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Laptop wont boot!

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by mikeytino

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I have a Compaq Presario 1220 Laptop. It has a Cyrix 200mhz chip in it. It was locking up, so I thought I'd try another chip to help performance, and put a Intel Pentium 75 in it. From then on, it wouldnt boot. IT powers up, but nothing on the screen, I checked all the cables and everything is plugged in right and connected ok, and the old chip is back in, but not a thing on the screen when I press power. Not a battery issue, it's plugged in and I see the power light come on, and hear the HD initialize... is it fried? Or did I forget something?

7 replies

by techdictator

Does this describe what's going on:

Compaq FAQ: My system beeps when I turn it on and I get no display (FAQ661)
The beeping at the beginning indicates that the unit may have hardware problems and it did not pass Power On Self Test(POST) You should call Tech support or bring it to a service center in you are to have the system looked at.

by meltvn

Try using an external monitor connected to your laptop, also check that your chip is properly loced into the socket some of the laptops does not have the lock handle on the side you got to move it manualy

by mikeytino

Thanks. Unfortunately, it still isn't booting... The chip is secured and I tried the monitor. Compaq wats $700 for a stupid motherboard! Any other ideas?

by sativocomputerservices

Compaq has been notorious for not allowing hardware upgrades to its laptops, but anyway, that doesn't fix your problem. What has most liekly happened is that you are undervolting the 75 processor. This has caused a little overheating because the caps had to work extra hard to push the Intel voltage. What I would try, and this is certainly a long shot, but remove the motherboard and lightly, and I do mean LIGHTLY, brush some steel wool over the soldered side of the board. Just enough pressure to brush through the soldered pins. You are probably thinking I am nuts but what you are trying to do is discharge the capacitors so they do not lock the voltage in. I have saved many NIC cards by brushing the back sides and it may work. Do not forget to remove the board before you do and disconenct it from all power including battery. If you cross the right cap you might just be able to use your old chip.

by mikeytino

Thank you all for the help, unfortunately I was forced to send the laptop to the graveyard. I hope these answers will help someone with a similar problem.

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