A Question for Computer Technicans...

[LIONS then DAYLIGHT]

About a month ago i had a Compaq Laptop on my desk and one morning it was on and i accidentally knocked an Alarm Clock of the top of a book shelf which was on my desk and the clock fell and seemed to land right next to my laptop or it might have just touched it.

Anyway,

The laptop went blank straight away, power went off and the computer would not come back on, i tried for about 10 mins to get it back on but it wouldn't boot, no power indicator lights would come on, nothing, it seemed dead. The power socket was alright as well.

So i took the laptop to a computer shop and they told a few days later that they tried a few things (something about new RAM or something, and checking the hard drive and power source or what not) but they came to the conclusion that the laptop was ____ed.

So fair enough, i thought, and i put the laptop away at home.

Anyway today i got it out because i was convinced that the alarm clock didnt hit the computer so the mother board must have been alright despite these guys telling me it was ____ed.

Anyway, it still wouldn't come on, but i took the battery out and put another battery in from a different compaq laptop and the laptop that was ____ed all of a sudden was working again, so i though the battery was ____ed but i tried it in the other compaq and it worked as well.

So, can anyone tell me what the ____ happened in the first place to the original laptop and why it wouldn't come on and why these computer techs did tests but said it was ____ed when it wasn't, what the ____ am i paying these guys for?

 

[Hellbourne]

My laptop had a similar problem recently, one day when i plugged it in and turned it on I got no response, even the light indicating that the battery was being charged didn't come on. To get it working I plugged the power in with no battery connected, it no longer runs off the battery but at least it isn't an expensive paper weight anymore.

Problem is, to this day I don't know what caused it, so I don't wanna shell out good cash on a new battery and have it never work without ac power again. If anyone has an idea I'd like to know what they think caused it.

 

[jim boy]

My laptop had a similar problem recently, one day when i plugged it in and turned it on I got no response, even the light indicating that the battery was being charged didn't come on. To get it working I plugged the power in with no battery connected, it no longer runs off the battery but at least it isn't an expensive paper weight anymore.

Problem is, to this day I don't know what caused it, so I don't wanna shell out good cash on a new battery and have it never work without ac power again. If anyone has an idea I'd like to know what they think caused it.

If the battery is completly ____ed, the laptop won't fire up at all when it is in position. I've seen this a few times so your laptop is probably fine and you need a new battery.

 

[jim boy]

About a month ago i had a Compaq Laptop on my desk and one morning it was on and i accidentally knocked an Alarm Clock of the top of a book shelf which was on my desk and the clock fell and seemed to land right next to my laptop or it might have just touched it.

Anyway,

The laptop went blank straight away, power went off and the computer would not come back on, i tried for about 10 mins to get it back on but it wouldn't boot, no power indicator lights would come on, nothing, it seemed dead. The power socket was alright as well.

So i took the laptop to a computer shop and they told a few days later that they tried a few things (something about new RAM or something, and checking the hard drive and power source or what not) but they came to the conclusion that the laptop was ____ed.

So fair enough, i thought, and i put the laptop away at home.

Anyway today i got it out because i was convinced that the alarm clock didnt hit the computer so the mother board must have been alright despite these guys telling me it was ____ed.

Anyway, it still wouldn't come on, but i took the battery out and put another battery in from a different compaq laptop and the laptop that was ____ed all of a sudden was working again, so i though the battery was ____ed but i tried it in the other compaq and it worked as well.

So, can anyone tell me what the ____ happened in the first place to the original laptop and why it wouldn't come on and why these computer techs did tests but said it was ____ed when it wasn't, what the ____ am i paying these guys for?

My guess is that it sounds like some loose wire or connector. The physical act of removing the battery may have caused the wires to join, but for how long, who can say?

It could a very expensive exercise to get to the bootom of it and then you might have to get a new laptop anyway, so unless your laptop is highly valued, then it is not advisable to pursue this if it happens again.

 

[LIONS then DAYLIGHT]

My guess is that it sounds like some loose wire or connector. The physical act of removing the battery may have caused the wires to join, but for how long, who can say?

It could a very expensive exercise to get to the bootom of it and then you might have to get a new laptop anyway, so unless your laptop is highly valued, then it is not advisable to pursue this if it happens again.

Nah its not highly valued, i was just curious, these guys told me they did this and that and nothing worked so they thought the mother board must have had it.

Over the years i accidently dropped a textbook onto it which land on it, but it was alright, but the alarm clock knocked the thing out straight away, and i don't even think it was a direct hit.

The scenario you mentioned could have been the case or alternatively, the computer guys might have did what they did and either

1) Forgot to test it, and labelled it as ____ed
2) Tested it, but forgot to plug the power cord in
3) Just human error

When i took it in they had a lot of computers they had to look at so maybe somewhere a long the line they had got something mixed up, so ____ knows.

 

[Dean3]

Maybe the alarm clock actually hit you on the head and you've just woken up?

 

[Gman]

I've had a similar problem where the battery would not release its charge and the notebook would hold a little charge where it would not be enough to power on even though the power would be connected.
So it seemed like the notebook was dead.
Hellbourne had the right idea.
Initially I was stumped, tried different power cords, battery etc

Finally what I did was take out the battery, un plug power cord then press down on all keys for a minute or two to release remaining charge, then I connected power and presto notebook powered on then I inserted battery and it has been fine ever since. ( Mind you I was told to try this by a mate)

The only question I have is when you swapped batteries did you have the power plugged in? more out of curiosity than anything else