I agree with the posters above who advise you to avoid Toshiba. Mrs C and I bought a Toshiba Satellite 5200 PS520C-31POEP laptop in Canada three years ago. We have been having continual problems with it since it was purchased from Future Shop.
As one example, our laptop has a DVD burner but we have never been able to record on a DVD. We are unable to refer to the instructions. The specification mentions the DVD burner but the instructions both on the computer and in the printed manual make no reference at all to DVD recording or even to a DVD burner being on the computer. They refer only to CDs and CD functions. For three years Toshiba has ignored our requests for a manual for the DVD version of the computer. When the Better Business Bureau of Mid-Western Ontario became involved Toshiba finally sent another manual for the CD only version. Doh! Despite the efforts of the Better Business Bureau and Ontario’s Ministry of Consumer & Business Services we have still not received the correct manual and are still unable to use the DVD recording function. The Windows Xtreme Pain operating system software supplied with this laptop can also only fairly be described as flakeware.
This Toshiba computer is so bad that we have considered buying a used PowerBook or iBook by mail from somewhere like CPUsed in Toronto just so that we can have a reasonably reliable computer. However, why should we have to do this? We paid a substantial sum for this laptop. It is up to Toshiba to support its products and solve the problems. Indeed, the problems should have been solved before this computer was put on the market. Why don’t companies such as Toshiba have competent product development procedures and effective quality control systems in place? The same comments apply to the Microsoft Windows XP operating system. This has had a continuous stream of updates in a ludicrous number of attempts to get it to perform as intended. It is impertinent of Toshiba and Microsoft to prematurely release products and use the public as unpaid and involuntary product testers! It is even worse that they then refuse to correct the defects.
Honest and competent companies stand by their products. They want to solve any problems and have their products perform as intended for their customers. The obvious conclusion one has to arrive at from our treatment is that the companies mentioned above do not fall into the category of honest and competent companies! As per the McLibel case in the UK and EU courts we do not have the resources to force these dishonest companies to perform. In any case it would be impossible to take any action from this distance. I have no doubt they are taking advantage of this.
We had a Power Mac 6100/66 for more than eight years in Canada. It worked well and did what it said on the box. We intend to return to a Macintosh for our next computer, as soon as we are able to return to the First World. Readers considering buying a new laptop should look at the new MacBook. Apart from the Mac’s known ease of use and industrial strength OS, anything that is designed for today’s dumbed-down students and their abuse of everything has to be a rather practical and strong piece of equipment.