Member Avatar for armyguy3584

i dont know much about laptops or computers in general so hopefully the info that i give will be enough. when using the laptop it just shut off for no reason. after that i tried to start it again by pressing the power button and it seemed as if everything was fine but then the laptop went to black screen and it gave me a bunch of options like starting in the safe mode or pressing some of the F keys for different things all the while there was a timer counting down seconds and the first time i just let it count down the seconds but when it went to go start it just shut off and mad a weird almost whisteling noise and then restarted again on its own and repeted this process a few times before i just decided to try to start it in safe mode and this happened when i tried to start it in safe mode too.. does anybody know what can be causing this or how i can fix it?

thank you in advance for all of your help:icon_exclaim:

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by caperjack

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Short summary: described a Presario that suddenly powered off, then presented the boot-options screen with a countdown and kept restarting while making a high-pitched noise. offered software-side fixes, which you tried without success. Because those attempts failed, the next practical approach is a focused hardware diagnosis and data-safety steps.

Try these checks in order (power down and remove AC/battery before opening the case):

  1. Isolate power: remove all peripherals, test with AC only and with battery only. Check the adapter for damage and the DC jack for a loose connection.
  2. Memory: reseat the RAM modules. Boot with one module at a time in each slot to rule out a bad stick or slot.
  3. Drive and boot path: temporarily disconnect the hard drive and power up. If the machine reaches BIOS or shows different behavior without the drive, the drive or its connector may be at fault. If the drive is suspect, remove it and attach to another PC (SATA-to-USB adapter or inside a desktop) and run SMART/diagnostic tools to copy important files.
  4. Noise and thermal checks: clean vents, inspect the CPU fan and heatsink for seized bearings or heavy dust. Run the laptop with the cover off (carefully) to observe if a fan or coil area is the noise source. Smell for burning—if present, stop and seek pro help.
  5. Visual inspection: look for bulging or leaking capacitors and scorch marks on the motherboard. Those are signs of hardware failure that need repair.

If these steps don’t produce a stable POST, the fault is likely on the motherboard or power circuitry. If comfortable and out of warranty, a repair shop can test further; otherwise prioritize data recovery (remove the HDD and clone it) before sending the machine in. Take electrostatic precautions and avoid working on the laptop while it’s powered.

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Member Avatar for caperjack

on that black screen you could try, last know good configuration . some time this works but the problem is usually a harddrive or device driver problem and will require the windows cd to run repair .

Member Avatar for armyguy3584

wow you knew exactly what i was talking about thats awesome.. i did try to do it like that and it kept doing the same thing..am i going to have to replace the harddrive or something.

Member Avatar for caperjack

wow you knew exactly what i was talking about thats awesome.. i did try to do it like that and it kept doing the same thing..am i going to have to replace the harddrive or something.

not necessarily,you may just need to do a repair of windows ,and you will need to do this with the windows cd,in the cdrom drive and boot computer to the disk and do a repair ,at the prompt you type in , "chkdsk /r" with out the quotes" .

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