Posts by bfdman

XP has many more options when you need to recover from a catastrophic failure. I can do so many more things with an unbootable version of XP than Vista or 7. What retard at Micro$oft decided it would be a good idea if you could only attempt a repair install with Vista if your Vista os was bootable and working. A repair install is one of the simpler ways to deal with some xp problems. I have a myriad things I can do, ranging from very simple to ridiculously complex, with any version of XP that is misbehaving, especially when it will not boot in ANY mode. I can, and have dealt successfully with Vista and 7 problems but becasue so little thought was put into recovery from failure in both, it often requires twice the time and effort required to successfully deal with than any version of XP.

And to happygeek, I have worked with every single version of Microsoft OS that has ever been released. I can tell you from long hard experience that so called supported versions of their products are barely more secure than unsupported ones. At the present time I prefer an unsupported os (XP) over Vista or Win 7 because many of the problems that XP was released with have been dealt with and while yes, there maybe more, and ther will be no solutions because of no support, Vista and especially Win 7 are far from having reached a similar level of stability.

I have very limited programming experience so perhaps some suggestions as to what knowledge base programs you might recommend would be appreciated.

Hi all, I would like to be able to use a database that can combine web links, programs and text files. I have years of computer repair resources that I would like to be able to organize. I simply want to search for problem x and have the program provide me with any related web links, programs and text I have used in the past to solve problem x.
Thanks in advance for any assistance and input you can provide.

If a known working power supply produces the same results as your power supply then you need to go through the procedure I outlined for you in my previous post. It is imperative that you eliminate the other parts of the system, however, if the heatsink and fan are visibly NOT contacting the CPU properly then you probably need to replace them.

You need to isolate the problem and it can be done by doing the following:

Disconnect the power cable to the power supply.
Remove the cover to the pc and disconnect ALL devices that are connected to the power supply then disconnect ALL data cables connecting ROMs, hard disk drives and floppy disk drives to the motherboard. If you have any peripheral cards in the pc remove these also.
Reconnect the power cable and turn on the pc. If you get the same result look closely at the cpu fan and heatsink assembly, sometimes the the part that holds the assembly against the CPU can break and the heatsink is no longer touching or only partially contacting the CPU. Also make sure that all power cables to the motherboard are firmly attached. If all appears normal with the fan/heatsink then borrow a power supply and test with that.

If the pc turns on then disconnect the power again and begin reconnecting all that you disconnected earlier but do this one item at a time. ie reconnect the power and data cables to the hard disk drive, turn the pc on. Continue in this fashion until you get the symptoms you've described and you will have identified the faulty part.

Good luck.

Check this out. It may have some bearing on your problem

http://blogs.zdnet.com/hardware/?p=779

They are actually for the most part relatively easy to change although some makes and models will require more disassembly than others.
Most laptop displays have small rubber caps placed over the screw holes and these can be pried off with a small screwdriver. These are usually found on the front of the display at the outer edges. There are usually only 3 or 4 small screws to be removed allowing the removal of the outer casing that holds the LCD in place. This link my assist you

http://www.instructables.com/id/E8M1EZJF3YWV61Q/?ALLSTEPS

Just copy & paste the link into your browser's address bar.

You may even find instructions for your model of HP with a Google search. Had you posted which model of HP you have I may have been able to find exact disassembly instructions. I hope this helps.
The process is usually quite simple and only takes me a few minutes but I have done hundreds so you will require some patience and just remember not to force anything.Good luck.

There are most likely one or both of two things happening here. Since you have not opened the laptop we can rule out a disconnection between the LCD and the mainboard. There is a small long thin lamp inside the LCD which provides backlighting. If this lamp burns out you will experience the symptoms you've described. Also, there is an Inverter Board which provides power to the lamp and this may be at fault as well. In either case you must bring the laptop into a service center for repair

The only power connectors that dislodge easily when "nudged" are SATA power connectors. Is your CDR a SATA? If it is a SATA drive you may have broken or cracked the power connector on the ROM. Disconnect both the power and data cables to the ROM and power on to test.

Be sure to have the power OFF when you disconnect or reconnect your keyboard. Disconnect it and look at the pins at the end of the keyboard connector to check if you've bent one or more of the pins when you reconnected it. Also, is it possible that you have the keyboard connected to the ps/2 mouse connector, the behaviour you describe is exactly what happens when the keyboard and mouse connections are reversed.

Hi all, My name is Dan. I live in North Vancouver, B.C. Canada. I've been a computer tech for 24 years now. I have a background in electronics and received my training in computer technology from a private institute. I have repaired almost 30,000 computers ( I keep a daily journal/log of the work I do ). When I'm not repairing computers I enjoy photography, music (former professional musician of 18 years) both playing and listening, culinary exploration (serious amateur chef for 25 years), playing golf when my back doesn't hurt and when it does I play Tiger Woods online golf. I have received help from all corners of the internet through the years and now I would like to be able to help others.

As a 24 year tech I've had more than a few injuries. In the old days of DIP RAM chips I developed a technique (because the pins were splayed out at a slight angle) where I would place one row of pins in the DIP socket and push down at an angle such that the pins already in the socket would bend slightly so that they were then at right angles to the body of the chip then the other row of pins would line up and one last push would seat the chip. I did so many of these through the years that I became quite quick (DANGER, SLOW DOWN) and one day as I attempted to push one chip into a socket it flipped over and all the weight of my upper torso and the force of my pushing pushed the pins of the chip right into my thumb where it got lodged in the bone. It took a co-worker 30 minutes to pull it out with a pair of pliers. I've slashed my fingers to the bone on more than one occasion necessitating trips to emergency and stitches and even done the "60 cycle shuffle" as I worked on too many power supplies at one time, some live (it was necessary) and some without power. I have countless soldering iron burns as well