Laptop Problem - Compaq Presario 2100 Won't Boot

[Hercule Poirot]

simply put it, when trying to switch on my brother's laptop it would go on/off/on/off/on and then stays on but nothing appears on the screen (though we can hear the laptop humming ), I am wondering if the batteries are simply to be replaced but probably there are other causes, one of you guys might help me in finding out the problem before I have to head of for the technician who's going to cost me $$$.

by the way it's a compaq presario 2100

thanks for your help

 

[comwiz72]

if you have it connected to the mains and it happens, then its not the batteries.

does it bleep or anything, or any screen flickering?

 

[Hercule Poirot]

it still happens when connected to the mains, i just checked, so it's not the batteries

the screen doesn't turn on at all, nor do i hear any particular bleeps

 

[Hercule Poirot]

anyone else has an idea

 

[Anttech]

Dunno... Motherboard could have some problems... You say you arent seeing anything at all?

I'd open it up and check screen is adequetly connected to the video out on the motherboard.. Failling that I would suggest you get a tech to look at the screen, if you arent hearing any beeps, then my guess would be either the video card is acting up or the screen has gone...

 

[xPAGANx]

Make sure it isn't hung up in standby mode. Unplug, pull the battery. Put the battery back in. Plug it in. Power it on. If the black screen hangs, hold the power button in until it shuts off. Then turn it back on and see what happens.

 

[Moonbear]

Well, I had an old laptop that did that (still does it)...I don't know anything about the guts of computers, but since it was beyond the warranty when it started, I decided to poke around inside it. Turns out that there's a card that has a tendency to ever so slightly pop out of its slot, and for some reason it did it every time the laptop was moved anywhere, so just opening it and checking that all the connections are tight might be a good place to start.

The only other time a laptop did that to me, both the motherboard and harddrive were fried (it was a shared lab computer and apparently the person who had borrowed it ahead of me was rather rough on it ).