power up problems- viral or hardware?

lechoplechop
edited June 2005 in Hardware
have looked at similarly titled threads and can't see a similer prob: basically have five month old dell inspiron laptop. has worked fine until recently when pressing the power on button has become unreliable. sometimes nothing happens, no power light, fan etc, then if i keep pressing it eventually it will start without any apparent problems.

initially i assumed this must be a loose connection and was planning to send the laptop back to dell but am made slightly suspicious because the problem started soon after i got broadband internet connection and because the time taken for the power button to work seems to be increasing each time i try to restart the computer. could this be caused by a virus?

dell haven't been much help and i really need my computer for a project at the moment so am reluctant to send it off for repair unless absolutely necessary. can anyone please give me some advice?

thanks for any posts :)

Comments

  • botheredbothered Manchester UK
    edited June 2005
    I don't think there is a virus that will affect a PC before it has turned on. Sounds like a dirty button. Can you get to the inside of it to clean it?
  • edcentricedcentric near Milwaukee, Wisconsin Icrontian
    edited June 2005
    If it is that new I suspect something in the power system. Most likely just the button, but it is hard to tell.
    Can you ever get it to power up?
    Make sure that you are somewhere that you can leave it pluged in and running.
    Run your anti-virus, with updates, as well as anti-spyware.

    I think that your issue is hardware, returning is your only real option.
  • lechoplechop
    edited June 2005
    thanks for the replies. have tried various system scans, all come up with nothing and i have kept it in a clean enviroment so i don't think it will be dirt under the power button although even if it was i'm not sure how easy it is to get off. had another chat with dell this afternoon and they seem to agree with you that its hardware- they're suggesting a motherboard issue? either way as you say returning it looks like the only option so will have to try and make do without it for a few days. thanks again for the advice.
  • PirateNinjaPirateNinja Icrontian
    edited June 2005
    Dells have a magnetic switch next to their power buttons that are nutorious for getting stuck on. You can flip the little lid off the top of the power button and make sure everything is OK.

    I have my doubts that it is a motherboard issue, thats what Dell says every issue is when it comes to their laptops.
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