HP laptop won't post

cybrvipr23 · 02-14-2009, 06:14 AM

My HP pavilion was working fine the other day then all of a sudden the screen gets fuzzy and then powers down. When I try to power it up all I get are the blue lights at the top, and the dvd drive just clicks a few times. I don't hear the hdd spin, any fans, or I even don't have anything on the display. When I try to power it up it sits doing those couple of things and then the lights shut off for a couple of seconds and then it powers back on still doing the same thing. It's like the mobo/cpu is fried or the power supply is done for. Am I right?

Thanks

**TriggerFinger** · 02-14-2009, 09:11 AM

Yep it sure do sound like it... before you make it a door stop, please try these:

1. Reseat HDD and RAM (replace RAM with a good/working stick for testing purposes).
2. Check AC adapter output if it is giving out correct voltage as per its label.
3. Make sure battery is charged or use a charged battery from a similar laptop
4. Try to power ON with laptop on battery alone (AC unplugged)
5. Try to power ON with laptop on AC alone (battery removed).

Post back whatever the result.

cybrvipr23 · 02-14-2009, 05:12 PM

Tried all those steps and still the same....would you go after the mobo or power supply?

**TriggerFinger** · 02-14-2009, 10:15 PM

Check the output of the ac adapter. Compare what you get with the one on its label. Also try using a good battery (borrow from a friend or colleague who has a similar laptop). If it still fails with a good battery or with a good adapter then it could be the motherboard. I suggest you bring it to a repair shop for a more in depth analysis.

02-14-2009, 06:14 AM	#1 (permalink)
cybrvipr23 Registered User Join Date: May 2006 Location: Iowa Posts: 15 OS: XP	HP laptop won't post My HP pavilion was working fine the other day then all of a sudden the screen gets fuzzy and then powers down. When I try to power it up all I get are the blue lights at the top, and the dvd drive just clicks a few times. I don't hear the hdd spin, any fans, or I even don't have anything on the display. When I try to power it up it sits doing those couple of things and then the lights shut off for a couple of seconds and then it powers back on still doing the same thing. It's like the mobo/cpu is fried or the power supply is done for. Am I right? Thanks

02-14-2009, 09:11 AM	#2 (permalink)
TriggerFinger Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: USA Posts: 11,846 OS: Vista SP1, XP SP3, PCLinuxOS2007	Re: HP laptop won't post Yep it sure do sound like it... before you make it a door stop, please try these: 1. Reseat HDD and RAM (replace RAM with a good/working stick for testing purposes). 2. Check AC adapter output if it is giving out correct voltage as per its label. 3. Make sure battery is charged or use a charged battery from a similar laptop 4. Try to power ON with laptop on battery alone (AC unplugged) 5. Try to power ON with laptop on AC alone (battery removed). Post back whatever the result. __________________ DBAN - Memtest86+ - BartPE - Linux LiveCD - ImgBurn - HDD Diags - Disk Copy HOW TO BURN AN ISO FILE

02-14-2009, 05:12 PM	#3 (permalink)
cybrvipr23 Registered User Join Date: May 2006 Location: Iowa Posts: 15 OS: XP	Re: HP laptop won't post Tried all those steps and still the same....would you go after the mobo or power supply?

02-14-2009, 10:15 PM	#4 (permalink)
TriggerFinger Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: USA Posts: 11,846 OS: Vista SP1, XP SP3, PCLinuxOS2007	Re: HP laptop won't post Check the output of the ac adapter. Compare what you get with the one on its label. Also try using a good battery (borrow from a friend or colleague who has a similar laptop). If it still fails with a good battery or with a good adapter then it could be the motherboard. I suggest you bring it to a repair shop for a more in depth analysis. __________________ DBAN - Memtest86+ - BartPE - Linux LiveCD - ImgBurn - HDD Diags - Disk Copy HOW TO BURN AN ISO FILE