My Laptop, My Baby, Is Dying

[aduidarnenye]

The screen on my 3 year old HP Pavilion laptop (dv8000 series) won't turn on when I turn the computer on anymore.

If I fiddle with the button that turns the screen off when I close the lid it flashes on and off (and I don't believe doing this can be good for the screen). Pressing the plastic down in that area for a while will leave it on.

I've been renewing the warranty on it but for some reason HP didn't receive the paperwork on my last renewal (even though they certainly received the money) so I don't know if they'll fix the problem yet.

But I would like to fix the problem if possible if I can't get HP to fix it. Is this fixable or is my baby dead? I really would like to stretch the lifespan of this laptop out for another year or so.

[Epical]

Now's a great time to buy a new laptop. A lot (all?) retail boxes are clearing out Vista machines with huge discounts and Windows 7 upgrade bundles.

[Skjie]

Now's a great time to buy a new laptop. A lot (all?) retail boxes are clearing out Vista machines with huge discounts and Windows 7 upgrade bundles.

This. You can easily pick up a perfectly good dual core for $500CAD.

[Cephius]

You can try to open it up and make sure the fans around the processor are not clogged with dirt, hair, etc. I think opening it up voids your warranty, though.

[Wizrow]

If all else fails you can just make the laptop a desktop and use an external monitor for all your viewing needs.

Also, if they don't fix it, make sure you get your money back.

[aduidarnenye]

We hooked it up to a regular monitor and it didn't work.

[Wizrow]

Fn+F8 was a no-go?

Trying to have it mirror to an external monitor without the screen would be almost impossible sense you have to navigate through the display options. That's not good at all...

[SephYuyX]

You can hear it turn on and run? Just means the backlight is dead/dying. You can replace it for cheap, but requires a bit of know how.

Or it could mean the wires are loose.

[fishstix]

HP sucks :/

[aduidarnenye]

The F8 thing didn't work.

The weird thing is that the screen turns on after a while of flicking the button that turns the screen off when you close the lid. It is really dark when I turn it on but I can barely make out the screen. Eventually it flashes on full time. It's on right now and looks same as always. It just doesn't turn on as soon as I turn the computer on.

[Electro]

Try memory, try a processor (if its amd). Also could be that the mainboard is fried

[fishstix]

I hear horrible horrible things about HP laptops and customer service (points at Acturus) but seriously, look up your laptop model and see if it's one of the various HP laptops that overheat causing components to fail. If it is, you can then go to the HP forums and see just how many unsatisfied customers there are, to the point where they believe the laptops should be called back for faulty hardware, yet HP will do nothing.

[The Stig]

The F8 thing didn't work.

The weird thing is that the screen turns on after a while of flicking the button that turns the screen off when you close the lid. It is really dark when I turn it on but I can barely make out the screen. Eventually it flashes on full time. It's on right now and looks same as always. It just doesn't turn on as soon as I turn the computer on.

Might be a 2-3 hours late, but back your shit up, now.

[Electro]

Sorry reading where you stated that its flickering and then you can barely make out the screen. It's more then likely your lcd or the inverter board

[Unlikelyhero]

Laptop Repair Help � Screen inverter replacement. Fixing laptop backlight problem.

Sounds like you need a new inverter.

[Roronoya]

This. You can easily pick up a perfectly good dual core for $500CAD.

Any recommendations?

[Brill Weave]

It sounds like the problem I had with my old HP. The LCD had apparently gone bad and had died on me. It was an older laptop so I didn't see much sense in plunking down two hundred bucks to replace it when I could just buy a new one.

If you're on a budget go take a look at TigerDirect. They usually have some fairly nice deals on refurbished products. I've been buying things from them for years and never had an issue with them(the old laptop I bought used from a friend.)

[aduidarnenye]

I backed up the whole thing except my audiobooks, which are too big.

I've not had really to many issues with HP. This laptop is 3 years old and I've had only a few problems with it, and each time (when under warranty) they took it in, fixed it, and returned it.

I like Toshibas a lot though. I had one several years ago and it was a tank.

[Electro]

my new macbook is great, have not had any issues with it at all

[xopher]

my new macbook is great, have not had any issues with it at all

except for the price you paid for it.