Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops,uk.comp.sys.laptops,comp.sys.hp.hardware (More info?)
I've been reading the forums at HP and noticed that there are
literally dozens of threads with the same problem:
One day the laptop will not boot, fan will spin up for a few seconds,
Cd will spin up(this is variable), always no video(external or
internal), sometimes the floppy will light up, the hd will usually
spin up but show minimal activity at boot up.
Some people notice that the lappy will freeze at random while in the
OS and then fail to restart, while others will not be able to cold
boot, but the symptoms, especially the fan and video, will always be
the same. I always read those, hoping it would never happen to
me....but now it has and now to another one owned by a colleague.
Now in my case(a GF), I *can* get mine to boot.....sometimes....by
stripping it right down and booting it an external monitor(Also a
couple of times to the lcd, so I know that and the inverter are OK).I
can't get the 2nd Xe3-GC one to boot at all. Also tried plugging in
all peripherals, so they are OK
It also booted a few times after I'd reassembled it, but celebrations
were premature.....
Tried reseating everything, seems to make no difference.
Replaced the hdd and the right angle connector so they are ok and of
course, I tried one stick of ram and different ram and the only thing
I noticed was that I do get the "no ram" error beeps.
Finally, I took the MB out, desoldered the Cmos battery and
reconnected it agfter 20 minutes....nada.
My guess(hope) is a dodgy PCA to MB connector(on either side), so I'm
about to try cleaning with 95% alcohol, but I fear it may be a failing
component on the MB or an internittent track somewhere in the
(integrated) PSU circuitry. I'm pretty sure a faulty hdd or anything
that could cause a high current drain could cause exactly the same
problem. Strangely enough, I managed to fix a similar fault on a
Toshiba about a year ago by reflowing the solder around the AC socket.
Surely with this many reports of an identical problem, something must
have come to light. I've just about given up on mine and will sell the
parts on to buy a new (non HP) lappy, but thought I'd ask here as a
last resort.
Now, the inevitable answer from HP is to "buy a new motherboard" and
the cheapest I've seen are $450. Since, for little more, I can buy a
new Toshiba Celeron, that doesn't make much sense
Take off the Hat to reply......
I've been reading the forums at HP and noticed that there are
literally dozens of threads with the same problem:
One day the laptop will not boot, fan will spin up for a few seconds,
Cd will spin up(this is variable), always no video(external or
internal), sometimes the floppy will light up, the hd will usually
spin up but show minimal activity at boot up.
Some people notice that the lappy will freeze at random while in the
OS and then fail to restart, while others will not be able to cold
boot, but the symptoms, especially the fan and video, will always be
the same. I always read those, hoping it would never happen to
me....but now it has and now to another one owned by a colleague.
Now in my case(a GF), I *can* get mine to boot.....sometimes....by
stripping it right down and booting it an external monitor(Also a
couple of times to the lcd, so I know that and the inverter are OK).I
can't get the 2nd Xe3-GC one to boot at all. Also tried plugging in
all peripherals, so they are OK
It also booted a few times after I'd reassembled it, but celebrations
were premature.....
Tried reseating everything, seems to make no difference.
Replaced the hdd and the right angle connector so they are ok and of
course, I tried one stick of ram and different ram and the only thing
I noticed was that I do get the "no ram" error beeps.
Finally, I took the MB out, desoldered the Cmos battery and
reconnected it agfter 20 minutes....nada.
My guess(hope) is a dodgy PCA to MB connector(on either side), so I'm
about to try cleaning with 95% alcohol, but I fear it may be a failing
component on the MB or an internittent track somewhere in the
(integrated) PSU circuitry. I'm pretty sure a faulty hdd or anything
that could cause a high current drain could cause exactly the same
problem. Strangely enough, I managed to fix a similar fault on a
Toshiba about a year ago by reflowing the solder around the AC socket.
Surely with this many reports of an identical problem, something must
have come to light. I've just about given up on mine and will sell the
parts on to buy a new (non HP) lappy, but thought I'd ask here as a
last resort.
Now, the inevitable answer from HP is to "buy a new motherboard" and
the cheapest I've seen are $450. Since, for little more, I can buy a
new Toshiba Celeron, that doesn't make much sense
Take off the Hat to reply......
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