# What would you do?



## sotzo (Oct 4, 2007)

Have an HP desktop I bought at Best Buy for about $600.
Warranty just expired.
Computer won't even boot to safe mode...no known reason why it won't...didn't do anything different...just one day went down.
All the data has been retrieved so all good there.
I know the motherboard model that is currently in the unit and I can get a replacement to see if that does the trick - will cost about $100.

Would you give the $100 toward the MB or toward another computer?


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## MrMerlin777 (Oct 4, 2007)

Have you tried replaceing the battery in the Motherboard?

That sometimes helps. How long have you had the HP?


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## Devin (Oct 4, 2007)

It definitely sounds like the motherboard is toast to me. Hopefully nothing happened to the processor. But, since nothing odd (lightning strike) caused the problem, I'd think the processor would still be good.

Getting a new MB sounds good to me.


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## sotzo (Oct 4, 2007)

MrMerlin777 said:


> Have you tried replaceing the battery in the Motherboard?
> 
> That sometimes helps. How long have you had the HP?



I've had the PC for about 14 months. Haven't tried replacing the battery. Is that a reasonable first go-round? Would that create a situation where the computer powers up, but doesn't even get to the HP blue screen, much less Windows?


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## MrMerlin777 (Oct 4, 2007)

I'd definitely give it a shot. I had a battery go bad once and all my Gateway would do was keep repeating some wierd start up sequence then shut down. Once I replaced the battery it was fine. (But then my hard drive fried so I had to get a new compy anyway in that case Not sure why that happened)


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## Semper Fidelis (Oct 4, 2007)

I don't agree that the battery should cause it. The computer should POST with no battery inserted at all as long as it is plugged in. I guess you could try removing the battery itself and plug it in to just see if anything is up with the battery. It could also be the power supply itself. Have you gone to any HP forums to talk about the symptoms with some experts? Also, try AnandTech: your source for hardware analysis and news. It's a forum with much broader expertise than here.

When you start it up, do you hear the hard drive spinning and everything? Are you sure it couldn't be the monitor?

Unfortunately, one of the things that makes notebooks nice to own is also the reason I don't like them when they don't work and that's all their tiny (and expensive) components.


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## sotzo (Oct 5, 2007)

SemperFideles said:


> I don't agree that the battery should cause it. The computer should POST with no battery inserted at all as long as it is plugged in. I guess you could try removing the battery itself and plug it in to just see if anything is up with the battery. It could also be the power supply itself. Have you gone to any HP forums to talk about the symptoms with some experts? Also, try AnandTech: your source for hardware analysis and news. It's a forum with much broader expertise than here.
> 
> When you start it up, do you hear the hard drive spinning and everything? Are you sure it couldn't be the monitor?



I haven't gone to any HP forums yet because the symptom seems to be something that can happen to any PC generally. But I will check the forum out you posted. Thanks for that.

When I start it up I can hear the hard drive and processor fan, but nothing comes up...we've looked at it on multiple monitors and same thing. 

If I do end up changing out the MB, do I simply disconnect the old one as it currently resides in the computer and then connect the new one? As long as XP is on the hard drive, should Windows come up as long as the MB is connected correctly?


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## Semper Fidelis (Oct 5, 2007)

Yes. It should all come up fine - assuming it's the MB.


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## sotzo (Oct 5, 2007)

I'll give it a shot...I have to hurry because my wife is saying this recent PC failure is good cause to go Apple. Not that I mind Apples, but a $100 MB versus a $1000+ Apple certainly agrees more with the household budget!


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## jfschultz (Oct 6, 2007)

Have you tried to boot from the install/recovery CD's?


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## sotzo (Oct 6, 2007)

jfschultz said:


> Have you tried to boot from the install/recovery CD's?



Unfortunately, my HP required me to make the recovery disks after I got the computer...I didn't and will know better next time!

That being said, it doesn't appear to be anything that would be helped by a boot disk.


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## jfschultz (Oct 6, 2007)

I would avoid any PC that does not include a set of system install CD's (or DVD's). Your situation shows why. I guess that some PC vendors are run by bean counters instead of engineers.


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