Member Avatar for Sri Meenakshi

Hey guys,
I have a Compaq presario C700 which is quite old. There was a power fluctuation at place due to which the laptop was shut down suddenly. It is not starting up now, nor is the fan working. When I switch it on, the led lights pop up, but nothing else happens. It's does not have power backup. Kindly help.

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by Naheedmir

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As described, the Compaq Presario C700 powering LED on but with no fan or POST after a sudden outage is a common post-surge symptom. The initial advice from and (battery removal / power-drain reset) and 's note about the CMOS battery and salvaging parts are good first steps. If those measures did not restore normal behavior, the next checks below help narrow the failure without repeating the earlier basic resets.

  1. Verify the AC adapter and DC inlet: confirm the adapter light and that the adapter output matches the label (or test with a multimeter), or try a known-good, same-spec adapter.
  2. Inspect the DC jack and nearby area for looseness, burning, or discoloration; intermittent LEDs or behavior when the jack is wiggled point to jack/traces.
  3. Reduce system load: remove HDD, optical drive, WiFi module and other nonessential parts; attempt power-up with minimal components fitted.
  4. Reseat and test RAM sticks one at a time in different slots; bad RAM or a bad slot can prevent any POST activity.
  5. Visual board inspection (only if comfortable): look for bulging capacitors, scorch marks, or a small input fuse near the jack; checking continuity at the input fuse or voltage at the board inlet can confirm an input-stage failure.
  6. For data recovery, remove the hard drive and use a USB adapter/enclosure to access files.

Surge damage commonly affects the power-input stage (jack, input fuse, VRM/MOSFETs). Given the model age, board-level repairs may exceed replacement cost; harvesting usable parts (RAM, ODD, WiFi) is often the practical route. Safety note: AC should be disconnected and the battery removed before opening the case, ESD precautions observed, and live-voltage soldering left to experienced technicians. Recording adapter specs, LED behavior, and any visible board damage helps decide between a board repair, part salvage, or replacement.

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Member Avatar for Reverend Jim

Try removing the battery and powering it up on AC only.

Member Avatar for rproffitt

Other things to try:

  1. Unplug charger, remove battery, press and hold the power button for 60 seconds, release, slip in battery, apply power, test.
  2. Replace the CMOS RTC battery. Repeat item 1, test.

After this it's usually a dead laptop. Given the age and cost to repair (CTR) it's usually best to put it in the bone pile.
Bone pile? Just a few days ago we fixed two other laptops by scavenging a WiFi card and ODD (optical disc drive) from a dead laptop.

Member Avatar for Naheedmir

To turn on the laptop, I will suggest:
Remove the battery and the charger
Press the power button for 10 seconds to drain the power
No connect the charger and try to turn it on

commented: The advice changed from 30 to 60 seconds for many reasons on the power button hold time. +15
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