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help, my laptop won't boot!!

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by joeweiner27

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hi,

i just bought a used dell laptop CPi model, and it worked ok for the first few weeks. then it started running intermittently rough. then last night, it would not boot. it would not even get to the POST process. i see the LED lights go on, then 3 seconds later the machine shuts off. i tested the power supply and it works fine. i'm thinking it could be the bios, or worse perhaps the processor is spent. anyone have any experience with this? any advice would be totally appreciated.

thanks!!
joe

4 replies

by jellimonsta

SO it does not get as far as the post, or does it not completely get through the post? Do you hear any beeps? If you hear the single beep when it has checked video and RAM then that should be OK. If you are hearing a series of beeps (which I doubt as you did not state that fact), then it could be a memory or processor problem.
It does not sound as though it is trying to load the BIOS, does the hard disk drive spin up at all?
How old is this system? will it still be covered under any warranty?Did you buy it refurbished from Dell or another reseller? If so and you have had it less the 90 maybe you can get some assistance from Dell?

by will_b

My dell laptop has the exact same problem periodically. After a few attempts at booting the laptop, this problem goes away, and the laptop boots. Not sure what is exactly going on internally. They must have some flaw in the laptop, you should let their customer support know about this issue.

by rsanchezp

When experiencing this problem is always important to check the manufacture website for BIOS update.

I recently fixed a friends laptop from Toshiba that was experiencing many problems until it came to the point that it would not boot. I even tried to re-install the O/S and wouldn't let me finish half-way through the process.

I just went to toshiba website on my next PC and found that there was a newer BIOS verion. I updated the system and i had no problems afterwards. Doesn't hurt to do a search for an updated BIOS version for your system.

by john.murphy

It may well be a battery problem. The laptop you mentioned is second hand, and the battery will not last forever, there are only so many charging cycles it will take. Even when plugged in to the mains, a dud battery can sometimes stop the unit from booting.

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