainly, that the battery is pretty much dead and takes very little charge. (it lasted perfectly 2 years) I can't say however that this is a product fault since most batteries are expected to last 2-3 years.
I HATE IT! I HATE IT! I HATE IT! 
2004-06-29
When my parents bought me the satellite for my 17th birthday i was so excited since it was my first personal notebook. Now i am 19 and have suffered the last two years with this peice of junk. I don't even know where to start...first it randomly shuts down for no apparent reason. It constantly locks up when using the internet, my screen freaks out randomly at least a couple times a year to the point where it literally wont show an image, the speakers suck, it's slow as hell and i can't even remember everything else that is wrong with it.
On top of all of this Toshiba itself sucks in the customer service department. My father is now on their "beware of customer" list because he continually calls when the damn thing breaks down and ends up getting people who don't speak english and don't understand anything he is trying to explain. I promise you he and I are both fully capable of explaining a problem. Toshiba's solution has been multiple times to send the computer in for fixing - which i have done at least four times over the last two years.
- One example of Toshiba's poor service: I sent the computer in to fix a dimming screen and on their service sheet, i boldy stated NO to refragmenting becuase of all the saved work i had on it. Well they refragmented it, lost all my work over the last year, and on top of it as my luck would turn the back up CD i had didnt work. Though the CD part was my mistake, i was devestated considering Toshiba shouldn't have lost the work in the first place.
The other reason i hate this thing is that being a college freshmen i have to rely entirely on my computer. SO low and behold this thing decides not to show images on my screen two weeks before my final exams. I was forced to box it up and send it to a repair shop ASAP, in which the computer wasn't returned to me for over a week.
Thanks to Toshiba, i am forever turned off of Toshiba computers. i will never in my ENTIRE LIFE purchase a product from their company and i suggest to those reading this that they do the same. On top of it i am worried that Toshiba has completely turned me away from PCs which i have so dilegently used the last few years...looks like Apple has a new customer. THANK YOU TOSHIBA!
A piece of junk 2004-05-26
I kick myself every time I try to use this worthless piece of frustration. I hate it. It shuts down all the time. The sound card doesn't work. Half the time, when it boots up, the screen is black. Keep rebooting, and eventually, it will display and image. I hate it. I hate Toshiba products. I will never ever buy another one. And, of course, all this started immediately after it was out of warranty.
dont eva buy toshiba 2008-07-21
dont ever buy a toshiba pruduct. worst customer service. if something is wrong with the computer, they will hold it for months and then send it back "fixed". It never stays fixed and computer will repeat problem within months of being "fixed". i hate toshiba!!!
An Amazingly build portable 2007-05-06
When i purchased this computer it was top of the line. It was released when P4 processors were only for Desktop computers due to power consumption and heat issues (Pentium m or Centrino didn't exist). The computer offers decent performance for office/home use and it is solidly build (have been carrying it arround for 6 years and the screen is perfect, no cracks in case and it just shows some discoloration in the palm rest area.) As you migth expect, battery is already dead, but now i use it for the kids to play, only with ac power (wise to remove the battery to prevent leaks)My 3 yers old daugther and her cousins keep playing kid's games in it and it has taken several hits due to frequent "it's-my-turn"fights and nothing has broken so far. The only thing i found really anoying for 2 days is that the Cyberblade Video Adapter is not totally compatible with xvid codecs so when you play xvid videos, frames freeze and the sound is choppy. The solution is to change the codec settings of the file to divx using a small freeware app (since they are compatible) and voila. Other option (maybe the best is to install ffdshow codec. Can't complain... hopefully it will loyally serve for another 2-3 years...!!! One of the best investmets i have made... even though i paid around $1400 for it in 2001. It was also one of the first laptops to come with windows XP on it. If you are looking for a remarket portable for using with XP on office or light multimedia use, this is a very solid choice.
Toshiba Satellite 1805-S204 Notebook 2007-03-04
I'm not a kid under 13, but my daughter is, and she loves this computer as much as I do. After more than 5 years it has never given a significant problem. It has survived drops, spills and constant use and is still runing like new. I replaced the battery after 4 years and added memory. It is on the heavy side, but hey, its more than 5 years old. Overall, it is a great computer. It is much more reliable than my ThinkPad!
In Defense of Toshiba Products 2006-12-08
While it's unlikely that this outdated 5-year old notebook will be on many wish lists this Christmas, I felt compelled to offer a dissenting opinion to the recent bad reviews given this notebook, and Toshiba in general, by a number of disgruntled owners. First off, the model in question here (pictured above), and the one I purchased in November of 2001, is the S204 unit running a 1G Celeron chip, not the S254 Pentium III model referenced in many of the reviews here. I do not own the Pentium III version and cannot comment on that model.
As to the S204, I can only say that this notebook has been a perfectly-running workhorse for the 5 years that I've owned it, and is still going strong. Beside the loaded features, including a floppy drive, DVD-ROM, ports galore, and a nice overall design, my unit has NEVER experienced any of the overheating/shutdown problems that have been raised here. In fact, using the unit with a Podium notebook stand, this notebook actually runs surprisingly cool. This was a well-reviewed notebook (at a bargain price) upon its release in 2001 and, for me anyway, it has lived up to its initial accolades.
I am not calling hoax on the handful of bad reviews here but I do feel that the silent majority should be heard. These unfortunate folks obviously got stuck with bad units and I'm sure their frustrations are warranted, but there is not a computer manufacturer on the planet that hasn't sold some lemons. (Even the much-glorified Apple Macbook is now the subject of a class-action lawsuit). Toshiba has been in the notebook PC business for a long time, has produced some fine products, and is always worth a look when shopping for a notebook PC. I will certainly consider them for my next laptop purchase - that is, if and when my trusty S204 ever retires.
Piece of crap! Bad Design 2006-05-25
I believe I bought it in 2001 at Staples. Since the, the problems with laptop include frequent shutdown due to overheat, bad hardrive, dead battery and LCD with dead pixels. This will be the last product I buy from Toshiba.
