Laptop Dead, No Power, No Lights, No Nothing! Please Help!!!!

pctechnics · 14-12-2005, 02:27 PM

hi, can anyone help me?
i have a sony vaio PCG F801A laptop which for some reason will not power up whatsoever. there are no lights, no fan spin, no beeps, no nothing. i have tried the power supply on other laptops and they all work fine. i have also tried a different power supply on the dead laptop but still nothing.
as i have not managed to turn on this laptop i have no idea as to what bios it uses etc. all i can tell you is that it has a Mobile AMD K6-2 processor running at 533 Mhz.
i have removed all drives etc to see if it will turn on using just the "bare bones" but still nothing.
does anyone have any ideas as to what the problem might be? is the motherboard screwed or is maybe the cmos battery dead (would that cause no power?)

any ideas on this matter would be greatly appreciated,

cheeers, scott (pctechnics)

megamaced · 14-12-2005, 09:50 AM

What were you doing when the laptop died? One day it worked and the next day it didn't?

I don't think the BIOS has anything to do with your fault. I am not familiar with your laptop, but i suspect a bad motherboard. Sorry!

Addis · 14-12-2005, 10:12 AM

Are you sure your AC adapter was working properly? Maybe it wasn't and you were draining your battery until it completely died.

megamaced · 14-12-2005, 10:20 AM

I'm glad you brought up batteries. You have reminded me of an old Compaq Armada laptop that wouldn't turn on with the battery attached, no matter whether it was powered via AC or not. I think this was down either to a bad battery, or bad battery connectors on the laptop.

Try taking the battery off, and see if it works with AC

If you've had the battery off all this time, try putting it on and see if it charges.

pctechnics · 14-12-2005, 11:48 AM

hi again, i purchased the laptop as faulty from a computer fair so i have no idea what the person was doing prior to it dying. its cosmetic condition is excellant so if i could get it working id much rather keep it instead of breaking it down for parts.

i have tried it with the battery(not even any charging lights come on), without the battery, i have left it plugged in overnight (again with the battery and without the battery) but to still no avail!

do you think it could be something to do with the battery connectors on the motherboard as megamaced suggested. do you think the circuit might be broken if there is damage to those connections on the motherboard and if so could i somehow "bridge the gap" in the circuit with a metal conductor(paper clip etc) to see if that will at least put some power in the system?

cheers

megamaced · 16-12-2005, 04:55 PM

Like I said before, you probably have a dead mobo.
Who knows what has happened to it? Someone might have spilt 10 Gallons of Pepsi over it, who knows?

Have you taken it all to bits?
Have a look for any loose wires, or any cracks on the PCB.

Big B · 16-12-2005, 09:30 PM

It could be anything from a bad power connector on the laptop to the motherboard being bad...it's really hard to say other than that I hope you didn't spend more than $20 on a faulty K6 laptop. The repairs could be rather expensive, and likely not worth the cost considering the low value of the system.

pctechnics · 19-12-2005, 05:18 PM

hi everyone, thanks for the responses.

i have had it all apart and cannot see any damage whatsoever. it looks in mint condition.
someone in another forum had the same problem and they solved it by removing the cmos battery and then replacing it after 15 mins. i tried this but sadly it did not do anything for my situation. does anyone know if it would make any difference if i put a new cmos battery in, just in case the present one is completely dead? or would the cmos battery not have anything to do with it and the other guy just got lucky!

if anyone does have any more thoughts or ideas then please let me know,

cheers, scott

sabashuali · 19-12-2005, 06:16 PM

Does your mobo has an indicator green LED?

Some mobo's have them (like in the old Compaq evo PII and III).

The only way to make sure power actualy reaches the mobo....
If there is one and it's off then either power supply or indeed, dead board.

Just a thought.....

megamaced · 20-12-2005, 05:13 AM

Some computers won't start with a dead CMOS battery, and others will. I had an old Compaq Armada laptop with a dead battery, it would start but required you to change the date and time every time you turned it on.

You should probably buy a new battery and see. They are so cheap, only £1 for about 5! You need to get a CR2032 battery. Alternatively, just do a search on eBay for 'CMOS battery'.

pctechnics · 20-12-2005, 03:51 PM

hi again,

im gonna get a battery tomorrow so i will keep you posted!

cheers again, scott

dave 09 · 19-09-2009, 03:50 PM

Hello All , sorry if i am a little late on this topic but i just joined this great forum and have a similar problem

i have a Acer Aspire 5720z i picked up as spares with the intention to get it going for the Wife, it is totally dead with no lights no nothing

reading posts here, a few suggest motherboard battery, However i think this is very unlikely as you can remove the bios battery and machine will still work as normal, only your bios forgets the settings you saved, so resets the bios after you power off

upto now i have tried resitting the Ram , removing the HDD, Battery, and basically every port on the board, also i have swapped the power jack plug ( as they dont solder on these

) i have held down the power switch for over 1 minute without the battery or AC connected

so now i know its a motherboard fault ! the problem is how do i fix ?
i believe it could be a fuse on the board but i dont know how to locate them or what to look for, i have looked for bad solder, liquid damage etc... but nothing seems to be bad

if anybody can help it would be greatly apreciated

i have recently ( last few days ) bought a multi-meter but not a clue how to use as no instructions came with it lol

14-12-2005, 02:27 PM	# 1 (permalink) Top
pctechnics Geek Trainee Join Date: Nov 2005 Gender: Posts: 10 Status: Offline	Laptop Dead, No Power, No Lights, No Nothing! Please Help!!!! hi, can anyone help me? i have a sony vaio PCG F801A laptop which for some reason will not power up whatsoever. there are no lights, no fan spin, no beeps, no nothing. i have tried the power supply on other laptops and they all work fine. i have also tried a different power supply on the dead laptop but still nothing. as i have not managed to turn on this laptop i have no idea as to what bios it uses etc. all i can tell you is that it has a Mobile AMD K6-2 processor running at 533 Mhz. i have removed all drives etc to see if it will turn on using just the "bare bones" but still nothing. does anyone have any ideas as to what the problem might be? is the motherboard screwed or is maybe the cmos battery dead (would that cause no power?) any ideas on this matter would be greatly appreciated, cheeers, scott (pctechnics)

14-12-2005, 10:12 AM	# 3 (permalink) Top
Addis The King Join Date: Jan 2004 Age: 19 Male Posts: 5,260 Times Helpful: 404 My Mood: Drunk Status: Offline My Computer	Are you sure your AC adapter was working properly? Maybe it wasn't and you were draining your battery until it completely died. __________________ Never trust a program you don't have the source code for. My website \| Powerful Desktop Linux \| Linux for human beings \| Linux for power users \| Linux for ricers

16-12-2005, 09:30 PM	# 7 (permalink) Top
Big B HWF Godfather Join Date: Dec 2001 Age: 29 Male Posts: 9,721 Times Helpful: 594 My Mood: Devilish Status: Offline My Computer	It could be anything from a bad power connector on the laptop to the motherboard being bad...it's really hard to say other than that I hope you didn't spend more than $20 on a faulty K6 laptop. The repairs could be rather expensive, and likely not worth the cost considering the low value of the system. __________________ Hardware Forums\|HWF Rules\|My DVD's\|PSU FAQ\|HWF Folding Team

19-12-2005, 06:16 PM	# 9 (permalink) Top
sabashuali Ani Ma'amin Join Date: May 2005 Age: 42 Male Posts: 1,723 Times Helpful: 89 My Mood: Psychadelic Status: Offline My Computer	Does your mobo has an indicator green LED? Some mobo's have them (like in the old Compaq evo PII and III). The only way to make sure power actualy reaches the mobo.... If there is one and it's off then either power supply or indeed, dead board. Just a thought..... __________________ This is not a PC friendly user!!! "...when you find someone you really love, all the rest is just... other stuff." - *Leanne Anika Battersby* "..and no one will know my name until it's on a stone..." - e Help with digital video? Help My Mini City to grow Hit or Miss

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14-12-2005, 09:50 AM	# 2 (permalink) Top
megamaced Geek Geek Geek! Join Date: Nov 2005 Age: 25 Male Posts: 3,485 Times Helpful: 353 My Mood: Fine Status: Offline My Computer	What were you doing when the laptop died? One day it worked and the next day it didn't? I don't think the BIOS has anything to do with your fault. I am not familiar with your laptop, but i suspect a bad motherboard. Sorry!

14-12-2005, 10:20 AM	# 4 (permalink) Top
megamaced Geek Geek Geek! Join Date: Nov 2005 Age: 25 Male Posts: 3,485 Times Helpful: 353 My Mood: Fine Status: Offline My Computer	I'm glad you brought up batteries. You have reminded me of an old Compaq Armada laptop that wouldn't turn on with the battery attached, no matter whether it was powered via AC or not. I think this was down either to a bad battery, or bad battery connectors on the laptop. Try taking the battery off, and see if it works with AC If you've had the battery off all this time, try putting it on and see if it charges.

14-12-2005, 11:48 AM	# 5 (permalink) Top
pctechnics Geek Trainee Join Date: Nov 2005 Gender: Posts: 10 Status: Offline	hi again, i purchased the laptop as faulty from a computer fair so i have no idea what the person was doing prior to it dying. its cosmetic condition is excellant so if i could get it working id much rather keep it instead of breaking it down for parts. i have tried it with the battery(not even any charging lights come on), without the battery, i have left it plugged in overnight (again with the battery and without the battery) but to still no avail! do you think it could be something to do with the battery connectors on the motherboard as megamaced suggested. do you think the circuit might be broken if there is damage to those connections on the motherboard and if so could i somehow "bridge the gap" in the circuit with a metal conductor(paper clip etc) to see if that will at least put some power in the system? cheers

16-12-2005, 04:55 PM	# 6 (permalink) Top
megamaced Geek Geek Geek! Join Date: Nov 2005 Age: 25 Male Posts: 3,485 Times Helpful: 353 My Mood: Fine Status: Offline My Computer	Like I said before, you probably have a dead mobo. Who knows what has happened to it? Someone might have spilt 10 Gallons of Pepsi over it, who knows? Have you taken it all to bits? Have a look for any loose wires, or any cracks on the PCB.

19-12-2005, 05:18 PM	# 8 (permalink) Top
pctechnics Geek Trainee Join Date: Nov 2005 Gender: Posts: 10 Status: Offline	hi everyone, thanks for the responses. i have had it all apart and cannot see any damage whatsoever. it looks in mint condition. someone in another forum had the same problem and they solved it by removing the cmos battery and then replacing it after 15 mins. i tried this but sadly it did not do anything for my situation. does anyone know if it would make any difference if i put a new cmos battery in, just in case the present one is completely dead? or would the cmos battery not have anything to do with it and the other guy just got lucky! if anyone does have any more thoughts or ideas then please let me know, cheers, scott

20-12-2005, 05:13 AM	# 10 (permalink) Top
megamaced Geek Geek Geek! Join Date: Nov 2005 Age: 25 Male Posts: 3,485 Times Helpful: 353 My Mood: Fine Status: Offline My Computer	Some computers won't start with a dead CMOS battery, and others will. I had an old Compaq Armada laptop with a dead battery, it would start but required you to change the date and time every time you turned it on. You should probably buy a new battery and see. They are so cheap, only £1 for about 5! You need to get a CR2032 battery. Alternatively, just do a search on eBay for 'CMOS battery'.

20-12-2005, 03:51 PM	# 11 (permalink) Top
pctechnics Geek Trainee Join Date: Nov 2005 Gender: Posts: 10 Status: Offline	hi again, im gonna get a battery tomorrow so i will keep you posted! cheers again, scott

19-09-2009, 03:50 PM	# 12 (permalink) Top
dave 09 Geek Trainee Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 3 Status: Offline	Hello All , sorry if i am a little late on this topic but i just joined this great forum and have a similar problem i have a Acer Aspire 5720z i picked up as spares with the intention to get it going for the Wife, it is totally dead with no lights no nothing reading posts here, a few suggest motherboard battery, However i think this is very unlikely as you can remove the bios battery and machine will still work as normal, only your bios forgets the settings you saved, so resets the bios after you power off upto now i have tried resitting the Ram , removing the HDD, Battery, and basically every port on the board, also i have swapped the power jack plug ( as they dont solder on these ) i have held down the power switch for over 1 minute without the battery or AC connected so now i know its a motherboard fault ! the problem is how do i fix ? i believe it could be a fuse on the board but i dont know how to locate them or what to look for, i have looked for bad solder, liquid damage etc... but nothing seems to be bad if anybody can help it would be greatly apreciated i have recently ( last few days ) bought a multi-meter but not a clue how to use as no instructions came with it lol

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