Laptop problems
 

It seems like every 10-12 days, my laptop doesn't boot up (the lights will light up on the keyboard), but nothing comes up. It did it last night, and I couldn't fire up until this morning. Usually when it does this, you can't do it for at least a few hours after you shut it down from the previous time I had it on. Any idea why? How do you fix it?

What kind is it? I've got a pretty high end Toshiba, and mine would do something similar every now and then. I called their tech support, and if the battery isn't completely locked in, even if you are on AC, then it won't boot up. When I carry mine by hand to the case, it seems like the battery unclicks because of the way i grip it. I have just made sure it is locked in, and haven't had a problem since.

Could be many things, but my first suspect would be a power issue - which usually points to the system board.

Make/Model?

AC adapter good? Have you tried booting up without the battery installed?

HP Pavillion zd8000 (got it about 2 and half years ago).

I haven't tried it without the battery (which I actually got a new one in the spring or so). I can try my other AC adapter I have. However, the current one seems to work fine (I unhook it, it works off the battery) and the color will brighten or dim when I hook it up or unhook it.

I had a similar problem where mine was booting intermittently and the problem ended up being a short on the motherboard. Changed out the MB and all is well again.

Any idea on the cost?

I'll start with this first. How do you know exactly if it is "clicked"?

There is a light on the front of mine that lets me know it's in. I'd just make sure it's good and tight. If it'll run on battery, I would guess it's in.

I'm currently talking to a HP rep online.

Alright, HP says it's a power corrupt management issue. Fix it by these steps:

To reinstall Power Management in Windows XP, follow these steps:
1. Click Start, select Control Panel, and then choose Performance and Maintenance.
2. Click the System icon to open the System properties window
3. Select the Hardware tab and click Device Manager.
4. Click the plus (+) sign next to System Devices.
5. Right-click the ACPI Fixed Features button and select Uninstall.
6. Restart the system.
On restarting the system, Windows will automatically detect and install Power Management on the computer.

I'll try it in a little while.

Hopefully that'll fix it. Good luck.

Thanks...

It did what it was suppose to do. Hopefully it solves the problems (and keeps money in my account). I figure I would post it in case anyone has similar problems in the future.

And if it doesn't solve the problem, you might want to search on "HP laptop" in the main forum here and the archive, many of us have had issues with the MB, particularly a badly designed grounding and cooling system that allows the MB to overheat and allows the ground to come disconnected from the MB.

I'll never buy an HP again.

/tk

amen...

and since toshiba has put the tilda/backtick key in the upper left where it belongs it's very nice...

i like my dells, too...

Thanks. Will do. I like my notebook so far, but I've had a problem with HP in them trying to charge me nearly $700 after I spilled some soda on the keyboard. Nothing was ruin or damaged after, but they told me they had to "replace" everything. I took it to Best Buy, and paid I think $129 or so for them to replace the keyboard.

However, customer service doesn't mean anything in any computer company, I think.

Dell, HP, Compaq, Toshiba, IBM - all makers have issues with their laptops - some run for years, others have issue after issue...

Seems to be the luck of the draw, so to speak.

The newest processors are suppose reduce to the heating problems, correct?

I have a Dell with an extended warranty plan. It has seen many thousands of miles and desktop quantities of hours. Their support has been very good, and they are quick on the problem both in diagnosis and solutions.

After my MB was replaced the optical drive didn't work. I had a new one in hand inside 24 hours. I am sure that it helps being so close to a distribution center, but damn, that was impressive.

I still have over 13 months left on the plan. All in all the a/c adapter, battery, optical drive and motherboard have all been replaced. But for the most part it has been a workhorse, and I will get another, probably in the spring.

I agree with this 100%, but I felt it was worth pointing out to Galaxy that HP's do have a very well-known issue with overheating and the ground on the MB coming loose, and that it's a problem that quite a few other FOFC'ers have experienced.

I always have problems with tech support "customer service" people, but that's mostly because they read from their script 9 times out of 10 and even if I've said that I've done all of X, Y, and Z things, they insist on telling me that's the first step. It's like they don't listen to the customer.

I've had my current Dell for about a year and a half now, and I've been happy with it, unlike my HP before it which started having issues after 3 months. Granted, with laptops, I tend to figure the max life is suppoesd to be 3-4 years, at a maximum, after which point it usually makes sense to upgrade them anyway... I figure this Dell is halfway there. ;)

/tk

No doubt and usually model specific. The Compaq N610c was one hard working, durable pc, the NC6400's have been terrible. The Dell D620's seem to be great, the D600 are the worst laptop I've ever supported.

I will agree though that HP's tech support has went from ok, to HORRIBLE and would never buy a pc from HP/Compaq.

Uh oh...I went to try to boot just now. It did the same thing. However, I just turned it off and it worked fine. Before, I would have to let it sit for hours before I would try again. Any idea on the cost to repair the MB if it is indeed the problem?

I'll keep my eye on for the next few days.

Thankfully, my notebook has gone for two and half years so far. It turns three next April.

However, I think next time I would spend the money I did on this baby. For using the internet, some Microsoft programs (Word, accounting, ect), and downloading music (using my Philips GoGear MP3 player software to upload on my player), I don't see the need to spend that much.

The tech who replaced mine figured about a hour of labor plus parts. That will probably put you into $200+ category. I did find a website where they charged 150 + parts, so maybe around $300. That is the best guess that I've got.

Yeah, just had a problem with my HP dv8339 on Thanksgiving. The primary HD has a bad sector. When I boot, it blue screens because it can't load the whole OS. Looks like the only option is to replace the HD and start over. Luckily, a lot of things are stored on the second HD, but it's still a pain to go through.

Oh, and I can't find my recovery CD (I don't think they packed one with the system), and the only option is to pay $30 for one, which seems like a true ripoff. It's my OS, I should have a disk to restore it.

If you have/can borrow an OS cd - boot to the recovery console and run chkdsk /r - that should move that data to a good part of your HD and allow it to boot.

I have an XP disk, but I didn't want to do that with a regular XP cd and having media center installed if it would mess something up.

If that will allow me to at least get the system back up, that would be great. Then I can find a copy of Ghost or something similar and replace the HD.

I haven't had an issue with my home pc that has media center on it, but running it shouldn't hurt the system.

I'll give it a try tonight. Thanks for the info.

Looks like it's the problem. What's the best place to take it (Best Buy?). I don't want to be without for weeks, but I also don't want to overpay.

I love my Acer laptop, personally.

I woudn't take anything to Best Buy, but that is just my opinion. They are likely to be very busy, and who knows what they will actually do.

For repairs I usually try and find a local place where the guy you talk to is the guy doing the repairs. Just make sure that working on Laptops is a regular thing for them. Getting a hold of the replacement part is going to be the hardest part for you. The actual hardware change can be done in about 30 minutes for someone who knows what they are doing. That's just it, make sure they know what they are doing, because there is a lot of other stuff that can get broken if they don't.

Hmmm....I agree on Best Buy. Just they are sort of the only place around. I'll talk to a buddy of mine. Any suggestions on where to find the parts?

This is my laptop model http://partsurfer.hp.com/cgi-bin/spi...ard&catsel=%3F

so, anyone know how to order a laptop screen for an inspiron 1300?

Well, I was off about the price, it looks like a replacement MB is going to be in the 400-450 range for the part plus shipping. Still better than new, I guess/. I googled:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&s...01&btnG=Search


http://item.express.ebay.com/Compute...mdZExpressItem

Well, looks like it's good news/bad news for my laptop.

Good news, I was able to boot to a recovery CD and run chkdsk /r, which allowed the drive to boot.

Odd news, the XP disk wouldn't recognize my HDs at all. Maybe because it doesn't support SATA drives?

Bad news, the networking on the laptop wil lnot start at all. They're recognized and installed, but something just isn't right. Also, the RPC service won't start, erroring out with an Error 5: Access is denied error. I think that's the lynchpin to the whole problem. Quite a few services won't start, complaining about dependencies.

I'll need to grab a replacement drive and recovery disks and restore the system. Luckily, I have a portable drive that I can copy most of the data from the old drive over to.

thanks, pm!

what the heck is an inverter?

XP most definitely recognizes SATA drives.

Well I'm not sure what's going on when I boot from the XP disk. It's not seeing any of the drives on the laptop. I'll mess around with it some more while I wait for the drive and cds to get here.

Edit: Doing a search, looks like there is a problem with the XP installer recognizing SATA drives. Going to do some research on this and see if I can't get the recovery console to work.

That could be it then, as I've never had an issue with desktop pc's.

After a pair of trips to the repair shop, the guy saw that the wireless card was in bad shape (and cleaned it, I spilled some stuff on it a few years ago). He says everything else looks fine, but if it acts up again, take out the card. How do you do it?

If it's not one that plugs into the side of the laptop (the PCMCIA slot), then it's usually on the bottom secured by a cover plate and one screw. It will have two wires connected to it (white and black).

So according to this, it's under the battery?

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/d...dlc=en&lang=en

Yes sir!

Well folks, it appears that I need to get a new notebook. This one still works, but it would smarter (and almost cheaper) just to get a new one. I'm going to hold off for a while (like I said, I don't need now).

For basic internet use and perhaps using Microsoft programs (Word, ect), I really don't need to get an expensive desktop, correct? I plan on moving sometime this year (summer, hopefully). Which may see me move across country. So I might pick up a low-cost desktop to leave with the family.

Then, when I do that, I might order a notebook when I move. I'm looking at a few things. Anyone having WAN Technology from Sprint? Does this basically connect me, without cables or routers, anywhere as long as I order the proper card and have an account?

What is the difference between business-focus notebooks and regular notebooks? Anyone here have experience with Sony VAIO's?

www.dell.com

I would get a Verizon wireless pc card if you have service where you live.

Stay away from the Latitude's if you're wanting a notebook, and as far as desktops go, Dell's are the best imho.

I would like to get a notebook. Something that's light, durable, and travels well. I've decided I don't need the powerful graphics card, blazing speed-type anymore. Now that I have the 360, my gaming days are limited. All I use is the internet, Microsoft programs (Excel, Powerpoint, Word) and for my GoGear mp3 player. I can always buy an extra hard drive for my mp3 songs (which is only at around 600 or so).

I actually would like to pickup a "business-friendly" type notebook with at least dual processors at a good value. Can you order a Verizon wireless PC card in an existing system? With Verizon's service, you can get online (via account) with any cables or anything, anywhere with service? What's it called? Any idea on the monthly cost for the service?

I like the VAIO's, but the $1,800 and up price tag is too steep for me, and a lot more then what I need.

I would check on the Inspiron from Dell or maybe an HP/Compaq NC series.

I don't think you can order the pc card with the pc.. at least that I'm aware of. Plans are like cell phones, maybe $30-$60 unlimited per month, check the rates in your area.

http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/index.html

They just plug into the PCMCIA slot in your pc and work without anything else, no wires, cables, etc.. just the software that comes with the card. You can use it anywhere there is Verizon wireless service.

I was able to customize Dell's notebooks and Sony's notebooks with the PC cards. What's wrong with the Latitude line?

How is the Vostro line?