Vista Continuous Reboot

[dreamskill]

My Presario F500 keeps rebooting upon start up with no light or anything coming from the screen. I have recently sent it to 2 professionals who worked on it but didn't fix it. I dont want to waste anymore money. I do realize that there is a recall on my battery. So i run the presario without the battery using the charger only. It still does not work so the professional told me it wasnt the battery. I did however research the issue. Post were suggesting many things could go wrong. Hardware issues,Power problems, Motherboard porblems and more. As for what the particular problem is im not sure. A lot of post suggest that I press f8 rapidly upon start up but that seems not to be working. It simply restarts at its intervals. What is most fustrating is there is nothing coming from the screen so it really makes me want to give up. If you have any solutions please bring them to my attention before I unfortunatley and reluctantly buy a new laptop. If i could get the presario f500 working long enough to follow some sort of instructions that we be much appreciated.

 

[dmroeder]

So you never see anything on the screen at all, it's completely black? How about beeps, do you get any beeps when it powers up? If so, how long after before it reboots?

 

[dreamskill]

I get 2 beeps a couple seconds after i power it on then from there it takes about 15 seconds before it reboots. No thing on the screen at all.

 

[aford10]

Try resetting your BIOS.

It looks like 2 beeps is a BIOS corruption.
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c01732674&cc=us&lc=en&dlc=en&product=3316440

 

[dreamskill]

From the link im guessing that the LED light should come on also. I see the little thingy left of the caps lock button but it is not blinking and i am also thinking that what i thought was a beep was not. I had to hold the computer very close to hear it so perhaps it could just be the system running for the brief time it stays b4 rebooting. Any more good solutions?

 

[aford10]

I would still try resetting the BIOS. Look for a reset button, possibly on the bottom.

 

[dreamskill]

Im not sure what you mean by reset button. And if i can locate it do I just power it on then press it?

 

[aford10]

Some laptops have a little pinhole for a reset button. Yours may or may not. If you see a little pinhole, stick a toothpick or pin or something in there for a few seconds to reset the BIOS.

 

[dreamskill]

Im continuously looking for the whole. Im also researching where it could possibly be. And if i do find it do i press it when i power the computer or when it is off?

 

[aford10]

It can be plugged in, but you want it powered off. Your laptop may not have a reset button. Some have a jumper hidden inside on the motherboard. I was hoping it would have a reset button. It's easier.

 

[dreamskill]

So does this mean i need to find the jumper and then trigger it to reset the BIOS? gee so much work Xd Also how to complete this task? I have the tools to unscrew it but i dont no what to once i get down to the motherboard.

 

[btk1w1]

Following in the vein of Afords response, another Toms contributor, frozenlead, has written a tutorial on laptop disassembly, reassembly.

http://www.tomsguide.com/us/forum/53660-16-notebook-laptop-disassembly-hardware-repair-guide

Follow their instructions implicitly and it should see you right. Also if you have any questions in regards to your make of laptop they may be able to help, a link has been provided on the page for this.

When you disassemble the laptop be sure all power (including battery) is disconnected and take anti-static precautions.

You can also reset the BIOS / clear CMOS by removing the coin battery on the motherboard for a period of time. Some say 5 minutes is enough but with a laptop I would probably leave it out for an hour just to be on the safe side.

 

[aford10]

^ Very nice tutorial.

If you've got to dissasemble the laptop, I would look for the nickel sized silver battery on the motherboard. As btk1w1 mentioned, pulling the battery, effectively does the same thing as a reset button or moving a jumper.

 

[dreamskill]

is the silver battery coin in this box like thing the best way to describe is it says hdd on the sticker and is covered by some type of gray and clear case and is blue underneath with a circler object in the middle it seems to be gray but may be black on the outline of the circle. Sorry about the confusion. I know im not very clear but my goal is just to get back to gaming.

 

[dreamskill]

Hey i just did a little research and im wondering if im looking for CMOS battery. If that is it then i found what i needed to attain.But i need some verification first before i go back and dissassemble my computer again.

 

[aford10]

That's the one. It looks like this.
http://ww2.justanswer.com/uploads/space143/2009-06-23_175343_battery9ulwd2.jpg

 

[dreamskill]

I think mines looks like this http://cgi.ebay.com/HP-Presario-F500-F503-F505-F506-F551-F553-CMOS-BATTERY_W0QQitemZ110451705333QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLaptop_Batteries?hash=item19b76f45f5 and also i removed this piece and it did not work after i let it sit for a couple hours around 8 almost

Remember to scroll down when u use the link.

 

[aford10]

Ok, so resetting the BIOS didn't help.

If you tap F2, F11 or the delete key on startup, do you get anything? These are common function keys to get into the boot menu or BIOS.

 

[btk1w1]

As aford has pointed out it appears to be a BIOS issue. This is the first place to look.

With your model number the problem could also be a video display problem attributed directly to the BIOS.

I say this because I just came across a HP webpage which points out that there are F500 series notebooks that are eligible for free repair. If possible they indicate a BIOS upgrade (not for you with no video), or if the symptoms match and the model serial number is a match there is a free repair on offer.

"The following symptoms apply to Compaq Presario F500 notebooks:

•The notebook does not detect wireless networks and the wireless adapter is not detected in the Device Manager.

•There is no video on the computer LCD panel or external monitor.

•The notebook turns on, power LEDs light up, but nothing is seen on the display."


There is no date to indicate how old the page is so it seems open ended. Here is a link to the page:

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?lc=en&dlc=en&cc=nz&docname=c01480071

I hope your PC falls into the eligibility criteria.

 

[btk1w1]

The deadline:

If the notebook is eligible for the repair, they detail the deadline on the page, quoted below:

"You have up to 24 months after the start of your original standard limited warranty entitlement to get your notebook repaired if it is listed in the tables and displays one or more than one of the symptoms listed in the support article."