Help! Laptop DEAD - but which part?

[Phillip]

Hi everyone,

I think I may have either fried the CPU, the motherboard or the
graphics unit on my laptop because now when I turn it on, the power
goes through the laptop but there is not even the single BEEP, and
absolutely nothing comes onto the screen. The fan comes on and goes
off at regular intervals, but I don't think there is any brain
activity. Also the Hard drive does nothing...

I checked the ram, swapped around the modules, but the laptop is still
lifeless.

At the moment I really can't afford to buy a new laptop. But perhaps
if you can guide me to whether its the CPU or mainboard then I can
look for a second hand of my old one... and fit it in, maybe from
Ebay.

Thanks for your help - I have assignments due in very soon so need to
get it up and running again!!

laptop model: Fuijitzu Siemens Amilo A7620

 

[Phillip]

I forget to add: for the past month, the LCD screen had started to
flicker to black during use - but I think it was just the backlight
going because if I looked closely I called still see faint movement on
the screen and everything worked. So even if the backlight had now
totally gone, the laptop should still be otherwise working...

The full spec is here: http://www.ciao.co.uk/Fujitsu_Siemens_AMILO_A_7620__5791906

But, if I wanted to try replacing the entire mainboard and cpu - (mine
are the VIA Apollo KT400A with AMD Athlon XP-M 2600+) I've had a
look on ebay and can't find this mainboard anymore. Processor I can
find. So is there a more modern equivilant I can buy which will
*still* fit my laptop? I don't know about form factors etc with
laptops...

Many thanks!

 

[TOAO]

Hi ... You are probably better off to go to a notebook forum , see if this
forum site can help , Once there look for your brand company forum

http://www.notebookforums.com/

......

 

[Phillip]

-thanks, I will check it out

 

[db]

I really don't think
there is nothing here that
can guide you with this issue.

My guess is that you did
not burn up the cpu nor
is the lcd panel out.

I think it is a harddrive
failure or powersupply.

Again, try to
get into the HD via
emergency boot up disks.
I forget to add: for the past month, the LCD screen had started to
flicker to black during use - but I think it was just the backlight
going because if I looked closely I called still see faint movement on
the screen and everything worked. So even if the backlight had now
totally gone, the laptop should still be otherwise working...

The full spec is here: http://www.ciao.co.uk/Fujitsu_Siemens_AMILO_A_7620__5791906

But, if I wanted to try replacing the entire mainboard and cpu - (mine
are the VIA Apollo KT400A with AMD Athlon XP-M 2600+) I've had a
look on ebay and can't find this mainboard anymore. Processor I can
find. So is there a more modern equivilant I can buy which will
*still* fit my laptop? I don't know about form factors etc with
laptops...

Many thanks!

 

[db]

maybe something here. I briefly read
about pc wizard. But not sure if
creates dos disks to boot up and
begin the testing....

http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/collection/collid,1295-order,1-c,downloads/files.html


"db" <databaseben.discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message I really don't think
there is nothing here that
can guide you with this issue.

My guess is that you did
not burn up the cpu nor
is the lcd panel out.

I think it is a harddrive
failure or powersupply.

Again, try to
get into the HD via
emergency boot up disks.
I forget to add: for the past month, the LCD screen had started to
flicker to black during use - but I think it was just the backlight
going because if I looked closely I called still see faint movement on
the screen and everything worked. So even if the backlight had now
totally gone, the laptop should still be otherwise working...

The full spec is here: http://www.ciao.co.uk/Fujitsu_Siemens_AMILO_A_7620__5791906

But, if I wanted to try replacing the entire mainboard and cpu - (mine
are the VIA Apollo KT400A with AMD Athlon XP-M 2600+) I've had a
look on ebay and can't find this mainboard anymore. Processor I can
find. So is there a more modern equivilant I can buy which will
*still* fit my laptop? I don't know about form factors etc with
laptops...

Many thanks!

 

[TOAO]

Your welcome !

 

[Patrick Keenan]

Hi everyone,

I think I may have either fried the CPU, the motherboard or the
graphics unit on my laptop because now when I turn it on, the power
goes through the laptop but there is not even the single BEEP, and
absolutely nothing comes onto the screen. The fan comes on and goes
off at regular intervals, but I don't think there is any brain
activity. Also the Hard drive does nothing...

I checked the ram, swapped around the modules, but the laptop is still
lifeless.

At the moment I really can't afford to buy a new laptop. But perhaps
if you can guide me to whether its the CPU or mainboard then I can
look for a second hand of my old one... and fit it in, maybe from
Ebay.

Thanks for your help - I have assignments due in very soon so need to
get it up and running again!!

laptop model: Fuijitzu Siemens Amilo A7620

It's possible the laptop is physically damaged, but there is a quick and
very cheap thing you can try that may help.

Remove the power adapter, and then remove the battery. Now, press and
hold the power button for up to one full minute, but not less than 30
seconds.

Now, plug the power adapter back in and try the power switch again. Often,
the laptop will now come on normally.

But If it hasn't worked, unplug it and try holding the power switch again a
couple of times. If it still doesn't work , consider that there is real
damage to the laptop, and switch to data recovery mode.

That means you will remove the hard disk, connect it to another PC, and
copy the contents off while you still can, before you try any other system
recovery processes. Many of those will put the data at risk.

HTH
-pk

 

[Phillip]

THanks everyone for your replies...

I've taken my HDD out, that works just fine when connected to another
computer, so my data is safe.

I tried holding the power button down on the laptop for a minute,
three times - to drain any left power in the system and restart it. No
change unfortunately.

THe laptop still turns on, power goes through it ok, but then nothing
happens or responds. A black screen, no bios details, I don't even
think power is going to the LCD screen.

My guess is it's either the cpu or the mainboard, but problem is I
don't know now where to get hold of the same, or a compatible
mainboard. I mean, if I ordered a modern up to date motherboard would
it fit into the right places in the laptop?

 

[db]

maybe a dead cmos battery.
THanks everyone for your replies...

I've taken my HDD out, that works just fine when connected to another
computer, so my data is safe.

I tried holding the power button down on the laptop for a minute,
three times - to drain any left power in the system and restart it. No
change unfortunately.

THe laptop still turns on, power goes through it ok, but then nothing
happens or responds. A black screen, no bios details, I don't even
think power is going to the LCD screen.

My guess is it's either the cpu or the mainboard, but problem is I
don't know now where to get hold of the same, or a compatible
mainboard. I mean, if I ordered a modern up to date motherboard would
it fit into the right places in the laptop?

 

[Phillip]

Can a dead cmos battery cause nothing to work like this?

-admittedly the laptop is almost 3 years old, but i've never changed
the battery - however I know it was low because the date would often
default back to 1997 or something within windows, so i realised it was
failing...

 

[db]

yes, it is one
possible cause to the
issue you are having.

the failing time was a
clue that you ignored.

they are inexpensive and
worth a try. the size
is inscribed on the battery.
be sure to examine the battery
housing as well for corrosion or
the spring like holders that may
have become worn and unspringy...


Can a dead cmos battery cause nothing to work like this?

-admittedly the laptop is almost 3 years old, but i've never changed
the battery - however I know it was low because the date would often
default back to 1997 or something within windows, so i realised it was
failing...

 

[Patrick Keenan]

THanks everyone for your replies...

I've taken my HDD out, that works just fine when connected to another
computer, so my data is safe.

I tried holding the power button down on the laptop for a minute,
three times - to drain any left power in the system and restart it. No
change unfortunately.

THe laptop still turns on, power goes through it ok, but then nothing
happens or responds. A black screen, no bios details, I don't even
think power is going to the LCD screen.

My guess is it's either the cpu or the mainboard, but problem is I
don't know now where to get hold of the same, or a compatible
mainboard. I mean, if I ordered a modern up to date motherboard would
it fit into the right places in the laptop?

Probably not. It's very common for component and connector layouts to
change, which means that only the original board would fit your case.

It's possible that the screen alone has failed - if your system has a VGA
connector, just attach another monitor and see what happens. You may have
to press some keys to switch the display - this would be marked on the
keyboard. If that works, yes, you might consider that a replacement screen
would solve the problem, but these can be expensive.

HTH
-pk