rg2006

I currently use an HP Compaq nx9010 notebook laptop which I have recently upgraded to Windows XP SP2. I have been on holiday for a couple of weeks, and I've returned to find that my laptop is not working correctly. The spec can be found here:
nx9010

I first noticed the problem when I was burning a CD. My laptop simply 'cut-out' halfway through the burn process. When I tried to start it up again, I realised that the LED power indicator was flashing, albeit after about a minute of total inactivity. The laptop would not turn on immediately, and only after a minute or so did the power button respond to my infuriated prodding.

When it did turn on, although all power indicators and external lights seemed to be on, the monitor displayed nothing but a blank screen. So I was puzzled. After turning the thing off and then back on, probably more than I should have, I eventually decided it wasnt going to budge, and so left it at the blank screen. TO my surprise, after about three or four minutes, the system began to boot (at an excrutiatingly slow speed). I was greeted with the POST display (i am not sure if this is right, but it performed the memory test etc), with this instruction at the bottom:

WARNING: HP EEPROM has been re-initialized
I'm not sure how significant this is.

Ok, so it gets to this stage quite frequently after minutes of painstaking patience. On occasion, it cuts out shortly before the logon screen appears for Windows. Sometimes it will perform normally for hours and then it will simply switch itself off, usually during an important task or something. I am no computer whizz, but I am handy with them and I think this is something I quite serious, something I cant fix myself.

I can always tell when its going to cut out: Usually while it is performing a task and the CPU fan begins to whirr, there is a moment of inactivity and then it just cuts out. I have replaced the power supply recently so it is most definitely nothing to do with this. The OS is working correctly and it seems to be the problem with the initial boot up and general speed of the computer.

It is running PheonixBIOS 4.0 Release 6.0
HP notebook PCBIOS KH.F.15

I havent a clue what these mean but they might help. I am clueless, any guidance would be much appreciated.

EquiNOX

I hate laptops now... I encountered same experience as yours, At first I never understood what it was just until I found out it was battery.... Question, when you had that problem was it plugged or was it battery operated? If battery, its more likey your battery may need replacement.
To clear on this one.. Nicad or Lithum battery does last when recharge but lifespan is 2 years or some hours depending how much you use your laptop so when they worn out it would cause frequent shutdown on your system.

rg2006

could this be something as simple as the battery needing replaced? when the problem occurs the laptop is always connected to an AC power supply. Usually, when it is charging and the battery power is low. it is a lithium battery.

i am not sure if it is the power supply though, because, as i said, it is usually on AC power when the fault happens.

Also, to further my problems, i recieved this message on one occasion where i restarted my laptop:

"system cmos checksum bad"

this is not good...?

laboye

It could not be the battery. Unless there are SERIOUS faults in the lithium cells, it will not just shut off like that. The EEPROM is very significant. EEPROM (Electronically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory) is usually used in your CMOS. There was some sort of error and it reverted itself back to the previous flash. Please download SpeedFan and report back with your computer's temps.
http://www.majorgeeks.com/download337.html
The checksum error indicates a bad CMOS battery. If you left it without charging for a few months, that will cause the RTC battery to drain as well.

I would try replacing the RTC battery. If I get to it, I will try to do some research on that. If not, sorry.