When I press the laptop power button, the power and hard drive lights flash on, then shut off immediately
I’m trying to fix my parents HP Compaq nx9005 laptop.
When you press the power button, the power, and hard drive lights flash on, then shut off immediately (doesn’t even last a second). The power light will also remain off until the reset button is pressed again, or you unplug the AC adaptor, then plug it back in. Once it has been reset the power light blinks with an amber glow (with the battery out).
I’ve tried this with and without the battery. I’ve tried it without the hard drive. I’ve switched the RAM in various combinations. I’ve tried connecting the laptop directly to my desktop monitor. Same result every time. I’m guessing it’s an internal electrical problem, but I’m not very experienced with laptops as opposed to desktops. Any suggestions what to troubleshoot next? Thanks in advance!
First of all, make sure that the AC adapter is working properly. Ideally, I would try to replace the adapter with a test one but if you don’t have it at least check the voltage on your adapter. It’s not the best way to test the adapter with a multimeter. I’ve seen some failing adapters with good voltage readings. A bad AC adapter would be an easy fix for you.
Just recently I had a similar problem with Compaq nx5000 notebook. I was able to turn on the computer, but it shut down after a few seconds (your notebook shuts off immediately) and the video never appeared on the screen. I tried to troubleshoot all basic stuff, as you did. I removed the hard drive, battery, DVD drive, wireless card, replaced the memory module but nothing helped. Finally, when I was checking all internal connection, I discovered that the notebook works fine with an external monitor attached when the LCD screen is disconnected from the motherboard. By the way, this connector is located under the keyboard strip – a piece of plastic just above the keyboard. As soon as I connected the LCD cable back to the motherboard, the laptop didn’t start. So, I took the display assembly apart and found that the video cable wasn’t seated properly in the connector on the back of the screen. The problem was fixed as soon as I plugged the video cable back in.
I’ve posted my discovery on another website and a week later one guy was able to fix exactly the same problem with his Compaq nx5000 notebook after he reseated the video cable.
I don’t know how comfortable you are with taking apart laptops but I think that this information could be useful for you.
January 19th, 2007 at 7:05 pm
I have an HP zt1135 running on an AC Adapter. It frequently loses power and shuts down. Sometimes this happens as soon as I press the power button (e.g. lights flash on and then off), sometimes during startup and sometimes after 15-60 minutes of use. There are a couple of things particularly strange about it:
1. After the power shuts down, I have to unplug the AC adapter and plug it back in order to restore power to the machine to boot it again
2. The length of time that it stays on is much longer when the laptop is sitting on a hard, stationary surface. If it’s on my lap or I move the machine, it shuts off pretty quickly.
Given #2, am I safe in assuming that there’s a loose connection someplace? If so, where should I look to find it? I’ve aleady tried uplugging the keyboard and display and reattaching them.
Also, why do I have to unlpug the AC adapter and plug it back in to get the machine to power up again?
Thanks.
Scott
January 19th, 2007 at 10:07 am
Thanks for the help Benjamin with my 1905-s277. I too discovered this after i took everything apart
I hate leaving this part of my laptop exposed. anything else i can do for a fix??
January 18th, 2007 at 7:06 pm
For the user with the Toshiba 1905-s277, I have the exact same laptop and here is what you’re going to be dealing with. exactly 1.5 inches to the right of the power button is where the board for the power connects to the mobo. If you press firmly on that spot (1.5 inches to the right) and then press the power, it will turn on. It took me taking the laptop apart to discover this, but if you don’t feel like taking it apart, this will work.
January 16th, 2007 at 8:08 pm
Linda M,
I don’t see anything wrong with that. I also do not turn off my computers for days and never had any problem with that.
Probably you’ll have to take the laptop to a repair shop for diagnostics. From the description you provided in the comment I cannot say what is wrong.
January 16th, 2007 at 5:35 am
I am the “grandmother” of a laptop — so please excuse the simplicity of some of this description. (I use a Dell desktop daily, but have not used my son’s laptop, which is a Dell Inspiron 1000).
About a month ago my son reported that his laptop is “dead…”…. and I’m just trying to get a sense of what might be wrong.
FYI: He keeps his laptop plugged into the AC adapter all the time, and — by my observations — he may keep the laptop turned on for VERY long periods of time, maybe weeks (I’m guessing) without turning it off. Can that in and of itself be a problem?
Anyway: right now, if you plug in the AC adapter, the light on the adapter is green and the right light (of the two lights on the bottom of the laptop) also is green. When you push the power button, the four little green lights at the top of the laptop flash, there are about 30 to 40 seconds of “power” sound, and the left of the two lights at the bottom of the laptop also turns green — but nothing comes onto the screen, then the power sound stops, and that’s as far as you get.
When I unplugged the AC adapter today, the left light of the two on the bottom of the laptop came on green, and I heard the “sound” of power — but when I pushed the power button, the left green light went off and the right green started flashing, slowly, on and off. Now, a few minutes later, there is no response at all: no sound and no green lights anywhere when the AC adapter is unplugged.
Did the fact that my son left his laptop plugged into the AC adapter and left it on for long periods compromise something?
I’m guessing we will need to pay for laptop repair, but I’m just wondering what the next best step would be. thank you in advance for any suggestions.
January 13th, 2007 at 6:33 pm
Hi
I have a Time laptop with an AMD processer . the company went bust just after i bought it about 2 years ago. Now for no reason it just died on me. i have tried switching the ram and the power adaptor but nothing happens , no beep no LED blinking nothing, except that the battery charges. I have tried a number of ways but to no avail. I paid a massive 1000 pounds for it so cant just give up. can some one out there please help.
Thanks
January 9th, 2007 at 10:18 am
I have a Toshiba Satellite 1905-s277 and i have a similar problem. My laptop fails to turn on when I push the power button, i thought this was a battery issue so I purchased a new battery and had the same result. the front indicator lights are both green (ac adapter, fully charged battery). I tried holding the power button and nothing. I had a glimpse of this issue before it went dead. For some reason when i would push the power button with a little force it would turn on but this does not work anymore. I am thinking faulty connection but not sure what i should be checking since i have never dissembled a laptop before. but i am up for giving anything a try.
i did try the battery removal and holding the power button down for a minute but nothing.
January 5th, 2007 at 5:43 am
Harry,
I tried to switch the memory modules around; but it still happened. I also tried a known good power supply with the same results. This computer was working fine and then it started acting up like this. It works fine once I get it started up. I have kind of made it a routine before I even try and start the computer.
Tom M.
January 4th, 2007 at 8:51 pm
Thank you Harry,
Please let me know if it goes. By the way, check out this site. I bought a few power jacks from them and was very pleased with the service provided. They sell Dell Inspiron D800 jacks (type #33) for $25. May be you can use this resource in the future.
January 4th, 2007 at 8:16 pm
Hi Harry here again, Just thought I’d let you know, I have disided to rip, (well unsolder) the old power adapter off the board, and replace it. Mind you from what I can tell the tea went in the FRONT of the machine.(-shrug), I may be waisting my time (and forty bucks plus shipping) but what the hay! TO FURTHER ONES WISDOM!!! I’ll keep you posted Thanks again Harry
January 4th, 2007 at 7:48 pm
Tom M,
Do you have both memory slots accessible? Would you still experience the same problem if you move the memory module into the second slot? Is it an intermittent problem? Sometimes the laptop boots just fine and sometimes it fails to boot until you reseat the memory module?
January 4th, 2007 at 7:54 am
Ok, I am having a weird problem with my Dell Latitude CPxJ. With the battery removed and main power installed I press the power button. Lights come on; but no “boot” noise. Then power light goes off. I disconnect main power, remove memory modules. Let it sit for about 15 seconds. Reinstall memory, and reconnect main power. Press power button, and it comes on. Is this a Memory issue or something else. I have taken it to 2 different “professionals”; but they don’t seem to understand what is going on either. Thanks for any help you can provide.
January 3rd, 2007 at 6:18 pm
Hi Harry,
Today I talked to other techs about the problem you are having but unfortunately no one was able to give me a straight answer. I’ve never seen it myself either. Sorry man, I don’t know what’s wrong.
I do not work on the component level, most units we touch are still under warranty and we are not allowed to mess with motherboards. I hope you’ll find the solution without replacing the motherboard. Good luck!
January 2nd, 2007 at 10:06 pm
Thank you for your quick reply, and yes, I know a wet keyboard will not “kill” a machine. maybe I didn’t explain myself well enough. I have been a Techy for over ten years, I have repaired hundreds if not thousand of laptops in this time. The board I mentioned I cleaned was the motherboard, (keyboard is not even in the equasion.its unpluged) I have Done This many times before with some success. (about 60% of the time).
If that still didn’t work. I look for WHAT is fried! I’ve always had the “Fry” (cap, risistor, Diode,IC whatever) brake, as in power one side none on the other, not be crossed so bad that its like direct contact Pos to Neg. I don’t know what would run both pos and neg threw it, and NOT leave so much as a burn mark when it blew. That my freind is the question. I mean I’ve had my share of machines that would turn off as soon as you turned them on with the power button, But NEVER have I had one that “Kills the power Supply itself without even having the power button connected. and lastly if it had to do with the power button not being connected, the power should still travel to the disconnected button and not feedback on the supply. again any ideas Thanks in advance Harry
January 2nd, 2007 at 8:33 pm
Harry,
Probably the tea went down to the system board, shortened contacts and fried something. The laptop wouldn’t shut off immediately if you spill something just on the keyboard, but it would if the liquid got on the system board.
January 2nd, 2007 at 2:50 am
Conerning: Toshiba Satellite A60
Laptop doesn’t boot now
My Friends Laptop had a problem. Sometimes the Laptop shut down after 20 Minutes.
He broght the Laptop to the Toshiba Service. They told him, that the motherboard has to be changed and this costs about 350 euro. He said no but he had to pay 60 Euros for identifing the problem.
After he get the Laptop back the Laptop doesn’t boot any more!!!
Now I try to check it.
Powersupply is ok
DC IN LED : green
Battery charge LED: is orange
If I switch on
1) the Switch LED(keyboard) goes to blue
2) power on LED (front) goes to green
3) Harddisk starts only for 1 Second
4) The Fan (on the downside) doesn’t spin
but I can open the DVD/CD Rom Device by the Switch
After 1 minute the power light (front and keyboard) side goes out.
Can someone help me?
best regards
Bernhard
January 1st, 2007 at 10:03 pm
I have been working on laptops and desktops for a long time, and this is the first time I ran into this.
I have a dell d800 a guy brought in, he says he spilt a “little” tea on his keyboard (looking at it, it was abought less then a teaspoon I figure) and it immedeatly shut off. So he brought it to me. Now normally This can be an eazy fix, or at least find the problum, Without replacing the board (after cleaning the board and after a few days, with everything out of the machine, even cpu. I plug it in and follow the power till it stops (you know what I mean.) anyway NOT so with this one. I start to plug it in and the led light on the power supply immedeatly goes OUT! I unpluged the jack plug no led, I unpluged the wall plug wait a sec plug it back in led works. try again, out goes the led. power supply right? WRONG. tryed a known good one, same thing tryed the first one in a good dell worked like a charm. So here the question? what would be causing the short so fast? Any ideas? Thanks
December 29th, 2006 at 7:39 pm
Usako,
Find a multimeter and test if the AC adapter outputs correct voltage. I guess you might have a faulty adapter. If the voltage is correct, then probably you have some kind of failure on the motherboard. As a last resort, I would take the laptop apart and reseat all cables, connectors and devices. If still no luck, I would blame the motherboard.
December 29th, 2006 at 12:23 am
I called customer Service. They told me to do the same. I still get the same results. (The flashing orange power light.
December 28th, 2006 at 11:48 pm
Usako,
Read the comment #8 and try the same. Remove the battery, hold down the power button and then try starting the laptop form the AC adapter.
December 28th, 2006 at 7:01 pm
I have a compaq presario c300 notebook. It was running on ac adapter. My cousin unplugs the power surge it was plugged into. Her computer and my laptop turned off. She plugs it back and her computer turns back on. My doesn’t. I try turning it on but all I get is a flashing orange light on the power button. The scree is completely black. There was a cd in the cd drive. I could hear the cd drive running and the fan. But nothing else is working. Any suggestions? Can anyone help me. I really don’t want to lose my laptop. Please help me.
December 19th, 2006 at 10:28 am
I have a Packard Bell F5275
After shutting down and closing the lid, the laptop boots back up,or when closed if i apply light pressure to the lid,mainly near the hinges it boots up too.
This happens either on mains or battery.
Runs perfectly on both supplies,but can’t leave battery in as it just runs down.
Recently noticed blue/white lines before boot screen,and shutting down,and a thin blue line across top of screen.
Thanks for any help or advice.
December 17th, 2006 at 7:06 pm
Thanks. things are kind of working now, as I took out the battery, held the power button down for about a minute and then when I released it, it powered on. That said, I will check out that site and call customer service.
Thanks.
December 15th, 2006 at 2:55 pm
Seth,
Are you aware that Toshiba issued a 12 months warranty extension for Toshiba Satellite M30X, M35X, A70 and A75X sold in the USA and will repair it at no charge even if the laptop is not under warranty anymore? Check out this site, you might qualify for free repair. I would also call Toshiba customer service for more information.
December 14th, 2006 at 10:09 pm
Natasha,
I don’t think the problem is related to a faulty memory module because you should see some activity when you turn on the laptop even if the memory is missing or bad. But just in case try reseating it. If you have two memory modules, remove them one by one and test the laptop after each removed module.
Not a lot that you can do yourself. It could be a loose contact somewhere inside the laptop, bad power button board (inside the display assembly) or faulty motherboard, hard to say just basing on your description. I would probably take it apart and reseated all connectors, but it requires some computer repair skills. Here are disassembly instructions for Toshiba Portege M200 notebook: taking apart display assembly and taking apart notebook.
If you are not confident do not open the case or you can damage it.
December 14th, 2006 at 5:56 am
Having a similar issue with my Toshiba Satellite A70. Battery had run down, so I plugged in to recharge. Power lights and battery charging lights are illuminated, but when I press the power button, absolutely NOTHING happens. No fan, no noise, nothing. Completely dead, even though it is plugged in and the lights in front are working. Thoughts? Thanks for any help.
December 9th, 2006 at 6:34 pm
Hello, there!
Thank you in advance for looking into this issue. I have a Toshibe Portege m200. Has been working ok. Worked on it the other day. This morning it does not turn on… Looks like the power lights are on but no response when pressing the button. Tried to switch the battery – still the same. Feels like no contact when pressing the button? What do you think else I could do?
November 30th, 2006 at 5:36 pm
Brett,
This configuration worked before you swapped the CPU, right? There could be a problem with the laptop memory. The system board has an integrated RAM. If you use any extra memory module, remove it and test the laptop just with base RAM, it will help to eliminate a defective external RAM or defective memory slot on the motherboard. Check if the CPU is seated properly. Try assembling the system outside the laptop base (if you haven’t done it already).
I’m not sure if these two CPUs are interchangeable and it’s hard to make any assumptions until you test the system with a CPU designed for this model.
November 29th, 2006 at 5:35 am
I bought a non working toshiba a75 on ebay. When I got it I was able to get it to start up but it would always restart as soon as it looked for a harddrive, but would run in the motherboard bios all day. When I took it apart I noticed the processor was not the original. it was a pentium M in a laptop made for a desktop processor the heat sink didn’t even touch it and it kept over heating. I replaced it with a working desktop processor but now when I plug it in both fans start imediatlly and the ac light comes on and that is it, nothing happens by pressing the power button and it dosen’t light up. Removing the battery or putting the pentium M back in dosen’t work either it won’t even go to the bios now. This is with everything removed but the processor and ram running on the external video. Any ideas?
October 25th, 2006 at 3:01 am
Hi, I have a dell inspion 9400. whenever i disconnect the mains power the screen goes blank. Can you help?
Thanks,
Ross