Member Avatar for niceguy167

This is wierd the notebook will not turn on if you just hit the power button, however if you hold down power and the reset button for about 30 seconds then you let go of both of them then hit the power button immedialey after you let go of both the notebook will turn on, once the notebook is on it works perfectly no problems all prefs work and everything, but once you click on start then shutdown and turn it off, you will no longer be able to get it on. It does this with or without the ac, also i have remove the motherboard and looked it over and there is no burn marks or anything like where a capasiter could have blown, I am a little confuses, (i have also tried upgrading the bios) that did not do anything either, has anyone ever had this happen and be able to fix it themself without just replacing the motherboard, thanks

Steven

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A short, practical troubleshooting guide for the HP Pavilion ZE4400 power-fail symptom reported by (and later seen by and ). The behavior — the machine only comes alive after a long drain/reset action, then shuts down and won’t power up again — points to a power-sequencing or board-level issue rather than the OS. Below are prioritized checks and safe tests to narrow the cause before committing to a full board swap.

  1. Quick, low-cost checks (do these first):
  • Verify the AC adapter actually outputs the expected voltage (HP adapters for this class are typically ~18–20V). Try a known-good adapter if available.
  • Inspect the DC jack and cable for looseness or corrosion. Wiggle the jack while plugged in to see if LEDs respond.
  • Boot with battery removed and AC only; then remove HDD/optical and any PC Card devices so you’re testing a bare minimum. Back up the drive first if you can access it externally.
  • Try a complete power discharge: disconnect AC and battery, press-and-hold the power button ~30 seconds to drain residual charge, then reconnect and test.
  1. If the above doesn’t help, do simple board checks (use anti-static precautions and avoid live probes if unsure):
  • Open the case and visually inspect for bulging/leaking capacitors, scorched components, or cracked solder joints near the DC input, power regulators, and southbridge/GPU areas.
  • With AC connected (battery out), check for a standby rail (a small-voltage rail present before pressing power, often ~3.3V or 5V). No standby rail usually means the input/charging circuitry, fuse or MOSFETs are faulty. Standby present but no main rails after a press suggests the power-switch/regulator stage or embedded controller.
  1. Repair paths and cautions:
  • Replace the inexpensive parts first: DC jack, power-button sub-board, and CMOS/RTC battery. Swap or reseat RAM and HDD.
  • If comfortable with electronics, reflow suspect solder joints or replace bulging electrolytics with low-ESR caps. Otherwise seek a technician.
  • If board-level repair isn’t practical, a tested replacement motherboard is a pragmatic last resort — buy from sellers who test and accept returns. Always remove and image the hard drive first to preserve data.

This approach moves from safe, cheap fixes to more invasive board work so data loss and expense are minimized. ’s pointer to related troubleshooting threads may also help for specific multimeter test locations.

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Member Avatar for DeviousRidr

Did you ever figure out what was wrong with your laptop? My sister recently gave me her HP ze4400 with the exact same issues....

Member Avatar for niceguy167

Did you ever figure out what was wrong with your laptop? My sister recently gave me her HP ze4400 with the exact same issues....

no i tried playing with a few things took it to one of my good computer friends and finally we just replaced it with a new mb on ebay :)

Steven

Member Avatar for butterflykisses

i have a hp pavilion ze4400 i have tired to reset it and done all the step i have read on here it still wont run if anyone can tell me how to get it running i really thank you i really need my computer working for work.

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