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I have a Compaq Presario 501NR that I bought from Best Buy in March of 2007. We went on a trip to New Orleans a couple of days ago and when I went to plugged it in at the Hilton, it would not power on. The battery has been bad, but the power cord usually turns it on fine. I have never had any problems with this laptop. I tried a new universal cord from Office Depot, but nothing still. The light comes on that shows the battery is still charging, but the on switch will do nothing. PLEASE HELP !!!

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Dani AI

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Good outcome in the thread: ’s tip fixed the immediate problem for . Below is concise, practical context and a short checklist so the same troubleshooting can be applied safely in future.

Laptop power systems include a power-management circuit and capacitors that can stay in a latched or fault state after a transient event. Temporary faults, dirty or corroded contacts, a marginal adapter, or a loose DC jack can make a machine appear completely dead even while a charge LED may glow. A controlled power reset and cleaning of contacts often clears those conditions; persistent failures point to the adapter, the jack, the battery, or the motherboard.

Try this checklist if the machine will not power on again:

  • Remove all power sources (AC and battery) and hold the power button 15–30 seconds to discharge residual energy.
  • Inspect the battery contacts and the DC jack; clean contacts gently with a lint-free swab and isopropyl alcohol (90%+).
  • Verify the AC adapter with a multimeter against its rated output; a known-good OEM-spec adapter is the safest test.
  • Boot the laptop on AC only for testing. If power remains intermittent or the jack is loose, suspect a failing DC jack or solder joint.
  • If the battery is swollen or old, replace it with a quality OEM or reputable third-party unit. Back up important data before persistent power problems reappear.

Safety notes and next steps: avoid cheap universal chargers that do not match voltage/polarity; do not short battery terminals; if the DC jack is loose or you are not comfortable opening the case, seek professional repair. If the fault recurs after these checks, a service shop can test the power path and replace the DC jack or repair motherboard traces.

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Member Avatar for HoustonIT

Take the battery out for a few minutes (10-15), then try to power up the system off the power cable. Don't reinstall the battery.

Member Avatar for us4cityfolks

I did this and it did not work, but I cleaned off where the battery connects, re-installed the battery after 15 min. and it worked just fine. Thanks so much.

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