Does anyone here do laptop repairs?

I've got this shonky old Compaq Armada E500 (actually in really good nick considering the age of it) that I use when I'm down in the garage for reading cd bike manuals - it's packed up on me. I know the battery is fubar so it only ever runs on the mains charger, but now it won't boot up, it gets so far into the sequence then shuts down.

I really do find it invaluable for working and can't afford a new one so looking to get it repaired, even if it means buying a new battery and having someone sort it so it boots up again.

I'm near Bedford if anyone knows someone who can help.

but now it won't boot up, it gets so far into the sequence then shuts down.

How far does it get into the sequence? What does it say

Originally Posted by foxyinleather

but now it won't boot up, it gets so far into the sequence then shuts down.

How far does it get into the sequence? What does it say

Nothing, I have to slect which mode to start in and whatever one I choose it goes as far as the Windows start up screen with the flag and the moving bar below, then changes to a completely blank but backlit screen. At this point there's a noise like a frog ribbitting coming from inside. After about 2 minutes of this the thing shuts down and starts up again automatically asking me to choose 'safe mode' or 'last known good config' etc.

It's peculiar

[SoulKiss]

I usually dont touch laptops, more hassle than worth.

But I'll make an exception for you if you like Lozzo.

Mainly I will be looking to evaluate if its a hardware or software issue,if its hardware you are on your own - getting spares for laptops is difficult and expensive - unless you can find one with a different problem than yours on ebay.....

PM me and we can arrange something

David

Hit it with a hammer.

Originally Posted by K

Hit it with a hammer.

I was thinking more along the lines of erecting a 12 foot solid fence around it with searchlight towers etc etc...but got a bit confused when it came to getting caught having carnal knowledge of a member of its family in a public place.

Originally Posted by SoulKiss

I usually dont touch laptops, more hassle than worth.

But I'll make an exception for you if you like Lozzo.

Mainly I will be looking to evaluate if its a hardware or software issue,if its hardware you are on your own - getting spares for laptops is difficult and expensive - unless you can find one with a different problem than yours on ebay.....

PM me and we can arrange something

David

David, I love you, but you'd have to take your teeth out before I show you just how much.

pm on its way after I wash the pots.

It wont be a battery issue (as you are running on mains).

It could be a few things, but I'd say it was a faulty mother board ... some of the capacitors have blown/boiled on it ...

But that is a hunch from past experience

As mentioned above, you need to isolate if it is hardware or software, presuming it has nothing of any great value on the HD, best way to do this is to try and re install the OS (windows?) if it won't install from the CD then you know it is hardware.

Could be hard drive had a bad sector ...

your first step is to try and re-install/repair off the original windows CD

Originally Posted by K

Hit it with a hammer.

I think I love you K

Yes if it is hardware then I would leave it alone, however if it is software I would suggest wiping your laptop after you have tried the re-install/repair off the original operating system. I have a Killsys disk which would wipe your system in seconds, hmmm could do some really damage in lots of places with that (Used to use it when I was teaching IT.) You would then need to load your operating system etc... and see if that works. A friend of mine had a similar problem with theirs but couldn't get into the F8 options (safe mode etc...) I checked the hardware all seemed fine, so I put in my Killsys disk (as a last resort), wiped it clean, loaded a new operating system etc... and that worked . Call it cheating if you like but if it is a quick fix and works then it is worth it