Presario CQ62 laptop instant shut off during BIOS splash screen (video included)

[tgrundman]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UL3ptjkI-nw

Edit: I just watched that video..it seems to skip or something during a few parts...it was all one shot, no editing, I think somehow my phone screwed it up upon upload. Should be all a seamless shot.

It seems to be an overheating issue, however I don't think the laptop is anywhere near hot enough to over heat. It will shut off in 1 to 2 seconds, even after sitting overnight.

What I've tried:

• Clean all ventilation
• Test, swap and reseat RAM
• Test, swap and reseat HDD
• Disassemble laptop completely
• Re-apply thermal paste to CPU (looked fine to begin with)

Ray of hope:
After re-assembling the unit, I forgot to plug the CPU fan back in. The laptop booted with error saying "CPU FAN ERROR" but did NOT shut off! After plugging the fan back in, it went back to instantly shutting off.

Is this the result of a faulty temperature sensor?

 

[PCX]

2 things. Have you tried bring it down to just the board and charger and see what happens? And do you have another CPU to swap out?

 

[tgrundman]

2 things. Have you tried bring it down to just the board and charger and see what happens? And do you have another CPU to swap out?

#1. I presume you mean leaving the board out of the case and powering it on that way? Not completely out of the case because some of the cabling is pretty short. The board pretty much must be set in its regular place to function.

#2. No, I don't have another CPU

 

[PCX]

I mean completely bare with no wires or peripherals connected.

 

[ComputerRepairTech]

Looks power related to me. You tried it with just the battery or just the outlet? Have you tried it without the drives?

Edit: one things for certain, it is not heat related.

 

[tgrundman]

I mean completely bare with no wires or peripherals connected.

I have not done a super bare boot yet, that is TODO for later today. Here is the minimum boot I did do though:

• 1 stick of RAM
• Laptop Monitor
• Keyboard
• Trackpad

and the issue persisted. I will re-disassemble this thing again and remove keyboard+trackpad and use an external monitor and report back. It's lunchtime right now, I should be back in about 2 hours and will report with the bare booting results.

 

[PCX]

I have not done a super bare boot yet, that is TODO for later today. Here is the minimum boot I did do though:

• 1 stick of RAM
• Laptop Monitor
• Keyboard
• Trackpad

and the issue persisted. I will re-disassemble this thing again and remove keyboard+trackpad and use an external monitor and report back. It's lunchtime right now, I should be back in about 2 hours and will report with the bare booting results.

right now, since we are dealing with a power issue, all you need is the board and charger. Then try the memory, then the monitor. After that, start putting it back together till you find the problem If it still has the same problem with just the board and charger, then is the board, if its still has a problem with the board, memory and charger, check the memory. Also, pull the CPU and see what happens.

 

[ComputerRepairTech]

Well he said it warned him of the cpu fan and did NOT shut off I can't recall isnt that after the mem test or...before? CPU is unlikely.

 

[PCX]

Well he said it warned him of the cpu fan and did NOT shut off I can't recall isnt that after the mem test or...before? CPU is unlikely.

not sure what you are asking

 

[B Trevathan]

Could it be a short in the fan? maybe the fan is burnt up or one of the components in the fans circuit is bad.

Have you tried powering on with just the battery or just with the power adapter and no battery in, have you tried a different power adapter?

 

[tgrundman]

Okay, here is what I found:

It has something to do with the board when it boots. Maybe BIOS related, but pulling the CMOS battery does not resolve the issue.

I discovered that when I pulled the internal wifi card out of the system, the BIOS throws an error BEFORE the splash page stating "Missing system wifi card. Press enter to continue" and it does NOT shut down. When you press enter to continue like it says, BOOM, shut down.

Guess that's that. What a bummer. :\

 

[ComputerRepairTech]

Okay, here is what I found:

It has something to do with the board when it boots. Maybe BIOS related, but pulling the CMOS battery does not resolve the issue.

I discovered that when I pulled the internal wifi card out of the system, the BIOS throws an error BEFORE the splash page stating "Missing system wifi card. Press enter to continue" and it does NOT shut down. When you press enter to continue like it says, BOOM, shut down.

Guess that's that. What a bummer. :\

All we know is that when the post is interupted it doesnt shut off. You havent responded to the inquiry about trying just battery or just power plug. When the warning comes up stating missing system wifi card what has already taken place on the screen? Has it already done the quick memory test? You said you are doing this right now without the hard drive plugged in right?

 

[PCX]

Okay, here is what I found:

It has something to do with the board when it boots. Maybe BIOS related, but pulling the CMOS battery does not resolve the issue.

I discovered that when I pulled the internal wifi card out of the system, the BIOS throws an error BEFORE the splash page stating "Missing system wifi card. Press enter to continue" and it does NOT shut down. When you press enter to continue like it says, BOOM, shut down.

Guess that's that. What a bummer. :\

I am kinda confused by what you are saying, but lets say it is the bios. Without the WiFi card installed, are you able to access the bios settings and possibly flash the bios?

 

[tgrundman]

I am kinda confused by what you are saying, but lets say it is the bios. Without the WiFi card installed, are you able to access the bios settings and possibly flash the bios?

All we know is that when the post is interupted it doesnt shut off. You havent responded to the inquiry about trying just battery or just power plug. When the warning comes up stating missing system wifi card what has already taken place on the screen? Has it already done the quick memory test? You said you are doing this right now without the hard drive plugged in right?

Firstly, sorry for the confusion. I will be sure to elaborate a bit further.

Without the wifi card installed I cannot access bios settings for a flash. It shuts down before then. And to make sure I'm clear enough, at no point no matter what I do can I get far enough to mess with BIOS settings. The only thing I can do is make it display an error about a missing wifi card.

I have tried both battery and power only. Same result.

When the warning comes up stating the missing system wifi card, the quick memory test has NOT taken place. The crash comes at the same place as the quick memory test. The memory tests good and substitute memory does not fix the issue.

Before my lunch eariler, I pulled the CMOS battery and left the board sit the entire time. This did not help either.

I will be more than happy to answer any more questions. I'm pretty sure something is corrupt in the BIOS somehow.

Thanks again!

 

[PCX]

Firstly, sorry for the confusion. I will be sure to elaborate a bit further.

Without the wifi card installed I cannot access bios settings for a flash. It shuts down before then. And to make sure I'm clear enough, at no point no matter what I do can I get far enough to mess with BIOS settings. The only thing I can do is make it display an error about a missing wifi card.

I have tried both battery and power only. Same result.

When the warning comes up stating the missing system wifi card, the quick memory test has NOT taken place. The crash comes at the same place as the quick memory test. The memory tests good and substitute memory does not fix the issue.

Before my lunch eariler, I pulled the CMOS battery and left the board sit the entire time. This did not help either.

I will be more than happy to answer any more questions. I'm pretty sure something is corrupt in the BIOS somehow.

Thanks again!

Time to replace the board if practical.

 

[ComputerRepairTech]

well...i got nothing, my guess is motherboard but I have never seen this issue before.

 

[B Trevathan]

How are you testing the memory?

Can you tell if the fans are turning while the errors are being displayed?

 

[red12049]

Perhaps this might help: http://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Notebo...Update-Compaq-Presario-CQ62-225NR/td-p/742623

You might also try googling for "blind" or "crisis" bios flashing for that particular model.

Rick

 

[Adept PC Repair]

Check for bad caps on the board.

 

[tgrundman]

Sorry for not responding! I totally forgot about this thread!

But I'm not one to leave you guys hanging, so this is all your answers:

Check for bad caps on the board.

No visible bad caps

Perhaps this might help: http://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Notebo...Update-Compaq-Presario-CQ62-225NR/td-p/742623

You might also try googling for "blind" or "crisis" bios flashing for that particular model.

Rick

I have never heard of "blind" or "crisis" bios flashing! I love learning new terms. I'll see what I can find on it.

How are you testing the memory?

Can you tell if the fans are turning while the errors are being displayed?

memtest86+, both from Hirens and standard stand-alone boot CD. I do not have a hardware tester, unfortunately. I realize those tests can be unreliable, but like I said, even substitute memory didn't help.
The only error I can get is about the missing wifi card. All fans turn on, you can definitely hear it. Monitor works, keyboard works (gotta press F1 to continue past the missing wifi card).

well...i got nothing, my guess is motherboard but I have never seen this issue before.

Same here. I think it's gotta either be a corrupt BIOS or bad temperature sensor. I'm leaning more toward corrupt BIOS.

Time to replace the board if practical.

Unpractical, it would cost more than the computer is worth (or very close to). There is not much data that needs recovering on there anyhow, they don't seem too concerned.