HP 6730b will not boot

Discussion in 'Hardware' started by M00nshine, Nov 15, 2012.

  1. M00nshine

    M00nshine Private E-2

    Oh i like your "Please take a look at those threads before you start a new one" suggestions - very quick.

    However, no answer for me i'm afraid so perhaps someone can help.

    I have a 6730b hp laptop that won't even get as far as POST.

    I press the power button, the lights come on, but the only thing that then happens is the HDD light pulses about every 3 seconds. Try as i might i can't find support from HPs website on this.

    My initial thought was RAM so i bought some more from crucial but upon removing the stick that was already in the laptop (under kb) and replacing it with the new one it made no difference - tried different slots also. I have since found that memory errors are shown with flashing caps and num lock lights so that's not my problem.

    I can only think it's the m/b as i get nothing on the screen, no boot, no nothing, just this damn flashing light.

    I took out the hdd expecting that if it was this, then at least i'd get to POST where the laptop would complain about no boot device, but the symptoms remain unchanged - just flashing hdd led every few seconds.

    So i can't find what this error code means (thanks HP) and also on their website there is no doc i can find on how to replace the m/b, however i found a good generic link here :- http://www.ehow.com/how_5049933_replace-hp-laptop-motherboard.html

    Does anyone have any advice please on anything else i can try? I've had the battery out, powered just off mains; battery out and power putton pressed for at least 30 seconds prior to adding mains power again; neither of which helped.

    Or even if anyone knows where the HP tech doc is (surely they've got one for their technicians?) on how to replace the m/b? I've seen a few mobos on ebay for sale - just a pain in the backside if this is the only option left?

    Cheers.
     
  2. Rikky

    Rikky Wile E. Coyote - One of a kind

    Welcome to the forum:)

    Support documents

    http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsuppor...Id=101&prodTypeId=321957&prodSeriesId=3687777

    Service Manual

    http://bizsupport1.austin.hp.com/bc/docs/support/SupportManual/c02030223/c02030223.pdf

    Can you describe the flashing lights in more detail this is usually an error code that points to a certain device as you know,does this flashing correspond to pressing the power button and does it stop shortly after you've pressed the power button or is it continuous until the power is disconnected,if it isn't continuous how many flashes are there?
     
  3. M00nshine

    M00nshine Private E-2

    Hi Ricky

    yeah the support docs i found useless....however you're a star for tracking down that service manual so cheers for that.

    Ok the lights...

    1. press power button
    2. the power indicator light (third from the left on the front lights - [lightning bolt]) flashes three times - i believe this is usual.
    3. Immediately after 2 all the usual leds come on listed here:-

    Just beneath the screen:-

    Power light next to the "on" switch - circle with a line through
    the led of an "i" with a circle round it
    the rear view de-mister light - ok that's not what it is but that's what it looks like
    wlan
    sound and slider control

    At the front of the laptop

    wlan
    power - circle with a line through it
    lightning bolt - this one is off - just indicates i'm running off battery
    every 3/4 seconds the hdd led blinks once


    So this is what i get - no picture, no post, nothing. All the lights as indicated with the flashing hdd led
     
  4. plodr

    plodr Major Geek Super Extraordinaire

    If you see nothing on the screen, could it perhaps be that the video chip has died. All the lights sound like the computer is booting normally. Are you sure your laptop POSTS? Not all of them do. I just fired up my Acer netbook and there is only the sound once Windows loads.
     
  5. M00nshine

    M00nshine Private E-2

    Whether it posts or not, it isn't booting. I can tell if it's booting up.

    2 questions on the possible knakered video chip -

    1 - would it still boot
    2 - is it replaceable

    cheers
     
  6. Rikky

    Rikky Wile E. Coyote - One of a kind

    Yes it does sound like the computer is booting normally or at least semi working, do your fans spin and keep spinning and does you hard drive sound like it's loading windows?This is important if the hard drive is loading windows it's most probably a screen problem, if it sounds like windows isn't loading it can be a video related problem.

    Check the screen very carefully it a well lit room and if you can see anything at all,if you can see a very faint image then it's a backlight problem.

    If it is a video problem this can be tested by connecting an external display to either the the blue vga out or hdmi,if this doesn't work the main laptop screen may need to be disconnected internally.

    The next course of action is a cmos reset which will reset the bios, on most HP's the cmos battery a small coin shaped battery is located underneath the memory cover, remove it for 20 seconds then replace and try to boot.

    If it isn't located here the whole computer will have to be dissembled to get access to the motherboard and the battery wire will have to be cut then re soldered.
     
  7. M00nshine

    M00nshine Private E-2

    Hi,

    no it's not booting i guarantee you. If it was the hdd would be flashing away as normal as the hdd was accessed. It is not, it's just flashing once every 3 seconds with no other activity - nothing is happening, it's just flashing the hdd led once every 3 seconds and no keypress does anything.

    Re the cmos ricky, thanks to that pdf you found for me i noticed the cmos battery removal procedure and i took it out, left it out for about 15 minutes, then slotted it back in.
    No change in terms of what happens - same blinking led, defo no boot.

    So the fact that it's not booting rules out a backlighting issue - it doesn't rule out a general graphics chip problem however as suggested by the other chap responding here.

    Anything else you can think of? I appreciate your assistance.

    EDIT - sorry re-reading your post, the fans do spin and keep spinning and no HDD activity that i can hear.
     
  8. Rikky

    Rikky Wile E. Coyote - One of a kind

    Have you tried connecting an external monitor?Do you have a multimeter to check the voltage of your power supply?

    Make sure all your fans are spinning,this may require partial disassembly and make sure everything is clean and not clogged with hair and dust.

    Remove wireless card,disconnect dvd drive,disconnect keyboard and touchpad ribbons and try to boot.

    Unfortunately there's very little you can do with laptops everything is integrated so even if you work out which device is causing the problem such as a video chip you cannot fix it.

    You can move onto a bare bones disassembly and troubleshoot which I'll link you to rather than explain,this link also shows you how to test the power supply voltage but I doubt that is the problem it's usually completely dead.

    http://www.laptoprepair101.com/laptop/2011/12/08/most-common-laptop-hardware-problems/

    http://www.laptoprepair101.com/laptop/2008/06/14/laptop-dead-troubleshoot-the-problem/
     
  9. M00nshine

    M00nshine Private E-2

    Hi yeah thanks i tried most of the above already - stripping down to bare bones, as i would a pc but to no avail.

    I ordered a second hand motherboard from ebay and fitted it the other day. Works a treat now - although i am now the proud owner of a spare screw :) Oh and the keyboard sticks up a bit on the upper right hand side now....

    I noticed 3/4 of the way through re-assembly that a plastic module wasn't quite seated right down but couldn't be @rsed to strip it down again heh.

    Gonna try to make sure we don't obscure the ventilation port in case that was it - ie overheating.

    Thanks for the help.
     
  10. Rikky

    Rikky Wile E. Coyote - One of a kind

    No problem.

    I consider changing a laptop motherboard the hardest operation you can perform on a computer so a few extra screws are still an uber win :-D

    Glad you got it sorted. Later...:)
     
  11. M00nshine

    M00nshine Private E-2

    Thanks. I couldn't have done it without that manual you found though. What i find irritating is that i could not find it myself. I seem to be missing a trick here.

    I searched for "6730 change motherboard" etc etc etc - i.e. varied searches but really didn't get anywhere.

    Searched HP's support site of this model but simply got nowhere.

    I usually ended up here(ish) - http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/SoftwareIndex.jsp?lang=en&cc=us&prodNameId=3687780&prodTypeId=321957&prodSeriesId=3687777&swLang=13&taskId=135&swEnvOID=4055

    but the motherboard swap procedure isn't there

    but you ended up on http://bizsupport1.austin.hp.com

    and found the exact pdf i was looking for (thanks again :) )

    Is that bizsupport homepage the best place for hp support? I guess this laptop is a business model? :confused
     

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