dead - nada - kaput - zilch

In my hands at the moment is an expensive paperweight.
CHA!
Laptop - Compaq - Presario 1500
Series PP2140
OS - Windows Home Edition XP sp2

Wife's computer -
Doing her bi-monthly computer cleaning checklist everything running fine.
System needed to be defrag - ok - DEAD.

No power via battery, new (just received) battery, power cord, power cord in different outlets etc.
No lights, no noise, no burps...

Oh wise computer gurus what the heck happened

 

Hi,

Maybe when you were changing the battery a connection has come loose. I would try removing and replacing the battery again. The transformer for mains power should be OK? Maybe whatever does the switching between those power supplies is faulty.

Only my "working backwards" suggestions, I have little experience with hardware repairs on laptops.

Compaq will have a forum for laptops like yours. Someone there may have had the same problem. You can find it through the HP Support. Let me know if you can't, you need to click through a few pages to get to the links.
www.hp.com/support

Matt

 

Follow up

I tried the Compaq/HP support site and after trying a couple things they said it was a hardware failure and I should go to HP/Compaq authorized dealer. This is truly scary!

The locations in my area are BestBuy, CompUSA, and MicroCenter. There reputation is they are horrible. From some of my own first hand experience - they are clueless and are just going to take a lot of money.

Any help out there?


========FURTHER UPDATE==============
I tried a different power adapter. I did not know my wife had 2 power adapters.
When I plug in the other power adapter I get the green light to come on and the charging battery went on. When I pushed the power button everything went off and just sat there.
So I removed the battery and AC and held the power button down for thirty seconds and then plugged in the AC and the green light came on so I put the battery back in.
I thought maybe the whole thing needed to sit and recharge. So I left it alone for about an hour and a half. I then pushed the power button and the thing went dead again.
So I have repeated what I did before and am sitting with a heavy paperweight that now has one green light lit.

Any ideas?

 

Using a new, totally uncharged battery may take a lot longer than this. See if there are recommended charging times in the manual/User Guide, if not I would charge it for 24 hours or more.

Matt

 

Thanks for the reply.
Shouldn't the laptop run without a battery if it is plugged directly in to an outlet?

 

Just speculation, but if the battery was really low, the mains power may be directed into charging the battery rather than running the system.

 

Chat text with HP #1

Dennis
Hello icubud


Dennis
Welcome to HP Total Care for Compaq Products.


Dennis
My Name is Dennis, your support technician. How may I be of service to you ?


icubud
Laptop - Compaq - Presario 1500 Series PP2140 OS - Windows Home Edition XP sp2 Wife's computer - Doing her bi-monthly computer cleaning checklist everything running fine. System needed to be defrag - ok - DEAD. No power via battery, new (just received) battery, power cord, power cord in different outlets etc. No lights, no noise,


Dennis
I will surely assist you to my best.


Dennis
icubud, I am not able to get the complete picture of the issue you face.


Dennis
Do you find the system is right now not turning on with the battery power ?


Dennis
Do you find the AC power works fine ?


icubud
The system is completely dead. If I try AC or battery power - nothing is on. No power whatsoever.


Dennis
I see. It could be due to the power charged getting locked. You can perform power drain and see what happens.


Dennis
Steps to perform power drain: 1. Remove the battery and the AC adaptor from the computer. 2. Remove all the external devices connected to the computer. 3. Press and hold the power button for 30 seconds. 4. Now connect either of the power supply and check if it resolve the issue.


Dennis
Please perform this and let me know what happens. I am standing by.


icubud
ok


icubud
no it did not


Dennis
Ok.


Dennis
If the issue still persists, it should be an hardware defect.


Dennis
I suggest you to contact the nearest authorized service center to perform a detailed research.

 

HP Chat transcript #2

Chat Transcript Begins Here
--------------------------------------------------------------

Vanessa
Hello icubud


Vanessa
Welcome to HP Total Care for Presario notebooks. My name is Vanessa. How may I assist you today?


icubud
Hello Vanessa I was on earlier with someone about a Presario laptop problem. Do you need a number or something?


Vanessa
It is ok.


Vanessa
Please give me few moments to check the previous chat session.


icubud
Ok


Vanessa
Thank you for your patience and time.


Vanessa
I understand that your laptop does not power on even though after performing power drain


Vanessa
Am I right?


icubud
Yes - just now I tried a different power adapter. I did not know my wife had 2 power adapters. When I plug in the other power adapter I get the green light to come on and the charging battery went on. When I pushed the power button everything went off and just sat there. So I removed the battery and AC and held the power button down for thirty seconds and then plugged in the AC and the green light came on so I put the battery back in. I thought maybe the whole thing needed to sit and recharge ...(truncated)


icubud
So I left it alone for about an hour and a half. I then pushed the power button and the thing went dead again.


Vanessa
Thank you for the information.


Vanessa
Just to confirm after using another adapter did the laptop power on?


icubud
The green light came on but that is all.


Vanessa
I see


Vanessa
I understand you performed the power drain after that right?


icubud
yes


icubud
same result - green light on but push power button and light went out and nothing happened.


Vanessa
I see


Vanessa
Please remove the battery from the laptop and try to power on.


icubud
Green light off and nothing happens


Vanessa
I see


Vanessa
I am afraid this issue seems to be with the hardware of laptop, this requires onsite diagnosis to know the exact issue as it not possible online. You may have to take it to any nearest service center.

 

Only one other thing I could think of. There is a slight improvement using the second power pack. The way to test them is to use a multimeter (DC voltmeter) compare the voltage readout to what is listed on the pack's specification label. I usually find it is a little over the stated voltage. The second power pack was made for a Compaq laptop? It should have the same voltage and approximately the same milliamp specifications.

Matt

 

Cha!

Received the computer back today.
Circuit City said it is the motherboard and would cost 500-600 dollars to replace it.
?!?!
Does this make sense?