My notebook CAN'T STARTUP!

jac · 08-25-2005, 10:41 AM

Hello Everyone,

I have a Compaq Presario 1700. The notebook has given me so much problem from the day I bought it! The motherboard has been replaced TWICE!(Lucky it was under warranty then).

Now my warranty period is over.

Today I was not able to startup my notebook. It did a memory check and hardware check successfully. It then just hung there!

I restarted it again and then I pressed the Del key (correct key?) and tried to go into BIOS. I was not able to access the BIOS setup at all. All the screen shows is "Entering SETUP....." and it hangs there.

Is it a motherboard problem again?

What can I do next?

If it is the problem with the motherboard, how much to have it replaced?

Where to have this replaced? (Other then HP's Customer Service as the replacements konk off fast!)

I would like to have the notebook repaired if it is worth. However, I am keeping my options open to gettting a new notebook if the price for replacement is too expensive.

CAN SOMEONE RECOMMEND A GOOD RELIABLE NOTEBOOK (DEFINITELY NOT ANYTHING RELATED TO COMPAQ!) FOR HOME USER THAT IS AT MID-RANGE.

I appreciate any help I can get. THANKS!

celsdogg · 08-25-2005, 12:55 PM

i hate to say it, but i would never get a compaq anything!

i would honestly say get a new lappy. even if you paid to have it replaced, whos to say how long it will last this time?

i have a toshiba lappy, and it went thru kuwait and iraq with me and is still going strong. that says a lot for a laptop. on top of that, toshiba has great customer service.

jac · 08-25-2005, 03:40 PM

Thanks for the suggestion. I know I will NEVER BUY ANOTHER COMPAQ OR HP NOTEBOOK AGAIN!!

But from my post, could anyone tell me what could be the problem with my notebook. Anyway I can resolve it? I will have to save up to buy a new notebook. In the meantime I would still need to use this one to tide through me till then.

ANYONE? ANY HELP?

DESPERATE!!

alanuofm · 08-25-2005, 04:52 PM

how many sticks of ram do you have? it could possibly be bad ram. if you have two please try each one on its own.

**Lax** · 08-25-2005, 04:56 PM

Quote:

i hate to say it, but i would never get a compaq anything!

I have owned an Armada E500 Compaq notebook for 5 years and it's still going strong.

Quote:

how many sticks of ram do you have? it could possibly be bad ram. if you have two please try each one on its own.

Quote:

Today I was not able to startup my notebook. It did a memory check and hardware check successfully. It then just hung there!

He did a memory check already (I'm assuming with memtest86). If he got 0 errors with both sticks (if he has 2 sticks) he'd get 0 errors on each stick.

As for the problem if could be the HDD/CD drive going down. If you have another laptop HDD you can try in there do that, same goes for a CD rom. Don't go out of your way though because it could also be a ton of other things. As for repairing it, you might just want to buy a new laptop. eMachines, Asus, Acer, HP are all on my list of good laptop companies.

Computer Man5 · 08-25-2005, 06:16 PM

i still have a AST Acentia laptop with a Pentium Pro 75mhz Processor and 64mb ram. 1mb S3 video card. and its still goin strong with original hardware...

jac · 08-26-2005, 02:28 AM

Thanks for your replies!

I would like to ask another question. Please help me understand this.

When I startup my notebook, it does the memory check without any problems.
It then detects the CD-RW drive and the harddisk attached.
It then proceeds to hang there.

So I've tried rebooting and going into BIOS setup by pressing on the DEL key..... NOTHING!

So where is the possible problem.... if it was the HDD, I should still be able to go into BIOS setup, right?

If it is a motherboard problem, it will not successfully run the memory and hardware test, right?

Please help me clear this up. THANKS AGAIN!

**Lax** · 08-26-2005, 02:50 AM

I thought you meant you ram Memtest86 as your memory test. If not run that (www.memtest86) and see if it finds any errors, it should boot to the CD if it's a HDD problem.

jac · 08-26-2005, 04:02 AM

GOT IT SOLVED!!

Thanks to all who help and special THANKS to Lord AnthraX!!

The problem was with the CD-RW.... well somewhat. I had a faulty CD in the drive and I didn't realise it. As Lord AnthraX suggested it could be the HDD/CD drive going down. I remove it and restarted my notebook..... Hey Presto!! IT BOOTED UP!!

While it was in Windows I put the CD-RW drive back and it detected it. I opened up the drive door and Lo and Behold..... a faulty CD was sitting in there!!! Remove it and restarted my notebook this time with the CD-RW drive in it's bay. The notebook started with no problems!!

But I still can't understand why it wouldn't go into BIOS SETUP even if it was a faulty CD in the CD-RW drive. After all my boot sequence was floppy drive, CD drive, HDD. (Oh BTW, I can go into the BIOS SETUP now).

THANKS TO ALL!!!

08-25-2005, 10:41 AM	#1 (permalink)
jac New Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Far side of the world Posts: 11	My notebook CAN'T STARTUP! Hello Everyone, I have a Compaq Presario 1700. The notebook has given me so much problem from the day I bought it! The motherboard has been replaced TWICE!(Lucky it was under warranty then). Now my warranty period is over. Today I was not able to startup my notebook. It did a memory check and hardware check successfully. It then just hung there! I restarted it again and then I pressed the Del key (correct key?) and tried to go into BIOS. I was not able to access the BIOS setup at all. All the screen shows is "Entering SETUP....." and it hangs there. Is it a motherboard problem again? What can I do next? If it is the problem with the motherboard, how much to have it replaced? Where to have this replaced? (Other then HP's Customer Service as the replacements konk off fast!) I would like to have the notebook repaired if it is worth. However, I am keeping my options open to gettting a new notebook if the price for replacement is too expensive. CAN SOMEONE RECOMMEND A GOOD RELIABLE NOTEBOOK (DEFINITELY NOT ANYTHING RELATED TO COMPAQ!) FOR HOME USER THAT IS AT MID-RANGE. I appreciate any help I can get. THANKS!

08-25-2005, 12:55 PM	#2 (permalink)
celsdogg Gold Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Maryland Age: 26 Posts: 306	i hate to say it, but i would never get a compaq anything! i would honestly say get a new lappy. even if you paid to have it replaced, whos to say how long it will last this time? i have a toshiba lappy, and it went thru kuwait and iraq with me and is still going strong. that says a lot for a laptop. on top of that, toshiba has great customer service. __________________ VALERIE - AMD Athlon XP Palomino 1800+, 1GB DDR SDRAM, nVidia GeForceFX 5700 128MB DDR, two 160GB Seagate HDD, two 250GB Seagate HDD, WinXP Pro SARAH (Toshiba Laptop) - Intel Pentium 4 2.8ghz, 512MB DDR SDRAM, Trident Cyberblade XP2 32MB, 60GB Samsung HDD, Ubuntu Linux 7.10 MARGARET - AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+, 2GB Corsair XMS DDR400 Dual Channel, nVidia GeForce 8600GT 256MB GDDR PCIE, 80GB Seagate SATA, 60GB Maxtor PATA, 60GB WD PATA Ubuntu Linux 7.10 + WinXP Pro

08-25-2005, 06:16 PM	#6 (permalink)
Computer Man5 Bronze Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 59	i still have a AST Acentia laptop with a Pentium Pro 75mhz Processor and 64mb ram. 1mb S3 video card. and its still goin strong with original hardware... __________________ ComputerMan5 ____________________ Windows XP SP2 PRO AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Biostar TForce-939 1.5gb PNY/ProMos RAM DDR400 80gb WD Raptor 10K HD w/8mb cache XFX 6800 Xtreme 256mb PCIE x16 500w Coolmax PSU BCC Case Samsung DVD+-RW 16x Asus Quietrack 16x DVD-ROM Sony 52x CD-RW Creative Audigy 2

08-26-2005, 02:50 AM	#8 (permalink)
Lax Moderator Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Snow country Age: 22 Posts: 2,301	I thought you meant you ram Memtest86 as your memory test. If not run that (www.memtest86) and see if it finds any errors, it should boot to the CD if it's a HDD problem. __________________ He who controls the present controls the past. He who controls the past, controls the future.

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08-25-2005, 03:40 PM	#3 (permalink)
jac New Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Far side of the world Posts: 11	Thanks for the suggestion. I know I will NEVER BUY ANOTHER COMPAQ OR HP NOTEBOOK AGAIN!! But from my post, could anyone tell me what could be the problem with my notebook. Anyway I can resolve it? I will have to save up to buy a new notebook. In the meantime I would still need to use this one to tide through me till then. ANYONE? ANY HELP? DESPERATE!!

08-25-2005, 04:52 PM	#4 (permalink)
alanuofm Diamond Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 1,630	how many sticks of ram do you have? it could possibly be bad ram. if you have two please try each one on its own.

08-26-2005, 02:28 AM	#7 (permalink)
jac New Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Far side of the world Posts: 11	Thanks for your replies! I would like to ask another question. Please help me understand this. When I startup my notebook, it does the memory check without any problems. It then detects the CD-RW drive and the harddisk attached. It then proceeds to hang there. So I've tried rebooting and going into BIOS setup by pressing on the DEL key..... NOTHING! So where is the possible problem.... if it was the HDD, I should still be able to go into BIOS setup, right? If it is a motherboard problem, it will not successfully run the memory and hardware test, right? Please help me clear this up. THANKS AGAIN!

08-26-2005, 04:02 AM	#9 (permalink)
jac New Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Far side of the world Posts: 11	GOT IT SOLVED!! Thanks to all who help and special THANKS to Lord AnthraX!! The problem was with the CD-RW.... well somewhat. I had a faulty CD in the drive and I didn't realise it. As Lord AnthraX suggested it could be the HDD/CD drive going down. I remove it and restarted my notebook..... Hey Presto!! IT BOOTED UP!! While it was in Windows I put the CD-RW drive back and it detected it. I opened up the drive door and Lo and Behold..... a faulty CD was sitting in there!!! Remove it and restarted my notebook this time with the CD-RW drive in it's bay. The notebook started with no problems!! But I still can't understand why it wouldn't go into BIOS SETUP even if it was a faulty CD in the CD-RW drive. After all my boot sequence was floppy drive, CD drive, HDD. (Oh BTW, I can go into the BIOS SETUP now). THANKS TO ALL!!!