boot problem

cousinles

I have a compaq presario 2100 laptop AMD that I was using this morning. I closed the lid and left and it went in stand by mode. When I got back to my computer I lifted the screen and it was black and it would not do anything so I reset it. when I turned it back on, it shut off and on repetedly in about one second intervals. It did this about five times then it powered up on a black screen no compaq logo or any thing. when I restart it again it does the same thing over and over any help will be great.

Qeldroma

Understand Cuz, that I'm not one of the techno-wizzes here, and one may respond soon enough, but a couple of things you might try -

Make sure your laptop is off or inactive (be sure you have no flashing disk lights or a chattering disk) and that the AC cord is not attached. Remove the battery for about a minute then replace it. This does a power reset and may clear out a quirk. (When my laptop gets stubborn or stuck, this seems to work all the time).

Laptop models are almost as different as people and the techs here may not be familiar with it. If the above doesn't work or it seems to be a persistent problem, be sure you contact Compaq laptop tech support- they may think of something right away.

cousinles

Thanks for your replay. I did contact compaq tech suport and they told me the same thing you did and it did not work. Then they told me to send it to a on site service center for repairs. I do not want to spend hundreds of dollars to fix it I would rather buy a new one if I cant fix it my self. and it does not look good i guess i better start saving.

Qeldroma

Okay. . The only time I would see something like you are is when the warm-start button on my PC was stuck. The reset you are talking about - is that like a button that could be jammed? If it is, try tapping or moving it around to see if it pops out.

And don't give up yet. Keep posting if you're still stuck. If someone knows something, they may chime in anytime.

cousinles

The reset button is was a good suggestion, tried it and not that

Qeldroma

Can you get anywhere with your display- BIOS (Del or F2 or something like that) during boot? Safe Mode (F8 a little after boot)?

zero-counter

I am wondering...if you have this plugged into the wall or running straight off the battery. If the latter, then charge the battery by leaving it plugged in for about 2hrs and then try turning on (if you don't see the charge indicator light up, then we just found the problem). Otherwise, remove the battery and run directly off the AC power supply and retry the same. This process will determine if there is a problem with the battery, the AC input, or both. If still nothing, ensure that the AC input is not damaged, bent, etc.
The right angle power plug has been an achilles heel for that series as it is easy to break, based on its location. It may need to be serviced if this turns out to be your issue. The AC adapter plug in tends to become unseated, causing all sorts of problems.

Other issues with these have been cpu related.

If it is still under warranty, then I recommend that you ship it in once you have an idea of what is going on.

cousinles

I already tested the battery and ac power supply and they are both good. No i can not go into my bios or safemode my screen is just black. I do not think it is a display problem otherwise I would here windows boot up with that little tune that it makes when it starts. My laptop is not under waranty so I am screwed there that is why i am trying to fix it my self. It dont work now so how can I make it any worst? so I figured it was worth a try. I am not lost with electronic things I have modded my ps2 and stuff like that and also I am an electrician so if somebody can point me in the right direction I think I can handle it. If not it will be a learning expereince. Thanks again for all of your time trying to help me.

Qeldroma

Sorry to hear it Cuz. I thought Zero had some good stuff.

However, I did a little homework that might help Zero or someone else- you actually have a history that could well be related and important (if not vital) to the techies- here are the links:

http://www.short-media.com/forum/showthread.php?t=37067

http://www.short-media.com/forum/showthread.php?t=37339

Right now I'm out of ideas (except maybe for a complete revisit, review and redo of what you did or seeing what you can score on E-Bay).

That being said, please be sure to include any and all information of immediate history (generally people just reuse their original thread). Hopefully a tech will come along and find a clue -

Hope this turns out well -

zero-counter

Qeldroma wrote:

Sorry to hear it Cuz. I thought Zero had some good stuff.

However, I did a little homework that might help Zero or someone else-

Thanks, but my post covered those aspects of his problem already. I am steering toward the power issue though. Just be careful when you open the laptop and check for anything out of the ordinary.

Qeldroma

Qeldroma wrote:

Right now I'm out of ideas ...

I take it back- I do have a shot in the dark. How did you take and clean the pad and old compound off your Heatsink? CPU?

zero-counter

Actually, the troubleshooting steps for the CPU can be googled quite easily. The toshiba forum has an outline for it.

cousinles

I left the old pad on there I never took it off

Qeldroma

Maybe pursue the power path more as zero suggested. I'm not sure how you tested these before, but maybe try another adapter and/or battery if you haven't?

Okay, at this point I may be out of ideas, but my shot in the dark was based on your having removed the heatsink from the cpu. After rereading your posts, I'm not sure you did, but you did find a stripped screw whose apparent replacement may have helped reconnect your heatsink to your cpu.

You may try to remove, clean and reseat your heatsink/fan to your CPU anyhow with a quality thermal compound like Artic Silver 5- AS5- (they have a fair website procedure). This could nix the overheat possibility

I'm hoping one of the tech wizzes here might pick this up and have some other input.

Hope you get it goin -

cousinles

Maybe I did not explain very good in my previous posts. When I turn my computer on it restarts like five times about a second in between starts, then it stays on the screen is just black and it does not boot into anything. My AC power lights are on and when pull The AC plug the battery takes over so I figured this norrows out being a power problem. because the computer stays on I figured this would narrow out the over heating problem. I could be wrong let me know what you think