Issue with Laptop (Powering on)

The computer is a Dell Latitude D600.

Ok, this is actually my girlfriend's laptop but it is in my possession right now. Starting last night, it has had trouble powering on. Ok, there is the power button towards the top panel by the screen. When you press that, 3 LED lights to the side will come on like the computer is going to power on. Then just turns off. And that long strip at the top that has some other lights, those will come on if you hold this piece down hard enough. Then it will just go back off. If you just continue to hold the power button down, the lights will go on and then off in a fixed time sequence. Eventually if you mess with it enough, it will turn on and then when it is on, it works fine. Battery is fine and AC adapter is fine. Same thing happens no matter what the source of power is.

My modem does this exact same thing. It never powers on without me tapping on the power button to get something into place and then when it is on, it's fine. Is something loose in here? I have no idea about the inside of computers. We would greatly appreciate any direction to our problem. Thanks!

 

Hi barats,

some here http://www.howtomendit.com/answers.php?id=62343 say that the battery is not seated properly, faulty ram module etc..

Techsent

 

Take it to a reputable tech - yes they do exist - you will likely do more harm than good.

 

Thanks for that link. I let my dad take it to work and have someone who knows about electronics take it apart and have a look at it. Hopefully it is not serious and just a quick fix.