My Dell Latitude laptop fails to boot on A/C power as well as battery power
I have a Dell Latitude CPi R laptop. This laptop fails to boot on A/C power as well as battery power. When I switch on the laptop the power light comes on and the hard drive light blinks once and after 2-3 seconds the system shuts down. The display never comes up nor does the system fan start. In case of a floppy drive inside I can hear the click sound of it trying to access the drive just before the laptop shuts down. I completely disassembled the laptop and checked all the connections thoroughly but the problem remains.
I would test the AC adapter first. I think it’s possible that the adapter is bad and the battery is discharged. Try to remove the battery, plug in the AC adapter and start the laptop without the battery installed. Then I would try to install a test memory module or at least reseat it. Does is make any difference?
If nothing helps, you can minimize the system as much as possible and try to start it with an external monitor. Normally you need only 3 components to successfully boot a laptop and see if you have some basic functionality. These components are the system board, the CPU and the memory module. Leave only these three components and connect an external monitor. Now try turn on the laptop. You should a video on the external monitor. If you still have no video and the system still shuts down, then one of the three components is bad. I would try to swap the memory first and if it doesn’t help then most likely you have a bad system board.
About 2 weeks ago I had to repair a HP laptop with similar problems. I was able bring it back to live after I reseated the video cable on the LCD screen. The cable was half way out.
September 10th, 2007 at 6:46 am
i work at the IT department at my college. we saw this issue today with a laptop that didnt turn on. the battery and the power lights turned on every 10 seconds but the computer never turned on. we replaced the system board twice and found out it was a faulty POWER ADAPTER!
thanks for the advice, i felt like contributing our solution
September 8th, 2007 at 1:51 am
I have a Dell XPS M170. This morning when I went to turn it on, I got a “Cannot determine Power Source” error. It was plugged into the a/c adapter.
I finally unplugged that and booted it on battery power…however, it won’t charge the battery now.
After it is booted, it will run off a/c, just not charge.
So, really, as soon as I lose battery power, I won’t be able to turn on my computer anymore.
Any suggestions?
September 4th, 2007 at 8:59 pm
KR,
Remove as many devices as you can (hard drive, DVD drive, battery, wireless card, etc…) and start the laptop from the AC adapter. If you still experience the same problem, most likely you have a faulty motherboard.
September 4th, 2007 at 3:25 pm
Hi, my laptop is a dell inspiron. When I press the power button, the fan starts running, I have no picture on the monitor, the caps light blinks a few times, and then the computer turns off. I am fairly positive it isn’t a bad ac adaptor, and I’ve had it inspected by a computer repair place and they were pulling the hard drive and memory and several different things, and it was working for awhile, but it now quits again. Any ideas?
August 30th, 2007 at 1:07 pm
There is a design flaw in the Inspiron 1150 and similars, that make the power LED go on, flash, and then off in a few seconds. That is caused by some chip on the main system board receiving too much mechanical pressure by a plate in the same board. the following is a “paste and cut” of the fix for this model:
“…FIXING THE PROBLEM – you have nothing to loose if it’s not working and outside warranty
a) Remove power and battery, harddisk and DVD drive, mem chips etc., make sure you are
well earthed to prevent static.
b) Remove all screws from the base and remove screen – start by unclipping blue power
button strip with screen flat open and removing keyboard, unplug screen cable, take
off screen, etc etc. You will need to undo the nuts on the vga port as well as all
visible screws, plus 1 screw under keyboard.
c) when case open, remove all the components and metal bits, graphics card etc. Just
keep pots for all the screws so you know where they go back. – It really is not as
daunting as it all sounds, you just need a clear table and a bit of care with the
parts.
d) now, you have full access to the motherboad. Under the mini pci bus connector, which
is positioned under the case cover labelled ‘C’ there is a plack plasic sheet stuck
to the motherboard to insulate. Peel this back to reveal the components. See the
photo (thread sheet 42) on the link above which shows this clearly.
e) the IC (chip) which will have been dislodged by the pressure is an LVC14A with 14 pins,
surface mount. It has really small pins and you prob wont see any damage (but you might
see the marks on the black plastic sheet where the cover was pressing on it. – see the
photo in link above.
f) With a very fine electronic soldering iron (with a pin point tip) touch each of the IC
legs for 1 second to remelt the connections that have likely fractured by the pressure.
It is not that difficult – just needs a very steady hand. do not add any solder,
you may burn the board or join two pins together – they are v. fine !!!
g) Put it back together – AND IT WILL BE FIXED
h) ENJOY YOU NEW LAPTOP and the fact you just saved £400 – Remember to remove the C cover
tabs to stop it happening again.
hope this helps someone like it helped me – cheers to NILLION on the thread above as his
picture proved the clincher for me finding my problem and subsequently fixing it.
Good luck
PS – this was written on my 5150 and it didnt crash once – even though I am leaning on it
whilst typing !!…”
August 24th, 2007 at 10:01 am
I’m not sure if it does the same thing or not. On several other forums some have found the spacer to work others have found failed memory. In my own case I found a failed 512 stick of memory I replaced both sticks with 512MB and found I had to use a small runner spacer on my B DIMM slot for my Latitude to recognize the new stick in the B slot. If all is working for you currently I would leave it along, it sounds like you found the problem. This problem can be either failed memory or a problem with the DIMM slots.
Wayne z.
August 24th, 2007 at 9:09 am
Wayne,
I have a B bios and I cut a small piece of cardboard the size of both memory modules and duct taped the memory cover back on and it has worked perfect so far after weeks of the power button problem. Would replacing the memory chips accomplish the same?
August 22nd, 2007 at 3:55 am
For the Dell Latitude CPI-R, try putting the battery module into the slot adjacent. Worked for me.
August 20th, 2007 at 11:31 am
If the cap lock LED blinks 10 times then everything shuts down or if you appear to be locking up in the middle of the boot process, try placing a small piece of rubber on top of each of your memory modules so that it depresses them slight when you close the memory card access cover. It has to be just thick enough to press the module down, not too thick. This works if you are getting this cap light blink problem during boot and a shut down. It must have to do with heat warping the memory cards over time and causing the middle of the card to lift.
August 15th, 2007 at 12:50 pm
Well, I opened up the Inspiron and found the problem (or at least part of it). The button itself is part of an assembly that overlays a control board (circuit board) beneath. It was evident that the button had failed physically due to excessive force when pressing on it. The button interface on the control board also had physically broken components from the same cause.
But why did it become difficult to begin with? That’s not clear, but there must have been some kind of fault in the control board, because it also controls the num/caps lock LEDs, the volume control buttons and the mic, all of which failed about the same time, and prior to the power button difficulty. It could be dust or something got under the button panel and contaminated the board.
Anyway, I’m awaiting replacement parts for both. I’ll post again when the computer is back together.
August 15th, 2007 at 7:36 am
hi suresh,
It happens to me all the time. I have 2 ram dimms 256 (came with the laptop) and 512 (bought from micro center). The system was working fine with these two dimms for very long time. After i started having this problem of reboot cycle, i removed the 512 ram and the system is now working smoothly. i hope this helps.
August 15th, 2007 at 5:58 am
Hi.i have a HP pavillion dv6516tx laptop;just 1 month ago.I am also facing the same kind of issue.
1.When i turn ON the power LED it turns on and turns off after 2 seconds.
2.Tried using battery alone and AC adapter alone.still the same condition.
3.Reseated the Ram modules also.Still the problem exists.
4.Sometimes the laptop would turn ON and work smoothly and sometimes it would not start as described above.
Want help….and also wanted to know why this problem occurs sometimes but not all times.
August 11th, 2007 at 5:08 am
There is definitely something wrong with Dell’s power button engineering. I have an Inspiron, and had a Latitude before that with power button problems. On the Inspiron it started out with the NUM and CAPS lights lighting up in a weird way. Then the power button had to be pressed very firmly to work. Eventually the NUM etc lights stopped working entirely and the button really has to be crushed to work. Now the blasted thing won’t power up at all. By the way, on the Latitude, I noticed a connection between the power button and the keyboard, as someone else posted earlier – pressing on the keyboard helped the power button respond, but several keys eventually stopped working. Weird!!
Somebody out there knows something – please post some help here!
August 5th, 2007 at 8:18 am
I have a dell Inspiron 6400 Laptop, and facing the same problem with startup. When I power on the Laptop nothing happens the power ON indicator shows it got started but the screen remains blank. And the both the NUM and CAPS indicator blinks simultaneously. sometimes it automaticaly turns OFF with a click sound after 1 sec of pwer ON. Please help me.
July 29th, 2007 at 1:16 pm
I have a dell latitude laptop. I can power it on with a battery source which I got it from my friend’s same kind of laptop. When I put it on AC power, it doesn’t start up. I checked the adaptor with my friend’s laptop and the adaptor works excellent. Would it be a power supply problem? Please suggest me what I should do with this problem.
July 16th, 2007 at 7:10 pm
I have HP ZE4800 laptop. The laptop is not booting up. All the led lights up when i press the power button. Even i can hear the CD spinning and fan noise. The lights stays for 2-3 seconds and laptop loses power then it starts again. I tried draining the capacitor by holding the power button for 30 seconds, removing the battery and switching on the laptop with just AC power. But no luck. Any one know of any solution for this?
July 14th, 2007 at 4:31 pm
I have Dell Latitude C640, when i press power button the Power and HDD LED both lights up then shut off in few seconds and nothing appears on the screen. Sometime i tried to press a button while pressing power button and it turns on. i was able to install windows xp and other applications. Then after several hour of using the laptop, i shut it down and go to sleep. then the following day i try to turn it on again, and i still experienced the same problem turns on and shut off in few seconds. please advice me what to do. thanks a lot in advance.
March 3rd, 2007 at 3:54 pm
Hey Laptop Freak,
So yesterday I decided to take out the old Latitude and try it. The video cable and memory had already been reseated from last time I tried fixing it. So I turn it on nothing happens, then i smash the keyboard and turn it on again and to my suprise it turned on. I connected to an external monitor, installed Win98se, microsoft office and Windows media player 9. So now it works but after a while a blue error screen will come up and it will freeze and it keeps coming up more often every time I use it. So last time I booted it up it said amount of memory changed or something around those lines. Then I turned it on again and it loaded windows. Is there a way I can stop this or am I screwed because I have “F” on my memory circuit board, or is there something I can buy to fix it.
Thanks a bunch,
Clayton
February 26th, 2007 at 7:04 pm
My problem is similar to those mentioned. More specific similar to Brians problem. It is a dell latitude cpi. Tested all as described above. Tore the little bugger apart to check cable connectors, etc. On AC power, when I press the power button, the unit flashes power indicator light and you can see a faint flicker from the LCD. On battery, when you power on, the power, HDD and other lights up in the top cluster just continue to cycle and never turn off. The only thing I cannot try is the bios ship that is mentioned in Post #9 above. I have another Latitude, but it has a “B” chip. Can I install that chip and try it or will I toast it in doing so. Please post any replies. Hopefully solutions and not more problems.
February 26th, 2007 at 10:14 am
I have a Dell Inspiron 1150….My problem is when I have the battery in and I try to boot up(press power button), I get the power and charge LEDs but nothing happens. No fan no nothing, and I can only make the lights go off by removing the battery. If I plug into AC power same thing. When I remove the battery and just go AC power alone, the power and charge lights just come on without me doing anything(pressing the power button, ect.) but still nothing happens…..HELP!
February 17th, 2007 at 11:30 am
Thanks alot UpGrade for the info,
Mine has a “T” on the bios chip, is there any solution for the problem? If not, what should I do with the laptop? Thanks again.
February 6th, 2007 at 3:12 pm
I have a case of these Dell CPi’s, They seem to have two problems, either “A” I get two of the three leds light up stay on for five seconds and shut off. or “B” it beeps three times and pauses and does it again. This is a memory problem, now it may not be the stick itself but it is a problem in the memory circut. It comes down to the unit, If you open your memory cover, and look at your bios chip, if it says a bunch of numbers and then “T” your done for. If it says “B” you have half a chance. This distinction in the chip goes to the video board as well as a few other aspects of the laptop. For further reference you can not put an LCD from a “B” on to a “T” they are not compatible, it won’t turn on until you un plug it.
February 4th, 2007 at 11:13 am
masauso-sau ,
Remove the battery and start the laptop from AC without battery installed. Same problem?
May be you have a faulty power supply? You’ll have to find a known good AC adapter and test the laptop. If you still have the same problem even with a good adapter, probably there is something wrong with the motherboard.
February 4th, 2007 at 5:56 am
my laptop dell inspiron wont start when i press the power button, the led switches on for a few seconds then it goes off. both the fans and the lcd dont light up. when i plug the power supply the led flashes in invervals of a bout 10 seconds. can you help me
January 24th, 2007 at 8:13 am
i have a dell latitude cpi laptop and when ever i turn it on i has a seconfd of nothing then it will flash while beepig 8 times after 8 times it turns it self off what shall i do
January 20th, 2007 at 10:50 am
Dan,
Replacing the motherboard will not require any soldering. You’ll have to disassemble the laptop, remove the old motherboard, transfer everything to the new motherboard (CPU, heat sinks, RAM, etc…) and assemble the laptop.
January 17th, 2007 at 7:23 pm
i have a problem with my gateway 450sx4. it doesnt boot at all and ac adapter is fine, bought new battery, cpu looks fine, swapped ram. im thinking about ordering a new motherboard for it, will that require any soldering? if not im pretty sure i can do it myself, thanks.
January 2nd, 2007 at 6:59 pm
Clayton,
Will you get video if you start the laptop without the hard drive? If the RAM and CPU are good but the laptop still will not boot with internal or external video even after you removed the hard drive, then I would say you have a bad motherboard, not sure what else could be wrong.
December 31st, 2006 at 4:48 pm
I have the same problem. There is nothing wrong with the adapter or battery. I tried pressing on the keepboard and the fan and harddrive turned on, but It shut down within 2-3 seconds like usual. It still powers down when I connect my computer monitor to it with the LCD cable unplugged from the system board. I checked the CPU and it seems ok. I reseated the memory, still nothing. The only thing that gets it starting up is pressing hard on the keep board but thats still only 3 seconds and when it starts up theirs still no video on screen. Any solutions?
November 14th, 2006 at 12:06 am
I have the same kind of problem. Which I solve by pressing hard on the center of the keyboard while pushing the power button (when it boots, release keyboard). Most of the time it works well but sometimes the internal LAN card get disabled.