Computer help: Scary Problem w/my Laptop
Scary Problem w/my Laptop
by huskerz85 - 7/9/05 12:24 PMThings have been going fine w/my notebook today.........up until about 15mins. ago. I was running WinAmp and doing some typing in Word Perfect 10 when all of the sudden, my notebook shut off w/o warning.
I was like "What the hell?" and waited a few minutes..........then when I pushed the power button, the lights lit up but instead of booting, it just gave me a series of beeps and just sat there with a blank screen.
I felt underneath it and it was slightly warm but not too hot (I have it sitting on a cooling pad after all) so I know that couldn't have been it.
I've tried to turn it on at least 10 times now and have gotten the same thing. This is starting to scare me too since I have alot of data at risk.
My System:
HP Pavillion Notebook Mod. No. ze4230 (about 2yrs old)
1.8GHz Celeron
40 GB Hard Drive
447mb RAM
Radeon IGP 340M
BIOS beep codes
by cmartin - 7/15/05 6:36 AM In reply to: Scary Problem w/my Laptop by huskerz85I am sorry to hear you are having problems with your computer, and so far all I can do is recommend you to read the description of BIOS beep codes you can easily find on the web. Just type "BIOS beep codes" on your favorite search engine and browse through the results. That should give you an idea of what is going on.
Yep, they are BIOS Codes
by Dallas Wilm - 7/15/05 1:54 PM In reply to: BIOS beep codes by cmartinThey are definetly BIOS Codes talk to the manufacturer, BIOS company, or google the codes.
Not much help but here's what I think
by JakeChance - 7/15/05 7:06 AM In reply to: Scary Problem w/my Laptop by huskerz85I'm not entirely sure of what is happening to your laptop but I speculate it might be one of the following.
I remember a virus a long time ago that explotied some MS service that would automatically shut down your computer. This didn't prevent it from booting though. I don't know if you have any start up Antivirus discs but if you do and it can start up with them give it a scan. I doubt it is this as this would be some sort of super virus to prevent booting but just a posibility.
My friend's laptop refused to boot for the longest time because there was something wrong with his video card. I don't remember if he got a blue screen with some information on it or just nothing at all but once the card was replaced (he had to send it back to Dell for this) it worked fine. Something about a lot of dust and dirt on the video card.
What I hope is the problem, because it is easy to fix, I experienced last week. My friend's computer refused to boot because her iPod mini was plugged into the USB port. I have no idea at all why or how this occurs but we unpluged the iPod and it worked. Try unplugging everything and then rebooting.
I hope this was some help (or at least limited it to three things you now know it isn't). Maybe someone with more experience will be able to give you better advice here but I'd also give HP a call.
Scary problem
by sp325ret - 7/15/05 7:17 AM In reply to: Scary Problem w/my Laptop by huskerz85How is your battery? Charged up? I'v had a similar problem when my battery needs recharging. The computer shuts off and of course it won't re-boot.
Bill
scary problem....
by ding60 - 7/15/05 8:40 AM In reply to: Scary problem by sp325retAdn, if your fiend hasn't been paying attention to how and how often the battery was getting charged, the battery may need to be replaced. Some older/2d-tier laptops won't run without the battery even if they're plugged in AND if the battery can't or won't provide enough mA, it won't run, plugged in or on battery.
that was kinda disjointed...
by ding60 - 7/15/05 8:59 AM In reply to: scary problem.... by ding60Sorry, ran some thots together in that reply.
If the manufacturer's recommendations for charging/discharging the battery haven't been followed, the battery may be damaged. Many laptop and battery combinations have internal controls that will prevent them from supplying a too-high *or too-low* voltage/amperage. If charging is done incorrectly over a period of time, and the battery gets conditioned incorrectly, the supplied v/mA may be far enough off to cause the power management failure stuff to kick in. Check your manual. The 'conditioning' effect is theoretically less of a problem with modern batteries, but...
I know my last employer had issues with folks getting into 10-minutes-between-events charging routines and they had problems with Dell, IBM and Toshiba laptop batteries.
some minor consolation...
by Dick White - 7/15/05 11:20 AM In reply to: Scary Problem w/my Laptop by huskerz85The other messages have given as much guidance as I can about possible reasons for the failure. But you expressed concern about data loss. In the unthinkable event that your laptop is kaput and all the kings men and all the kings horses can't put Humpty back together again, all is not lost. Removing the actual drive from the laptop is probably just a few small screws, and then $20 will buy you one of these . Install the old drive in there and plug it into the USB port of a good system, and voila, all your data is still there.
dw
loose processor
by aoconnor78 - 7/15/05 1:45 PM In reply to: Scary Problem w/my Laptop by huskerz85One possibility is that the processor has come loose in the socket. You may need to dismantle the laptop to remove and re-insert the CPU.
Agree, loose CPU and/or worn out heat sink pad
by kompuwiz - 7/15/05 2:26 PM In reply to: Scary Problem w/my Laptop by huskerz85Hello,
In my experience, this problem with notebooks often happens for one or more of the following reasons:
1. Loose CPU
2. Worn out heat sink pad
3. Bad memory stick
4. Driver corruption
5. Fan not working properly.
In most cases, it's a loose CPU. Some models have a "defective" CPU seat and the CPU becomes loose unexpectedly. In this case, all you need to do is disassemble the top part of your notebook and reset the CPU.
However, you should check first HP support forums and site. Here is a link for your specific model:
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/product?product=242226&lc=en&cc=us&dlc=en&lang=en&cc=us
Hope this helps.
Laptop beeps
by TRAVELER1 - 7/15/05 9:43 PM In reply to: Scary Problem w/my Laptop by huskerz85Hi there. Just to let you know that my IBM Laptop did the same thing, in my case 6 beeps plus 1 longer beep. The result was a motherboard replacement from IBM (under warranty). Hopeful yours is also under warranty. Good luck.
laptop won't boot
by ctommyf - 7/16/05 5:44 AM In reply to: Scary Problem w/my Laptop by huskerz85I have an Ashton Digital about 2 years old and when some thing happens like a nasty blue screen and it shuts down it wont boot unless I unplug the A C power cord.
After that every thing is alright.
I can't find any rhime or reason for it doing this.
I am running XP Pro.
Tom Fuls
did you catch the beeps?
by bendis - 7/16/05 5:04 PM In reply to: Scary Problem w/my Laptop by huskerz85OK, everyone is speculating, some really good ideas here but still...
Did you manage to "catch" the beep codes, as in what is their sequence (how many short, how many long, and in what order)? This is the starting point, before you venture into disassembling your laptop. Usually these codes are pretty accurate.
Keep us posted and good luck.
jg
scary
by gump249 - 5/21/08 9:17 AM In reply to: Scary Problem w/my Laptop by huskerz85It is possible that the beeps could be ram bad or video might have got lose or possible that the hard drive is bad also, ususally beeps are memory, try those things and see.
Wait for it?
by R. Proffitt
- 5/21/08 9:58 AM
In reply to: scary by gump249
In just a few weeks it will be some 3 years since they read this discussion. Watch those dates?
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