Compaq Laptop Motherboard Keeps Burning Out 1

[johntx2001]

My niece has a compaq laptop that's just over a year old and this is the second time the motherboard has burned out. The laptop will be working fine, and then goes completely dead. It can't be booted up at all -- just no response. Compaq replaced the motherboard in August with a 90 day warranty and now it has burned out again. Any thoughts on what may be causing the problem? Thanks for any helpful tips anyone has!

 

[cdogg]

As a test, try the following when that happens:

1) Take the battery out and unplug the laptop
2) Hold the power button down for a good 30 seconds
3) Leave the battery out, but plug the laptop back into AC power
4) Try to power it on again

It might not be the motherboard. This problem happens on many laptops. If these 4 steps bring your laptop back, then I'm assuming that the last time you sent it in to HP/Compaq, they probably did the same thing and didn't "really" change your motherboard. In fact, I suggest you go into the BIOS (the setup screen when you first turn the laptop on) and disable any kind of Power-saving sleep modes. Disable all of them completely (call HP for help if you need it).

Your laptop could be getting stuck as it tries to go into standby mode.

If the problem really is a "burned out" motherboard, then perhaps the internal power supply/circuit has a short. I'd recommend they replace the entire "shell" and just swap your hard drive.

~cdogg
"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Albert Einstein
[tab][navy]For general rules and guidelines to get better answers, click here:[/navy] faq219-2884

 

[johntx2001]

cdogg -- Sorry for the late response -- thanks so much for your suggestion. I followed what you said exactly and all is working fine now. Not sure what caused the problem, but thanks to your recommendation, everything is working.

Thanks again for the help!

 

[cdogg]

Great, I'm glad that helped. Hopefully with some adjustment to your power-saving options, it won't happen again.

~cdogg
"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Albert Einstein
[tab][navy]For general rules and guidelines to get better answers, click here:[/navy] faq219-2884