laptop won't boot

ebrithil · Dec 19, 2011

Hey I have a pavilion dv7 laptop and I shut it down yesterday without any noticeable problems, but when I tried to start it up today it started but the screen remained black, the keyboard lights up and if I do somthing like press caps lock it shows I've done that on my keyboard but the display is not working, could it be malware or could somthing be wrong with the display? Not sure how to troubleshoot this.

tgell · Dec 19, 2011

There have been a huge amount of problems with the HP dv series due to overheating. There has even been a class-action suit filed. I would suggest you try to use an external monitor to see if that works. If that does not work, try booting with a linux distro like Puppy using the external monitor. If that fails, then I would say it would be time to replace the laptop. If you need data off of the hard drive, you can either move it to another computer or use a USB adapter.

http://www.sfmslaw.com/class-action-lawsuits/cases.php?id=300

http://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Notebook-Display-and-Video/HP-Pavilion-dv6000-Blank-screen/td-p/105474

http://help.artaro.eu/index.php/windows-xp/troubleshooting-xp/recover-files-from-hard-disk-xp.html

plodr · Dec 19, 2011

This is only if the laptop is useless (video chip has died and you get no display on external monitor or with a live CD of a linux distro).
Bake the motherboard in the oven. I don't know what temp or how long but it allows the chip's solder to work.
Here's a video where the guy disassembled, wrapped it in foil and used a heat gun.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJI9mSEe-1U

Start looking around and you might see some less drastic measures that worked for people.
The heat causes the chip to separate from the motherboard; you have to try and get it soldered by different methods.

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laptop won't boot

ebrithil Private E-2

tgell Major Geek Extraordinaire

plodr MajorGeek Super Extraordinaire Moderator Staff Member