Completely dead laptop, any ideas?
 

Hello!

A friend asked me to look at his laptop (I have 15+ experience in
assembling computers and home made repairs - but mostly desktops).
The laptop died during a night, it was ok in the evening and completely
dead the next morning. It's 15 months old HP Pavilion.
There was no power outage or thunderstorm that night.

Now the computer shows absolutely no symptoms of life. When I plug it
in nothing is happening, nothing on the screen, no humming, no
electronics or even a single led goes on. Nothing! I checked the power
supplier, used a spare one, on battery - still the same, dead.
Then I removed the battery, hdd, CD drive, both memory sticks and then
plugged it in - still no progress.


I haven't gotten further/deeper to the inside yet (my friend is still
considering going with HP service) so I'd like to ask you what other
diagnostic test I could use. Any ideas? Looks like it may be a power
related issue, but to confirm that I would have to remove the cover.

Could it be a dead LCD screen? But wouldn't all power functions
(battery charging, etc) work normally then?

I'd appreciate all hints you might have.

Thanks,
L.

Completely dead laptop, any ideas?
 

"Luke" wrote in message
oups.com...
Hello!

A friend asked me to look at his laptop (I have 15+ experience in
assembling computers and home made repairs - but mostly desktops).
The laptop died during a night, it was ok in the evening and completely
dead the next morning. It's 15 months old HP Pavilion.
There was no power outage or thunderstorm that night.

Now the computer shows absolutely no symptoms of life. When I plug it
in nothing is happening, nothing on the screen, no humming, no
electronics or even a single led goes on. Nothing! I checked the power
supplier, used a spare one, on battery - still the same, dead.
Then I removed the battery, hdd, CD drive, both memory sticks and then
plugged it in - still no progress.


I haven't gotten further/deeper to the inside yet (my friend is still
considering going with HP service) so I'd like to ask you what other
diagnostic test I could use. Any ideas? Looks like it may be a power
related issue, but to confirm that I would have to remove the cover.

Could it be a dead LCD screen? But wouldn't all power functions
(battery charging, etc) work normally then?

I'd appreciate all hints you might have.

Thanks,
L.

Yes, all other functions would still be present if only the LCD would be
broken.

Next suspect would be a dry joint around the power jack or open surface
mounted fuse.
One might also try to change the backup button cell battery.

JMK

Completely dead laptop, any ideas?
 

Jack wrote:

Next suspect would be a dry joint around the power jack or open surface
mounted fuse.

That's what I thought of too. Hopefully I'll be able/allowed to get
inside and check that.

One might also try to change the backup button cell battery.

"backup button cell battery" - never heard of anything like that! Could
you briefly clarify please?

Thanks,
L

Completely dead laptop, any ideas?
 

"Luke" wrote in message
ups.com...
Jack wrote:

"backup button cell battery" - never heard of anything like that! Could
you briefly clarify please?

Thanks,
L

There's a battery, roughly the size of a dime or smaller, on the MB which
retains CMOS settings, etc. when power is off (pre-flash RAM days).

Completely dead laptop, any ideas?
 

Dave wrote:


There's a battery, roughly the size of a dime or smaller, on the MB which
retains CMOS settings, etc. when power is off (pre-flash RAM days).

Like in a desktop box Ok, that's clear now, thanks.

L.

Completely dead laptop, any ideas?
 

No. The cmos battery will not prevent it from showing any display. Look
elsewhere.

DaveL


"Luke" wrote in message
s.com...
Dave wrote:


There's a battery, roughly the size of a dime or smaller, on the MB which
retains CMOS settings, etc. when power is off (pre-flash RAM days).

Like in a desktop box Ok, that's clear now, thanks.

L.

Completely dead laptop, any ideas?
 

In message , dave
writes
No. The cmos battery will not prevent it from showing any display.
Look elsewhere.

DaveL
Not always true, especially with Compaq/HP sourced machines.
--
Clint Sharp

Completely dead laptop, any ideas?
 

Luke wrote:
Hello!

A friend asked me to look at his laptop (I have 15+ experience in
assembling computers and home made repairs - but mostly desktops).
The laptop died during a night, it was ok in the evening and completely
dead the next morning. It's 15 months old HP Pavilion.
There was no power outage or thunderstorm that night.

Now the computer shows absolutely no symptoms of life. When I plug it
in nothing is happening, nothing on the screen, no humming, no
electronics or even a single led goes on. Nothing! I checked the power
supplier, used a spare one, on battery - still the same, dead.
Then I removed the battery, hdd, CD drive, both memory sticks and then
plugged it in - still no progress.


I haven't gotten further/deeper to the inside yet (my friend is still
considering going with HP service) so I'd like to ask you what other
diagnostic test I could use. Any ideas? Looks like it may be a power
related issue, but to confirm that I would have to remove the cover.

Could it be a dead LCD screen? But wouldn't all power functions
(battery charging, etc) work normally then?

I'd appreciate all hints you might have.

Thanks,
L.

A fixed one for a cousin, it had a dead SO-8 FET near the input power
jack. 5 minutes to find the fault 2 days to find a locally available FET.

Andrew

Completely dead laptop, any ideas?
 

First thing is to confirm he doesn't have an extended warranty! People often
forget what they buy! :)

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Repair | Main Table of Contents: http://www.repairfaq.org/REPAIR/
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Important: Anything sent to the email address in the message header above is
ignored unless my full name AND either lasers or electronics is included in the
subject line. Or, you can contact me via the Feedback Form in the FAQs.

"Luke" writes:

Jack wrote:

Next suspect would be a dry joint around the power jack or open surface
mounted fuse.

That's what I thought of too. Hopefully I'll be able/allowed to get
inside and check that.

One might also try to change the backup button cell battery.

"backup button cell battery" - never heard of anything like that! Could
you briefly clarify please?

Completely dead laptop, any ideas?
 

Sam Goldwasser wrote:
First thing is to confirm he doesn't have an extended warranty! People often
forget what they buy! :)

Nope, no extended warranty. Investigation is still underway!

L.

Completely dead laptop, any ideas?
 

Luke wrote:
Hello!

A friend asked me to look at his laptop (I have 15+ experience in
assembling computers and home made repairs - but mostly desktops).
The laptop died during a night, it was ok in the evening and completely
dead the next morning. It's 15 months old HP Pavilion.
There was no power outage or thunderstorm that night.

Now the computer shows absolutely no symptoms of life. When I plug it
in nothing is happening, nothing on the screen, no humming, no
electronics or even a single led goes on. Nothing! I checked the power
supplier, used a spare one, on battery - still the same, dead.
Then I removed the battery, hdd, CD drive, both memory sticks and then
plugged it in - still no progress.


I haven't gotten further/deeper to the inside yet (my friend is still
considering going with HP service) so I'd like to ask you what other
diagnostic test I could use. Any ideas? Looks like it may be a power
related issue, but to confirm that I would have to remove the cover.

Could it be a dead LCD screen? But wouldn't all power functions
(battery charging, etc) work normally then?

I'd appreciate all hints you might have.

Thanks,
L.

Check the fuse at the dc jack it is a sefice mounted fuse usually white
in color