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Thread: Laptop dead... (almost)

  1. #1
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    Laptop dead... (almost)

    Recently my laptop has been behaving very peculiarly. After it has rested for some time (10 minute plus) and I try to turn the computer on, 4 of the 5 LEDs on the face of the keyboard light up. The 5 LEDs are 1. hard drive 2. mail 3. num lock 4. scroll lock 5. caps lock. Everything lights up except the mail LED. As this happens, the laptop screen is totally blank (black). If I try to turn the comptuer off by holding the power button 5 seconds, nothing would happen; the lights and power remain ON and screen remains BLACK. The only way to turn it off is by unplugging the power cord and removing the battery, which is what I do. However, after I cut off power from the laptop completely (unplug cord and remove battery), if I replug the cord and hit the power button, the laptop would boot up normally like before. The computer would remain just as normal as long as it stays powered on.
    So, right now, to turn on my computer, I basically have to hit power button, cut power source, and hit power button again.

    Can anyone help me?? I would really much appreciate it.

  2. #2
    Ultimate Member rmanet's Avatar
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    my first guess is it's the battery - had one short and blow a power transistor on the mobo - repair was about $180....heck the machine was only worth about $200 but I'll never use that shop again anyways

    Then, of course, batteries ain't cheap either - so you don't want to go thru thr drill of spendng big bucks on a new battery just to find out you have a mobo problem

    have you tried removing the battery and leaving it out - does that make a difference? Maybe go to a nearby laptop store, tell them you "think" you have a problem withe the battery, charging systems on the laptop and/or the mobo, see if they'll let you pop in a new or used battery - most guys are pretty good about letting you do that w/o going thru the usual drill on "diagnostics charges and estimates" (at least the shop I go to is always helpful)

    and lots of laptop stores farm out their mobo repair work to other tech shops - check around, call them to avoid the tacked on charges the laptop store might be adding

    hope this helps....

  3. #3
    Ultimate Member
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    Version of Windows?

    Did you drop the laptop?

    It's probably a hardware problem, but have you tried booting to Safe mode or DOS and then powering down or switching off?

    It's a long shot, but using the Wizmo utility from http://grc.com to shut the computer down might work.

    Trying to use the computer without the batteries and only the power adapter is a good idea.

    If that works, maybe some crud has built up on the battery terminals. Just make sure that you don't short the battery if you try to clean them.

    Eric,
    http://www.legge40.freeserve.co.uk/BuyerBeware.htm
    PC Buyer Beware!

  4. #4
    Senior Member Picard's Avatar
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    try holding the switch for 10 seconds instead of 5.

  5. #5
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    Guys thanks for the replies, unfortunately I have tried all the following things even before the posts:

    1. I already tried turning on the computer with only the power adapter (popped out the battery), same thing happens.

    2. I've tried holding the power button for even more than 10 seconds, the laptop still won't shut down.

    3. I have also reformatted the laptop, the problem remains. So I'm sure it is a hardware problem.

    By the way, the operating system is WinXP Home.

  6. #6
    Senior Member Picard's Avatar
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    So next you remove the battery and the power cord. Guaranteed to power it off.

  7. #7
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    Yeah, if I do that, my next post would be: "How do I turn it on?"

  8. #8
    Senior Member Picard's Avatar
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    You put the battery back in and plug in the power cord then hit the power switch.

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