HP Laptop problem

[Patrick Martin]

So 8 days ago I purchased an open box HP dv6000 notebook. Has 1gig ram, 60gb hard drive, AMDx2 dual processor, XP Media Center Edition, and got it for a reasonable price. Pretty sweet machine for my first notebook computer. Have done nothing more than load the Baron software, surf the net, and e-mail so far. I used the quick play function last night to try it out with a DVD and thought it was pretty cool. Did a normal shut down...no problem. I come home from work tonight, and it won't power on, either from the battery or from the AC cord. It is getting power from the AC adapter, at least so says the blue light where it plugs into the laptop, but it won't turn on. Has anyone encountered this or can speculate on a cause? I'm not an IT guy, so I'm baffled.
Earlier this evening I brought it back to Circuit City where I purchased it and they are going to check it out and also willing to exchange for a comparable notebook.
Any input is welcome.

 

[John Wetter]

Likely either a flakey power supply. That'd toast it whether you're on AC or battery. I'd do an exchange on it. It makes me suspicious ona machine that has had power problems. You never know if a surge it it or brownouts... Those can do all kinds of bad things to the insides.

-John

 

[Billy Griffin]

Agree - exchange that one!

Were you able to get it powered up? Perhaps try removing the battery and then reinsert the battery, then power up. Just an idea. You didn't use a docking station by any chance, did you?

 

[Joey Ketcham]

[FONT='Calibri','sans-serif']Hey Patrick, that sucks that you’re having problems with your new laptop. I know what you’re going through, I purchased a laptop brand new last year and had problems with the backlight on the LCD, in the end I sent it back and got a refund for it. So I know the frustration.

It sounds as though you might either have a bad system board or there is a connection problem between the power plug and the system board. It also could be the power button itself. I’ve seen all three cause problems with laptops not powering on. You mentioned that there is a blue light that comes on, so I really wouldn’t lean towards a problem with the power adapter/cord causing it to not charge the battery.

Did you remove the battery and then plug the power cord in and try powering it up? If not you might try that?

I’m an IT guy, but admittedly I’ve dealt with desktops more than I have laptops, but I know with dell you can “discharge the motherboard” which can fix certain issues. It’s worth a shot anyways, but disconnect the power cord from the laptop and hold on the power button for 20 seconds. Reconnect the power cord and try turning it on. See if that works.[/FONT]

 

[Dave Gallaher]

I concur with those who say you should exchange the entire unit while it's still in the 15-day period.

I got a dv6000 from Office Depot in December--so far, so good.
Haven't tried it on the battery yet (or the built-in wireless). It came with XP Media edition, 2G RAM and 120G hard drive.
It's handling the GRLevel3 trial edition very nicely and I'm now researching video editing software to go with it.

 

[Chris Strahan]

being an IT guy, here is what I would do, as I have seen this happen before.
remove battery. unplug power supply. open laptop and run your hands over the keyboard. What you are doing here is basically draining any charge left in the capaciters. Do this for a minute or two just to be safe. Plug the a/c power back in. Attempt to power the unit back on.
If it is any more than that, I would strongly suggest calling hp tech support for a replacement/troublshooting!
Good luck!

 

[Patrick Martin]

Thanks for the feedback so far. I did remove the battery and reinsert (twice), no luck either time. Tried it without the battery, on only AC power, no luck. I recall from last night that I had tried holding down the power button, but not sure (and I don't think) I had held it for full 20 seconds, no luck. There is a blue ring around where the plug from the AC power on the side of the notebook will illuminate if it is connected to AC power, and that was illuminated. I tried a couple of different plugs, mostly to be sure I was not plugged into one of those notorious outlets that runs off the wall switch, but still no luck.
Right now it's at Circuit City and I am anxciously awaiting a call from them today to see what needs to happen next. I'm hoping for an easy fix, and they said they would not charge me. Although they are more than willing to exchange for a "comparable" machine (they actually talked about that first, and I had to bring up the idea of looking at it for a potential fix), I'm afraid of what that will exactly mean since it was an open box model w/XP. I'd be willing to run Vista, but I'm running Baron for the first time this year and not sure it'll work on Vista. I'll keep you posted.

 

[B Ozanne]

What's the discussion here? Exchange it. Its not going to cost you anything.

 

[Patrick Martin]

My apologies. My intent for the discussion was to look for input and a consensus on whether to replace or repair. I was not as clear as I should have been. Given the input, it's obvious the correct course of action will be to seek an exchange. Thank you again for all the feedback, it's very appreciated.

 

[B Ozanne]

My apologies. My intent for the discussion was to look for input and a consensus on whether to replace or repair. I was not as clear as I should have been. Given the input, it's obvious the correct course of action will be to seek an exchange. Thank you again for all the feedback, it's very appreciated.

No, its a valid thread. I'm just surprised that so many people want to fix the computer when you can just exchange it.

 

[John Diel]

Patrick, on an 8 day old computer that's on the fritz, unless it's fast and painless fix, I believe the consensus would be to replace it. That way, you're not out anything or already having to open up the guts and who knows what else might get knocked loose. Basically it's a case where less intervention required the better you will be.

John

 

[Joey Ketcham]

No, its a valid thread. I'm just surprised that so many people want to fix the computer when you can just exchange it.

Why would you be suprised by this? Perhaps it's just the computer tech within me speaking, but I would rather rather try fixing it before sending it in.

 

[Patrick Martin]

To my surprise, and a very pleasant one at that, I'll be going to Circuit City this afternoon to retrieve my notebook that was, and is, in perfect working order. Here's why.
I called to find the status, spoke to the tech, and he said "yeah, got it to power on no problem.". With my jaw hanging open, I asked "how?!". Apparently with the the newer HP notebooks, there is a "battery overcharge" thing, that, if the battery is overcharged, will prevent it from powering on and ultimately keep the motherboard from being fried. Here is the fix:
1. Remove the battery
2. Hold down the power button for 10 seconds
3. While holding down the power button, connect to AC power.
4. Presto, it'll turn on. You can then re-insert the battery.
The tech said he has seen this quite a bit on newer HP's. He also said he usually only sees this when they are new.
To everyone that responded, thank you for your posts, it is very appreciated. Considering the ease of the "fix" I am tremendously relieved, however it's not preventing me from feeling a bit foolish, and getting a couple of chuckles from co-workers.

 

[John Diel]

I would say that qualifies as a "fast and realatively painless fix". Good luck and have fun with that new laptop!

 

[B Ozanne]

Why would you be suprised by this? Perhaps it's just the computer tech within me speaking, but I would rather rather try fixing it before sending it in.

Assuming its as simple as removing the battery and holding the power button, of course. But when you start talking about breaking the seals on the machine and looking at the mother board of a laptop its a different story. Especially when its 8 days old and you have a no cost return policy.

If the computer was 2 years old and off warranty than anything goes.