Need Immediate Help!!

[Mouseykins]

HI so I'm hoping someone here can help me quickly. I'm ast the library as its the only place tight now where I can access the internet. My laptop at home is not working for some strange reason. So here's my problem.

 

Yesterday at about 5pm I shut my laptop down to install the update from Microsoft. The installation went good but and everything was working fine until it shut down completely.

When I went to start it back up after letting it sit for about 10 minutes it would not do anything. I had it plugged in and power was going to it but I still got nothing. I checked the circuits by the power button and they're working fine. I have no idea what the problem is or what I should try myself before sending it in. I do have recovery disks at home but I don't know if they'll work or not. I might just have to try them later and see. Unless someone here has a better idea.

 

ANyways here's my laptop information:

HP Pavillion dv2000 series

About 4 years old

Windows Vista

 

I think that's everything, hopefully someone here can help! Thank you!

 

This issue has been solved! Thank you for all your suggestions! Sadly my laptop is not working and at the moment I'm not spending money on getting it repaired. All I'm going to do is get the data from my hard-drive transfered to my desktop and then save up for a macbook!

[Wembly]

The only very dumb suggestion I have is to try holding the power button down for a long time (seriously, like almost a minute without letting go) to try to force restart or whatever it's called. You probably already did this but I find sometimes the easiest solution is one sometimes we overlook. Good luck.

[antiaircraft]

If the suggestion above doesn't work, then it sounds like something glitched out during the update - do you know which specific updates you were installing? Also, did you see any error messages appear during the update? What specific state is your computer stuck in (blank screen, update screen, endless reboots, etc.)? With more specific information there are probably a couple of things you can try, but for now all I can recommend is unplugging any devices (USB drives, mice, etc.) if you have them connected.

 

If you have access to another computer which you can use to burn CDs, you might want to grab a Linux LiveCD and boot from it to back up all your files. :yes:

[Mouseykins]

ok I shall give it a try! I truied looking for a restart/reset button but I could not find it anywhere. I know where they are on desktops but my desktop has been down for a while so that doesn't help much either.

 

ANy other suggestions?

 

If the suggestion above doesn't work, then it sounds like something glitched out during the update - do you know which specific updates you were installing? Also, did you see any error messages appear during the update? What specific state is your computer stuck in (blank screen, update screen, endless reboots, etc.)? With more specific information there are probably a couple of things you can try, but for now all I can recommend is unplugging any devices (USB drives, mice, etc.) if you have them connected.

 

If you have access to another computer which you can use to burn CDs, you might want to grab a Linux LiveCD and boot from it to back up all your files. :yes:

 

I don't know for sure but my best guess is that the update was a windows vista update for the operating system or something like that. I always have problems when those get installed. I didn't see any error messages and I was paying attention. my computer is fully shut down and will not power on when I push the power button. Everything is unplugged and I've left it for over 24hrs in hopes that everything would work again.

 

I had the same problem about a month ago but my laptop was just cold and once it warmed up it was completely fine. AA do you have any suggestions for me to try?

[antiaircraft]

So when you push the power button, absolutely nothing happens? No screen backlight, power light, or fan noise? That sounds like some sort of hardware problem...

 

By the way, according to your laptop model's manual, you need to hold down the power button for five seconds to trigger a hard reset. :yes:

[Mouseykins]

That's right absolutely nothing happens. The only light that comes on is the AC adapter light on the right side of my notebook.

I've tried w\that earlier and it still didn't do anything. Should I attempt using my boot disks because I wasn't having this problem before the updates were installed.

I would like to be able to do a system restore where I can put it to the date when the last updates were installed.

 

Anywaysd library is closing so I have to go! I will try a coupler more things and hopefully *crosses fingers* I can get it powered up again! Wish me luck!

[antiaircraft]

That sounds like a good last resort, but if your computer isn't even booting to BIOS (which from your description seems to be the case), then that might not work... in any case, it's worth a shot. If your computer does boot to BIOS, then there's a good chance you'll still be able to recover your data with a Live CD, even if the recovery disks don't work.

 

Good luck! :)

[Rae]

Does HP have a costumer service you could call? I know for macs we have some weird button combination we can push at startup in order to troubleshoot the system. VIsta is known to have problems though, so it's possible the installing triggered one of those problems.

[antiaircraft]

Well quite frankly, if the system isn't reaching BIOS, then Vista doesn't come into it, since the operating system isn't being booted at all. That points to some sort of hardware problem - hopefully it's a transient one. Calling HP customer service is probably a good idea if you don't have any other options though (although my experience with tech support for computer problems is very... disappointing).

[Mouseykins]

I have called hp customer service and they can't help me unless I send my laptop in and since I have no warranty I'm looking at spending over $500. I think I've figured out what the problem is, I need a new battery the one I have does not hold a charge and I have to keep it constantly plugged in via my AC adapter. I think somehow I fried my battery, and if not the problem is either my motherboard or my power switch. so proces of elimination starting with a new battery.

 

As for powering up I can't get anywhere, my laptop won't turn on at all so there's no power.

[Wembly]

If you have your laptop plugged into the wall and you still cannot power up then the problem is not the battery (or at least not just the battery) because you can take the battery completely out and just run on AC if your battery is dead. Good luck.

[antiaircraft]

Hmm... yes. I actually once had a computer that had a faulty battery. The system would refuse to power up when the battery was inserted - like Wembly said, you might want to try removing the battery, connecting the computer to AC power alone, and turning it on.

 

At this point I guess it looks like a hardware problem though. Those are always tougher to fix. :(

[Mouseykins]

Hmm... yes. I actually once had a computer that had a faulty battery. The system would refuse to power up when the battery was inserted - like Wembly said, you might want to try removing the battery, connecting the computer to AC power alone, and turning it on.

 

At this point I guess it looks like a hardware problem though. Those are always tougher to fix. :(

 

Does anyone know a place I could try to get a new/used motherboard in Canada?

 

 

I've tried that without the battery in and it still doesn't power on. I'm still getting a new battery and then probably looking at a new/used mother board or power switch as I think mine is burnt out. around that area its black as if its been burned so one thing at a time I guess. I found a cheap place on the internet to get laptop batteries from instead of ordering directly from HP and I get three years warranty where HP only gives you one.

[antiaircraft]

Okay - it's probably a good idea to do some quick research on the site you're buying from, just in case there are any shenanigans like these going on. :yes: Having two working batteries around can come in handy too.

 

If there's a blackened area on your motherboard or other computer circuitry... well, you should probably get that checked out with somebody familiar with that sort of hardware. Not necessarily a repair specialist, but if it's obvious damage a random geeky person might be able to tell you what's broken.

[Mouseykins]

Lol a random geeky person I never thought of that. I do plan on doing research and a spate battery could definitely come on handy on those long road trips lol.

[Guest Yoshinho]

My old laptop which used to run Windows 2000 (I Upgraded it to XP Professional) had the same problem the battery is the problem. Try taking out the battery and wipe away dust if any and put it in. That worked for my laptop. But I got a new battery for my laptop so it works fine and I upgraded it again to Vista Professional.

 

So try my idea if not then go battery shopping xD