[SOLVED] laptop turns on 1/20 of the times that i press the power button

[benjos909]

So i have a laptop that is about 10 years old that will not power on. Specifically, I press the power button on and the light on the front and the fan runs for 2-5 seconds before the process fails. maybe one in every 20 tries it actually boots properly but its a huge pain. I have tested the ram sticks and the hard drive is not the problem, i have tried this with and without the battery as well as different battery chargers (not in that order necessarily). I have even taken the whole motherboard apart and examined it closely, but i am an amateur so all i did was dust it and look for anything abnormal. the monitor does work also. Is there anything else i can try or do i just give up on diy and try for a new laptop or taking it to a professional?

 

[lga1156_ftw]

Let me take an educated guess, is this a HP laptop. Even better guess is this dv5-dv6 or dv-7 series one?

 

[benjos909]

Let me take an educated guess, is this a HP laptop. Even better guess is this dv5-dv6 or dv-7 series one?

nope, dell inspiron i dont remember off the top of my head but its a 1700 series that has a 17" screen

 

[lga1156_ftw]

Need the exact model check from back sticker? Did you try to power the motherboard on "barebone" meaning only fan+power button cable and power cable plugged in?

Bios flash worth a try too, like i said need the exact model

 

[benjos909]

Need the exact model check from back sticker? Did you try to power the motherboard on "barebone" meaning only fan+power button cable and power cable plugged in?

Bios flash worth a try too, like i said need the exact model

The sticker is way too worn but i have some records. Inspiron 17 (3721) service tag 17PDDW1 and express service code 2642660497. I did take everything apart and just had the power and the power button connected to the motherboard and had the same results. Didn't try the bios flash but I can't even get the bios to come up anyways but i can give it a shot if you think it will help. Just to clarify again, I press the power button once, the light at the front of the computer turns on for about 3 seconds and then dies. The fan only turns on if the computer actually starts up which is rare but it does happen sometimes which is why I can't figure out where the problem specifically is.

 

[lga1156_ftw]

Did you also remove LCD connector from the motherboard when testing it "barebone"?
Check USB and HDMi ports externally on the laptop, do pins look fine or shorted?

Remove cmos battery, and try to boot without it(cmos reset). You can also test the power button board because when cmos battery is removed you do NOT have to press power button to boot, meaning when you plugin power cable it should boot right away.

Have you tested DC jack cable with multimeter, remove it from motherboard and test red pins while twitching the cable.

 

[lga1156_ftw]

If you can get it to boot try below:

You can also try bios flash, download latest bios A16 from here : https://www.dell.com/support/home/u...g/0-ZzVOajdVUVFjSUNKNWtxMGZuNnlWQT090/drivers

If you cant get it to boot to operating system then:

Follow this guide post #4 in this link, first extract the exe file with 7zip then open cmd in SAME folder, you can do this by holding shift press 2nd click with mouse and select open cmd administrative in this folder : https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/438722-dell-inspiron-17-beeping-and-isnt-booting/page/2/

You can find the same bios than in this guide A14 on this link https://www.dell.com/support/home/uk/en/ukdhs1/drivers/driversdetails?driverid=70h05