Member Avatar for jeb22

HP Pavilion ze4500. Worked fine, then the next morning it lights up with power but fails to progress through any of the boot. The cd does spin--putting in the XP cd, the cd lights up a few times but it will not boot from the cd.

Have tried the reset, XP disk and some voodoo.

Whaddyathink?

  • 3 Contributors
  • 3 Replies
  • 190 Views
  • 4 Days Discussion Span
  • Latest Post Latest Post by BuggZ

Dani AI

Generated

Brief summary and prioritized diagnostics based on 's description and the leads from and : the Pavilion ze4500 powers on, the optical drive spins but an XP disc does not boot, and the internal screen shows a single narrow vertical line. The symptoms separate into two parallel fault paths — display-only (panel/inverter/cable) or pre-POST / motherboard/GPU / boot-device issues — so the checks below are ordered to preserve data and isolate the failing subsystem.

An effective diagnostic sequence (non-destructive, in order):

  1. Observe POST indicators: speaker beeps, Caps/Num LED blink patterns, HDD/activity LED and fan behavior to see whether POST completes.
  2. Force CD as boot source by temporarily removing the hard drive (many HPs have an easy-access bay); retry the XP CD and confirm that the disc itself is bootable on another PC.
  3. Memory check: swap or test RAM modules one at a time in the primary slot; a bad DIMM commonly prevents POST.
  4. External-video test: attach a VGA monitor (if available) to determine whether the GPU is producing a normal image — a normal external image narrows the fault to the internal LCD assembly; the same artifact on both outputs implicates GPU/motherboard.
  5. Power/firmware refresh: with AC and main battery removed, hold power ~30 seconds to discharge the EC, then boot with AC only. Avoid opening the chassis further if under warranty.

Interpretation and likely outcomes: a clean external display plus internal line → LCD panel, inverter or display cable; external shows same line or nothing → GPU/northbridge or motherboard. Optical-drive spins but won’t boot → bad media, optical-drive read failure, or BIOS boot order/hardware issue (removing the HDD isolates this).

Notes & cautions: preserve the HDD if data matters (use an external USB adapter to back it up). Anti-static precautions are required when accessing internals; warranty work should be handled by HP service.

Recommended Answers

All 3 Replies

Member Avatar for J_Search

jeb22,

What do you see on the screen? Nothing?...why don't you try to see if anything needs re-seating that has come loose. (specifically the video ribbon cable) Try downloading a Win98 boot disk (bootdisk.com) and see if you can boot with a floppy. I choose Win98 because it only requires one diskette.

We'll move from there if everything is tight and dry and you still see no improvement.

If, on the other hand, you do see something/anything on the screen, please be sure to report that in detail.

J_

Member Avatar for jeb22

There is just on evertical line on the screen. less than 1/8" wide. I have no floppy drive on this laptop.

jeb22,

What do you see on the screen? Nothing?...why don't you try to see if anything needs re-seating that has come loose. (specifically the video ribbon cable) Try downloading a Win98 boot disk (bootdisk.com) and see if you can boot with a floppy. I choose Win98 because it only requires one diskette.

We'll move from there if everything is tight and dry and you still see no improvement.

If, on the other hand, you do see something/anything on the screen, please be sure to report that in detail.

J_

Member Avatar for BuggZ

Try connecting the laptop to an external monitor. If you are getting one verticle line only it sounds like you have a problem with the LCD display circuitry. Also check the Function key combination (Fn + F5 or F8) that enables an external display. Have you recently changed the display driver settings?

Be a part of the DaniWeb community

We're a friendly, industry-focused community of developers, IT pros, digital marketers, and technology enthusiasts meeting, networking, learning, and sharing knowledge.