Laptop dead - help needed please!

[Alex]

Hi guys. As title suggests really. I don't know much about PC's or laptops etc.

Basically when I switch it on not a lot happens. The HDD light will momentarily light up then go out. The power light comes on and stays on. You can briefly hear it attempting to boot up but it cuts out when the HDD light goes out (just a second or 2) No screen.

To me it's acting like the battery is dead. I've tried plugging it into the mains but that doesn't make any difference. Would that rule the battery out though?

Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

[Bigfoot]

Hi Alex,

Sorry was too busy yesterday afternoon to reply, if you remove the battery and have it plugged into the mains does the laptop start up? I take it the fans which blow the hot air start up and then stop again?

[phase i 16 v turbo]

Is there power coming out of the mains lead?

[Alex]

Dale, I've actually just tried that. No it doesn't start up if I remove the battery. In fact no lights come on at all if I do that.

I can briefly here the fan working (when the battery is in) but it stops when the HDD light goes out.

Mike, yes definitely power at the mains.

[Alex]

The laptop is a Packard Bell EasyNote TJ65 by the way. About 4 years old.

Doing a search on the net and I've tried this: I've removed the battery and mains cable. Held the power button down for 30 seconds. Then plugged the mains back in (no battery) and now I can hear the fan working. No HDD light or screen though?

[Ian S]

I seem to recall that one that had a weak battery and weak wall wart.

It needed both to boot. The wart alone would keep it ticking over but not supply sufficient current to boot.

That battery needed to have as much charge as it could get, then with both going, it would boot.

[Alex]

The charger does seem to work as the battery light is indicationg that it's got a full charge. It doesn't appear to be dropping off.

[Andy M]

Can you actually hear the HDD spinning when the light is on??

Failure to boot could indicate a fubar disk Not that expensive to replace disks these days but if it is kaput, you'll need to reinstall the OS along with losing all your data. Simple check for starters, make sure the disk is still seated fully and hasn't come lose.

http://www.laptopinventory.com/Lapto...5/Hard%20Drive

[phase i 16 v turbo]

Can possibly recover data remove drive and hang it in another PC, lots of free data recovery software out there.

Sometimes a gentle tap will spin it up into life long enough to recover data, but do so at your own risk

[ScottKinnear]

If your airing cupboard gets quite warm. Put it in there for an hour then try again.

Sometimes a connection can fail and the heat allows it to make contact again. It was a big problem for the samsung laptops which were about 4 years old.

[R5MJH]

i did a hd this week, the drive i plugged into a usb adapter and got all the data off, then formatted and reinstalled os windows 7 all sweet again now, but as mike says also you can SOMETIMES use software to get it too, unless its totally fubar'ed or its got the click of dead then drives normally bin alex, probably all the porn u watch on it

some acers sometimes gets a black screen which was the video chip on the motherboard so it really depends on the correct diagnosis matey

[Alex]

Andy, yes I think it momentarily spins up then cuts out. Thanks for the link, I took the HDD out last night and all seemed fine from what I could see. Looks like a new HDD is about £45 on eBay for my laptop.

Mike, Yes that's what I'm hoping for. I'm passing it to a pal today who knows his stuff so hopefully he'll at least be able to get my data off it - fingers crossed!

R5MJH - more than likley!

[phase i 16 v turbo]

If your airing cupboard gets quite warm. Put it in there for an hour then try again.

Sometimes a connection can fail and the heat allows it to make contact again. It was a big problem for the samsung laptops which were about 4 years old.

We us a hot air gun to repair faulty laptop display screens but is a temp fix.

[Alex]

Well it appears to be something hardware related according to my mate. He reckons the HDD is ok so he's retrieving the data off it.

I've had to invest in a new one.

[andybond]

Sounds like possibility of thermal protection.

[Alex]

Sounds like possibility of thermal protection.

I don't understand what my undies have got to do with it!

[andybond]

I don't understand what my undies have got to do with it!

Keep off the curries.


If the laptop is powering on and then shutting down it can be indicative of the CPU detecting that its getting too hot and powering itself straight off.

Might be worth removing the flap that holds the fan and CPU in and reseating the heat sink / CPU and fan.

[Alex]

Cheers Andy. It's still with my friend so hopefully he can get something sorted. I beleive he's stripped it right down and attempted to power it up 'bare' if you like. No luck though.

[andybond]

Cheers Andy. It's still with my friend so hopefully he can get something sorted. I beleive he's stripped it right down and attempted to power it up 'bare' if you like. No luck though.

I wonder if he reseated the CPU though. Still can cut out even if on a wooden bench. The thermal compound could have gone off , or the heatsink not aligned correctly.

FWIW I think it could be CPU releated from the symptoms you are describing. Are you anywhere near yorkshire / manchester?

[Alex]

Hi Andy.

I'm not altogether sure exactly what he's done but I assume he will have checked that. Now that I've invested in a new laptop I'm not overly concerned about getting it going. I've been to my mates tonight and he's shifted all the stuff from the old HDD to the new one, so that's good.

Cheers.

[andybond]

Hi Andy.

I'm not altogether sure exactly what he's done but I assume he will have checked that. Now that I've invested in a new laptop I'm not overly concerned about getting it going. I've been to my mates tonight and he's shifted all the stuff from the old HDD to the new one, so that's good.

Cheers.

No problems. Always bugs me things that dont work ..

[Alex]

Actually a funny thing happened which I haven't mentioned. My mates girlfriend knocked the laptop onto the floor from a reasonable height and......... yes you've guessed it, it started working! Apparently it took an age to boot up and there appears to be hardware damage but it's actually alive, just!

[andybond]

Tell tale signs of click of death hard drive ..