Windows 8 Wife's laptop Dead?

[MikeHawthorne]

Hi

My wife's laptop just booted to a black screen.
No Dell logo pops up, no nothing.

I've removed and replaced the battery, restarted it multiple times and tried the f8 ad f12 keys.

But there is no display at all.

It crashed in a similar way last week, but there was a display and eventually I got it working again.
The good news is that last week when I got it back into Windows I backed everything important up to an external hard drive.

I'm guessing it's time for a new computer, this one is about 5 and gets used every day.

But if anyone has any ideas let me know, I'm going to wait until tomorrow to look for a new one.

Mike

 

[strollin]

Is it just the display? Does it sound like it continues to boot but without output to the display? You might try hooking up an external monitor to see if displays there. It might just need a new backlight for the built-in display.

 

[davehc]

imo. If you had the same problem and got it working again, then the fix should not be too expensive. I am fortunate that my son is a Dell field repair man. So I would open the darn thing up and clean everything in sight, with the comfort that he could bail me out, if needed. Try out Strollins suggestion first, and see if you can get a lead on the problem. I spoke to my son, who said it could be any number of reasons, but he did suggest that it may be the display connection to the computer, which is apparently in the hinges somewhere. If, as Strollin suggests, you can here it booting, then that sounds likely. If it isn't booting, on the other hand, then my immediate thought is that the hard disk may have been a little dislodged.

 

[MikeHawthorne]

Hi

I'm pretty sure that it's not booting.

I see that I wasn't really clear about what happened, I should have said that it booted to a black screen with an error message saying that it couldn't find an OS and wanted to enter setup.

I did that, and then exited and and tried to boot again.

This happened a week ago the same way but after removing the battery and selecting "Last good configuration I did finally get it to boot.

Once I had it running I hooked up an external hard drive and backed up everything on it before shutting it down again.

It seemed to be OK for a week but then it did it again, same message etc, only this time after exiting setup and rebooting I got no video at all.

The lights come on, I can hear the hard drive running but no beeps or anything.

I think that we have decided to go on Saturday and look for a new 17" laptop (maybe a Toshiba this time) to replace it.

I would try harder to get it fixed if I hadn't backed it all up last week but since the data is intact and the computer is 5 years old it's easier to just replace it.

I also have the option of removing the hard drive from it and if the hard drive is OK, I can plug it into my PC and copy any data off of it if I've missed anything.

If I took it to have it fixed it would probably cost at least half the cost of a new one anyway and I'd still have a lot of 5 year old components.

I really miss CompUSA, I used to go there for all my computer stuff, but now the only option around here is Best Buy.

I'd order one online but I've had several dead new computers, and had to return them.

That happened with the Dell my wife has now, so it's a lot easier to just run back to Best Buy then to have to go through the whole shipping it back thing. I have to add that the dead computers were all Dells. LOL

Thanks for the input guys.

Mike

 

[davehc]

OK. Good luck on your proposed purchase. I did once buy an Acer 17inch. In the end I decided the brute was only pretending to be a laptop so I hooked it up as a stationary - - LOL

 

[Sonny]

Mike I don't know if this would help but mine has been going to a black screen every three or four days. What I had to do was go into my setup and make sure the windows bootmanager was enabled. For some reason it won't stay enabled.

 

[MikeHawthorne]

Hi Sonny

Mary's laptop has no display at all, so I can't even get into setup.
The Dell splash screen doesn't even come up.

To Davehc

Mary already has a 17" laptop.
She never moves it from where is sits on her desk.
She really uses it like a PC.

Mike

 

[rubiks]

Have you tried connecting to a monitor and see if anything shows on There? When take battery out press power button for minimum 30 seconds and put battery and power back on and try.if nothing helps then could be motherboard problem,graphics so bit expensive to repair.

Sent from my C6603 using Tapatalk

 

[MikeHawthorne]

I'm pretty sure that it's the motherboard, as it didn't start with the video problem but he bios not being able to find the OS.
But I'll give your suggestion a try.

Otherwise it's too old the pay to fix it.

Time for a new one.

The joke here is that I'm the computer geek, and I have one PC.

My wife on the other hand could care less about computers and essentially has 3 of them.
Her Laptop, her iPad, and her iPhone. LOL

Mike

 

[davehc]

I've got the same problem, MIke.
My wife doesn't know a plug from a socket, but I always have to dip into my wallet for the latest technology. Currently two laptops and three mobile phones.
I battle along with my single , ten year old, mobile,

 

[Drew]

Mike,

After 5 years & w/ all the data intact, maybe just give it a nice burial in the backyard. There are too many things it could be and not worth busting your head struggling w/ it. It has not lost physical connectivity to the screen, maybe the M/B, more sounds like the HDD is giving up the ghost. At any rate, replacing it would be my recommendation if you & your wife were customers of mine.

Now, IF, it is going to be another laptop I'm going to say a couple things, even though some may not agree. You mentioned Toshiba and they can be ok. The brand I am the most enthusiastic about is ASUS for many reasons... they are excellent machines, great warranty & terrific customer service. Acers are 'entry level' machines, enough said. And, now, this I will say and for this discussion w/out going into all the reasons why, ( and it's the part to which some may not agree) but, I do not recommend HP or Dell (no offence to my friend David or his son).

The other thing you might consider, Mike, is that if Mary keeps her machine stationary, maybe would make good sense to have a PC built for her. I'm not a big fan of off-the-shelf, pre-loaded machines. You can have good bang for your buck, they are easy to clean, easy to repair and easy to upgrade or modify as time and technology tics along.

Cheers,
Drew

 

[MikeHawthorne]

Hi Drew

She need a laptop because of the area she uses it in.

It sits on her desk in the kitchen, her printer is under the desk, (which is built in, there's is no room under it to put a PC), and the desktop space is limited.

She just folds it up when she isn't using it and our cat sleeps on it.

I'll take a look at Asus, I have an Asus 27" monitor and my PC has an Asus motherboard.
I'm happy with both, we are going shopping tomorrow.

I think we'll start at Costco and see what they have before we go to Best Buy.

I agree about HP and Dell, I used to buy Dells and Mary's laptop is a Dell Studio 17, but I've had several of them arrive dead.

The last one I bought for myself, a Dell XPS, I had to be on the phone for 7 hours, and finally ended up, typing in code that the guy dictated to me to get it to boot. I think we typed in the whole boot sector.

I had a expensive HP large format scanner.
When I switched from Windows XP to Windows 7 they just told me that they don't have drivers for for Windows 7 for my scanner, and don't plan to do so. I gave it to a friend who was still running XP.

Last HP product I bought.

As I said, I really miss CompUSA, I used to get everything there.
They had people who really know what they were talking about.

I remember the first time I went there, I had already gone to Best Buy to get a cable for my new scanner, the one mentioned above.

After almost a hour there and having them try and sell me the wrong thing twice, and put several cables together to get the correct ends I gave up and went to CompUSA for the first time.

I told the guy "I need a cable for an HP scanner".
He walked over to the rack and said here it is.
It said right on the package "HP Scanner Cable".

From then on I was a steady customer until they went out of business.
Too bad that price trumps quality.

It's like all of our local computer builders, all driven out of business by the $300 computers from the discount stores.

Now only Best Buy is left around here.

Mike

 

[Drew]

That's too bad, Mike. Needless to say I am not a big fan of big-box stores like Best Buy or their staff. I do hope you will find & buy an ASUS that you like; you will never regret it! Their laptops are not only excellent but, extremely well built, well constructed. Believe me I've had both ASUS & other brand laptops opened up and the materials, sturdiness & sophistication of them comparatively is like night & day. They, also, have one of the best warranties in the industry. 1st year even, and this is rare, includes Accidental Damage replacement coverage ie. if the cat pushes it off onto the floor. And another aspect is screen replacement if there is even 1 bad or missing pixel. ASUS laptop cooling is fantastic, use one for hours and one won't feel any heat from it. I could go on & on but, they are fine, fine, machines.

I've sold several to clients of mine and they have always been so very happy & impressed w/ them.

I am very interested to know how you fare and what you end up getting.

Oh yeah and that scenario you had w/ the HP large format scanner... HP is infamous for driver issues like that or the lack thereof. I've run into it countless times. I recall few years ago 2 or 3 months after Windows 7 was released a customer's HP Desktop had to be rebuilt. It was not running 7 but, it was a good opportunity to rebuild it to or w/ 7. I knew that after the install, Win7 drivers would be needed... except... good ole HP had none offered or available for 7.

Yep, I'm sure, over the years, I've dealt w/ more screwed up Dells & HPs than any other brand. And after the hell I've gone through on behalf of clients w/ HPs customer service, I wouldn't wish it on anyone.

Cheers,
Drew

 

[Robertwav1]

Hey Mike, Hey all,

I haven't seen it mentioned here unless I missed it. I've done about 20 repairs on several notebooks and or laptops. I don't know if the term "Reflow" is familiar here so I'll elaborate a little. Most of the main boards have a heat issue over time allowing the solder joints to deteriorate. This involves tearing the laptop down to the main board so it can be reflowed in an oven. Yes....it has to be baked. The temp is 385° for a total of 8 minutes, enough for the solder to "reflow". The proc as well as plastic and tape must be removed. Several videos on youtube for the process which I recommend you take a look at. I believe I had a failure on one. It's a little daunting taking apart a laptop but it's really easy if you use youtube. By the way, this works on a lot of electronic devices that may falter over time due to heat. Most of the time it's the video chip bridge that's the culprit. Good Luck!

 

[rubiks]

The reflow repair will work but no good in a long run. It comes back. Reballing yes but not at home,so is paying the expert to do the job.

Sent from my C6603 using Tapatalk

 

[davehc]

Agreed, rubik. Been there, done that. - But a long time ago. I have done it more than once, the result, unless you get lucky, lasts only a few days or weeks.

 

[Robertwav1]

I have a few going over a year now. The job can't be rushed and have to follow the cooling procedure correctly. There are places that do it professionally for a reasonable price.

 

[rubiks]

Reflow can guarantee has no more then 10% guarantee to last. Experience on xboxes I've done. I do the reballing job now and still can not be guaranteed for longer then 3 months as the chipsets are not great once they go they can create faults.

Sent from my C6603 using Tapatalk

 

[MikeHawthorne]

Hi Everyone.

I just ordered a new ...
ASUS X750JA-DB71 17.3-Inch Laptop. for my wife to replace her Dell that died.

This is on you, Drew, it better be good! LOL

Mike

Link Removed


Specs...


Screen Size

17.3 inches

Screen Resolution

1600 x 900

Max Screen Resolution

1600*900 pixels

Processor

2.4 GHz Core i7-4700HQ

RAM

8 GB DDR3

Memory Speed

1600 MHz

Hard Drive

1 TB

Wireless Type

802.11bgn

Number of USB 2.0 Ports

2

Number of USB 3.0 Ports

2


Other Technical Details

Brand Name

Asus

Series

ASUS X Series

Item model number

X750JA-DB71

Hardware Platform

PC

Operating System

Windows 8

Item Weight

6.2 pounds

Item Dimensions L x W x H

16.30 x 10.60 x 1.20 inches

Color

Dark Gray

Processor Brand

Intel

Processor Count

4

Computer Memory Type

DDR3 SDRAM

Hard Drive Interface

Serial ATA

Hard Drive Rotational Speed

5400 RPM

Optical Drive Type

DVD Super Multi

Batteries:

1 Lithium ion batteries required. (included)