Lap Top probs

hi,
My problem has me stumped could use some help.
Ok my friend the same laptop as I do (hp DV6707US Vista 32)
He brought it over for me to look at because he can't turn on the laptop unless its on ac power but it will run off the battery if you unplug it but says their is now battery in windows
So first thing that came to mind was maybe Battery Or Ac adapter so I tried mine on his laptop and got the same results. He also told me it was plugged in during a nasty storm and his house has some shady wiring thats really old.
Now the best I can come up with is the Main power connector inside the laptop has a short some where possible from a power surge



What I have tried so far:
Different battery / Ac adapter ( that 100% works)
Device manager says Battery section Is fine ( in 3 different OS )
Same probs on Xp pro/ Vista 32/ Windows 7 32

Also came across a prob when restoring vista from hp restore partition
started the restore got to 1% then crashed and vista( C: ) was gone and now restore partition( D: ) is not in boot options but it is visible during any os installations
So took advantage of a messed up situation and tried 2 other OS but had the exact problem

So could some one through out some ideas

 

Yup. Something in the charging circuitry and/or the voltage regulation circuitry has gone bad. If the PC is under warranty, go to HP and get it fixed for free. If it's not in warranty, do NOT go to HP, they'll tell you a new motherboard is needed and that will cost about $400. Go to www.laptoprescuer.com. I've done business with them in the past and they do great board-level work. They can probably repair the circuit/chip that has gone out for about 1/3 to 1/2 of what HP would charge. The fact that they have a phone number where a human answers the phone (during business hours; Mon-Fri 9a-5p Pacific US), and a street address posted on their site lets you know that they're all about customer satisfaction.
Good luck!

As to the restore issue: I have no idea about this one, but if the power to any PC isn't clean and doing what it should, all sorts of weird things can happen, the worst of which is permanent hard drive malfunction. Well, I guess CPU damage would be worse, but HD damage is pretty bad.

 

thanks for the reply and that site will most defo pass it on

i figured HP would take advantage of him just by looking at the price for upgrades on their site every thing is dam near double what new egg wants

on a side note after trying the last 3 windows OS back to back in release order
windows 7 was by far the best in boot time and operation speed and user experience i didn't think it would be that good looks like MS is coming out swinging this time ( first MS OS that seams use able with out a service pack)