My Laptop Does Not Power Up

[moviebuff2]

I have a Compaq laptop, model Armada M700. It was working just fine several days ago. Today, when I turn it on using its own AC adapter, the power light and battery light keep blinking and nothing else. My battery has been dead for years and I don't intend replacing it. I have been powering my laptop with its own adapter for years without problems.

Can someone tell me what may go wrong?

[SLK001]

The AC adapter is charging the battery whenever it is plugged in to the "AC IN" port. If your battery develops a shorted cell (which your battery may have done), it will convert all available power into heat, and not leave enough to power the unit.

Does the battery get abnormally hot now?

[normcar]

Reseat your memory. I had the same problem, and reseating the memory worked. On laptops, the memory modules can disconnect from the connectors with vibration over time.

[moviebuff2]

Thanks for the responses.

I have tried to remove and reattach RAMs. It did not work. The same thing keeps coming back. Power & battery lights keep blinking and nothing else.

[redwudz]

Is there a reset switch on the bottom or the side of the laptop? I had an older laptop that needed resetting occasionally when it refused to boot. Look for a small hole, usually near the left hand side. It should even say 'reset'. Worth a try.

[macrovision]

Try removing the batt if it's in the unit....remove the power cable and press/hold the power button for about 4 minutes.....take the memory modules out...insert the power cable and power up the unit. remember to keep the memory modules out... If it powers up it won't stay on...it'll turn off as soon as the lcd lights up. Re-insert the memory and try powering up. LOL!

[moviebuff2]

LOL! I tried it anyway. It did not work.

However, I found out the blinking power light indicates the machine is in suspend mode. I am trying to find a way to get it out of this mode without being powered up.

Any ideas, anyone?

[SLK001]

You might want to reset your CMOS memory by removing the battery and letting the memory discharge. You'll have to re-enter everything, but the machine might power up.

You may need to replace your CMOS battery if that works.

[moviebuff2]

Thanks. Do you mean I will lose everything in my hard drive?

[redwudz]

Resetting your BIOS will ONLY reset your BIOS settings. It will have no effect on the info on the hard drive. Perfectly safe. You should take note of your BIOS settings first so you can get back to the same place, as it resets everything to default. BTW, did you look for a reset switch? When my laptop is stuck in suspend mode, that's how I get it back.

[moviebuff2]

Thanks, I did and that did not help. My computer cannot be powered up, and I don't know what my current BIOS set up is. I think I will lose all my BIOS set up (if I had set it up differently from the default). This Compaq is a POS! It has been giving me more headache than my cheaper AMS. No wonder why the company ceased to exist (or as some may say, swallowed by HP which also makes junky laptops).

[HillJack]

I have a Compaq laptop, model Armada M700. It was working just fine several days ago. Today, when I turn it on using its own AC adapter, the power light and battery light keep blinking and nothing else. My battery has been dead for years and I don't intend replacing it. I have been powering my laptop with its own adapter for years without problems.

Can someone tell me what may go wrong?

I had a similar problem a few days ago with my eMachine laptop. I had just installed Fedora Core 3 and tried Stand-by mode (well, Suspend actually) and my laptop wouldn't start back up at all from suspend mode - it would "start" but just beep at me. I removed the battery and unplugged the power cord for a couple mins, plugged the power cord back in (sans-battery) and it fired up no problems.