shought Posted April 4, 2010 Share Posted April 4, 2010 SpecificationsDon't jump to conclusions from reading the title, this might surprise you a little:I'm fixing my friend's laptop as he formatted it and some stuff went wrong. I had some odd issues at first with it apparently 'not booting' (nothing but a black screen), but after three tries it did work. I noticed there wasn't any battery in it (still isn't) and, obviously, it only worked when I plugged it in to the power supply, so I didn't think too much of this 'not booting'.Now after I've installed Windows, restarted a couple of times, did some updates and I didn't notice the problem again so I thought it was fixed. But then I unplugged it, put it away for two days and the problem is 'back', it was probably never gone. So I decided to open the laptop, clean some of the components, plug them in and out. All to no avail, still the same problem. It will only boot 'properly' after a couple of boots, not the same number, seems just random.I believe I've found the source of the issue which is either the RAM in combination with the video card or the video card by itself. I think so because the laptop does seem to boot (I know because there's different shutdown behavior after some time, for instance I start it and then immediately press shut down, it won't do anything, but if I start it, wait a minute and then press shutdown it will shut down (which probably means I ended up at the login screen, which would explain this behavior)), but I just can't see it.Now: if I get it to work, shut it down, leave it plugged and boot it again an hour later, there are no problems at all, but if I get it to work, shut it down, unplug it and boot it again a minute later, it won't work and I'll have to try 3-10 times to get it 'booting' again.There was also some odd stuff going on with the fan, but I don't think it's related as the behavior of the fan and the display didn't match (sometimes the fan would work, but the display wouldn't or the display would work and the fan wouldn't or they would both not work or they would both work, so no pattern. Also I cleaned it by removing it from the case and well, cleaning it and now it seems to work 9/10 times, rather than 1/4 times before).Any ideas?(Updating the BIOS and updating the integrated videocards firmware are next on my list, but I don't think the BIOS update will do any good as there are no similar problems mentioned in the changelog and I'm not able to find a firmware update...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peace_Angel Posted April 4, 2010 Share Posted April 4, 2010 Hello Shought,I am no hardware expert, but the problem (according to your explanation) is with charge. I dunno if all laptops have CMOS battery, but can it be the CMOS battery that's causing the fault. Some years back I remember having problems to boot my OLD DESKTOP because of the CMOS battery. But then again, mine was a desktop.Peace. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shought Posted April 4, 2010 Author Share Posted April 4, 2010 After reading some stuff I also noticed that this could be the problem, no idea how I would go about fixing that though... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator Lite Posted April 4, 2010 Administrator Share Posted April 4, 2010 Does the computer POST successfully always?Have you tried running a memory test? Have you tried an external monitor? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shought Posted April 5, 2010 Author Share Posted April 5, 2010 Well, I think it does, but the only proof I've got is the differentiation in the shutdown behavior. It seems to always boot properly, but sometimes it just doesn't display.I'll try an external monitor this evening or tomorrow ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HX1 Posted April 5, 2010 Share Posted April 5, 2010 Sounds stupid but did you try wiggling the display to see if its a screen problem? Sometimes ( especially HP's ) will have this weird random problem with the screens.. Sometimes the screen will do what your describing.. but it can also freeze the image and the OS be fine.. or get lines.. but I dunno just a thought.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator Lite Posted April 5, 2010 Administrator Share Posted April 5, 2010 Well, I think it does, but the only proof I've got is the differentiation in the shutdown behavior. It seems to always boot properly, but sometimes it just doesn't display.I'll try an external monitor this evening or tomorrow ;)POST is when the initial loading screen comes up and your computer tests the components to see what is connected (i.e. before the windows boot loader is called).Run a memory test too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shought Posted April 5, 2010 Author Share Posted April 5, 2010 Well, I think it does, but the only proof I've got is the differentiation in the shutdown behavior. It seems to always boot properly, but sometimes it just doesn't display.I'll try an external monitor this evening or tomorrow ;)POST is when the initial loading screen comes up and your computer tests the components to see what is connected (i.e. before the windows boot loader is called).Run a memory test too.I know what it is ;) But even displaying these 'tests' requires a working graphics card and display, no?Anyhow the laptop is no longer in my possession... I think he's gonna buy a new one. I told him what I know and he decided it wasn't really worth the trouble, since he was going to get a new one anyway, at some point.Case closed, I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toshiro Posted April 5, 2010 Share Posted April 5, 2010 If you have 2 sticks of ram, try removing one >> Test the laptop >> test the other ram stick. If you have 1 stick, try replacing it. I had the same problem with my desktop. But I had to hard shutdown it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizarre™ Posted April 5, 2010 Share Posted April 5, 2010 There was also some odd stuff going on with the fan, but I don't think it's related as the behavior of the fan and the display didn't match (sometimes the fan would work, but the display wouldn't or the display would work and the fan wouldn't or they would both not work or they would both work, so no pattern. Also I cleaned it by removing it from the case and well, cleaning it and now it seems to work 9/10 times, rather than 1/4 times before).I have to disagree.If the fan is malfunctioning, your laptop may be in deep sh!t already.My sister had the same problem, but it was an HP Pavillion ZD700.Good thing we can access the laptop with an external monitor.But in the end, she had to buy a new computer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shought Posted April 10, 2010 Author Share Posted April 10, 2010 Obviously this isn't behavior I'd like to see, but there was nothing more I could do about it. I won't go on a 'witch hunt' to actually 'fix' the problem and maybe screw it up even more, if it works 'fine' as long as you keep it plugged in. I think the missing battery was the problem in this case, somehow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HX1 Posted April 10, 2010 Share Posted April 10, 2010 I must have missed that somewhere.. I remember the battery missing but I didn't remember the thing about it working fine when only plugged in.. ( Almost reminds about the woman who called Tech Support in the middle of a city wide blackout ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shought Posted April 10, 2010 Author Share Posted April 10, 2010 Lol :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AeonFulx Posted April 11, 2010 Share Posted April 11, 2010 This might not be what it is but, well years ago I have problem with display right after I update my graphic drivers. Problem like yours happen when I'm using laptop batteries however when using power supply, it works like a charm.I had to rollback to my older driver. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Pope Posted April 25, 2010 Share Posted April 25, 2010 Hello,Hope I'm understanding the issues.... So the machine is posting and seems to booting into windows... However you get no display?Have you tried to use the VGA or DVI to an external monitor?See if you can connect it to an external display and boot with it connected... If it doesn't show at post then use one of the hot keys and see if it will show on that monitor...Usually "FN" + F4, F5 or what ever.Keep trying it over and over see if the issue happens with the external ass well if not then.......If you get a picture on the external screen than it's an inverter issue or screen... If not than it's a board/graphics card issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KotaXor Posted April 25, 2010 Share Posted April 25, 2010 Well....he does not have the laptop to test it anymore.;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shought Posted April 25, 2010 Author Share Posted April 25, 2010 Yea, sorry about that.It's 'working' now, as long as it it not unplugged / turned off with the power button. So that's just what I told my mate to do.Thanks for your suggestion anyway :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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