Satellite Pro U400 sometimes freezes when the power cord is plugged in

Question

Hello! I know this problem has been discussed here and there but I would like to open a new thread on that. Here is the scenario.
I have recently bought a new Toshiba Satellite Pro U400-247 (PSU45E) with two batteries: (a) the original one, (b) additionally purchased Toshiba genuine PA3636U-1BRL, 7200 mAh. The notebook has the latest BIOS (4.80) and the latest drivers downloaded from Toshiba and installed (ConfigFree is not installed). I am using XP Pro SP3 (clean install done by myself). Everything is working very well, except for one thing:
Sometimes (but not always), when the notebook is working on battery and I plug in the power cord, everything freezes and I have to restart. Some observations:
(a) it tends to happen more frequently when the low battery alarm has already sounded;
(b) it seems to happen more frequently with the 7200 mAh battery and less frequently with the original battery;
(c) it seems to happen more often when a USB device (e.g. mouse) has been connected with the notebook, but that is not a rule;
(d) it seems to happen less frequently when I move the USB mouse at the time I am plugging in the power cord;
(e) I have experimented a lot with Toshiba PowerSaver's settings (e.g. changed the CPU levels for my profiles) but nothing I have modified seems to change the situation;
(f) I have tried various suggestions I found on different forums, but no avail (e.g. BIOS settings);
(g) otherwise, I can say that I really have not seen a smoother computer, everything else is really working just fine, no other problems whatsoever :)
All this makes me think that this must be some kind of bug in the motherboard drivers, the PowerSaver driver or other drivers interacting with the battery, the CPU or possibly USB. Is there an explanation for this problem and can it be rectified somehow (e.g. by providing a driver update)?

Answer 1

Hello, thanks for the reply!
My bad, of course I meant the chipset driver. That, however, does not change the essence of the question. Also, I know that a notebook should function properly even the AC adaptor is connected or not connected. That is why I posted my question.
As for the OS reinstall, sorry, I would not do that just on some wild guess from somebody. I recently finished the clean OS install. I have installed XP on dozens of notebooks in my life and I know what I am doing. I have been into computers and networking for 15 years and I know when I see a problem not related to how I install my OSes.
My personal opinion: this problem has not to do with the OS install since the same problem also existed when I test-installed the XP OS image from Toshiba's own downgrade CD (that was before I did a clean install from my own slipstreamed CD). And, if you really use a properly and carefully configured OS with all the necessary software, an OS reinstall is not something you just do every day.
As for the rest (testing the memory / adapter / motherboard etc.): as I have mentioned, similar (although not identical) topics have been raised in various other instances (e.g. at http://laptopforums.toshiba.com/t5/B...EABCA64EE6C5D9) . That means that this problem is most probably not specific to my computer or even to U400 but it may happen with other Toshiba notebooks too. Therefore a (rather standard) suggestion to spend days on reinstalling (and in my case, carefully reconfiguring) the OS, checking the memory, adapter, mobo etc. does not sound as the most plausible one in this case. FYI, I always do full tests on hardware right after I have installed an OS. In this computer, all tests (Toshiba's own; 3rd party memory diagnostics, HDD diagnostics) were passed OK. Indeed, I did not have the AC adapter tested but as it otherwise works fine, the possible problem (if there is one) would be a minor one to notice, and would require testing at a Toshiba service centre (there is no direct Toshiba agency in my country). I think testing the AC adapter is the last resort as much more probably, the problem lies somewhere else.
Even if this problem is hardware-related, I do not expect Toshiba to replace all such hardware out there. However, on many occasions, hardware-related problems can be cured or alleviated on the software side (e.g. by a driver or BIOS update). Since it seems that other people are having similar problems with Toshiba hardware/software, I thought that maybe someone has found an actual solution or maybe there are Toshiba employees reading these forums who could look into it.