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- HP Community
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- Laptop not booting, and CAPS lock blinking.
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01-14-2015 10:18 AM
Ok - yeah problem fixed - got two HP's here that both did exactly the same thing - tried replacing the thermal paste and CPU on them - still dead, then read about the wrapping them up in a blanket trick.
Just about to give up on them and tried one last thing...
Wrapped them up in my coat for about 30 minutes and left them running, they got really hot and then I turned them off and back on again - both are working fine now.
Most sites point to the fact it's the GPU solder that heats up and closes the cracks in the solder... hmmm that would kind of make sense now thinking about it - wasn't that also the problem with the Xbox 360's that caused the red ring of death?
Anyway ended up now with two working HP's - one is my friends and one was given to me when the guy upgraded to Apple. If it goes again then I'll ask my friend who's really good at soldering to re-solder the GPU in for me.
01-14-2015 03:03 PM
I can't believe this worked. I have not been able to my HP laptop to turn on now for a week, no matter what I tried. I never thought helping my computer get warmer would work to restart the blank screen but it did work. I was skeptical, but I've a computer back again.
01-20-2015 08:36 PM - edited 01-20-2015 08:36 PM
@TheKLF99 wrote:ok I've now tried re-applying thermal paste - still dead, bought a new CPU for it to check the CPU (matched the CPU with the old CPU to ensure it's compatible) - still dead. Anyone any ideas - I can only assume it's the motherboard that's gone.
My understanding is that the cpu is integral with the motherboard, and you have to change out the whole thing. Are you sure you didn't replace the hard drive? Could one of nice HP folks who sometimes post on this forum perhaps be good enough to explain this in more detail?
01-23-2015 09:55 AM
Bingo: I can't believe this worked. With the laptop on I covered it with a towel. About one hour later I went back to the PC and it went on. I did make a couple changes like no longer letting it go ino the sleep mode and simply only letting it go to the screen saver. I also dumped some useless files.
Thank you very much
02-13-2015 09:48 PM
I've owned about 4 CQ56-115DX, one of which got this ailment back in July 2014. I gave up hope and kept this broken unit for spare parts (I have a 2nd, my last working CQ56-115DX). Until I was working on (and fixed) a stuck fan on that unit, and while I was searching here I searched and found this thread, and similar ones.
I would like to thank the OP who suggests the blanket trick. I did a variation of this: for past electronic projects (usually to dry wet chassis after cleaning), I have a standard electric range and can set the oven to 170 degrees (F not C for all you metric people!!!). This has proven to be a "relatively" safe way to dry stuff out ... or to, perhaps, bake a CQ56?
Standard disclaimer: only do this as if you are willing to take the risk. It would be foolish to do this if your PC is still in warranty. Also, common sense says take out the battery and (duh) otherwise not powered on. 🙂
So that is precisely what I did ... for about 20 minutes. Then booted it up and ... damned if it didn't boot to BIOS, I reset stuff and all looked good. I had to re-install a hard drive as there was none in the unit. The old hard drive booted fine, but I restored to a more recent image (same as the working CQ56 uses -- and update the activation ID etc.)
You are a genius. Not sure why this works, but as a last resort, out-of-warranty, f**k it, let's try it, this is a great trick!
The only thing I've damaged by baking was an Ipad; I was trying to replace the glass and instead of the specified blow dryer, I tried the oven, and the LCD display dies. No such problem with the CQ56, fortunately.
02-28-2015 08:20 PM - edited 03-01-2015 05:26 AM
02-28-2015: Well, my "blinking caps lock" and freeze recurs after about two weeks. I will try the oven trick once more. In either case, I have the following to say:
1. I was wrong. I think I've owned a total of three CQ56-115DX. It's notable that two have failed for the CAPS blink problem detailed in this thread (not 100% sure of first "death" as it was a couple years ago.) My last 115DX recently started to do the "90B" fan stop error and while troubleshooting it I damaged it. (170 deg F oven = OK; 220 F = starts to warp and melt plastic.)
2. Perhaps I expect too much of low-end laptops. I've said before that these gave good service, considering the price paid ($250-300 when new).
3. Still, to have such failures on what were relatively light use of units, strikes me as major QC problems. Unfortunately, I now have two junk 115DX and HP-Compaq is now at the bottom of my list for replacement laptops. In the future I'll try to shop not for price, but also extended warranties and (tough to find!) unbiased reports for long-term reliability. It's clear from my sample (3) that the CQ56-115DX ain't it!
03-01-2015 report: well, fortunately the problem child is working after the 170 deg. F oven for 30 min. treatment. So I'll keep for now. I did some more research last night and found (if figures are accurate) that
3-year failure rates for new laptops (all brands) is about 1/3 (lack of details but my assumption: this means the device was returned for service and it could have been repaired.) By brand, HP was the worst offender. However, ths is not as bad as it sounds: the rates shown were from (rounded) 16% to 26% . So even buying the most reliable doesn't really improve your odds much.
Rather than trash HP-Compaq, quite the contrary: considering what a cheap model such as this one cost, especially on clearance, you could buy two or three for the same price as a new, upscale laptop. My strategy was (and still is) to get two or more of a "cheap" laptop and be my own tech support. With identical models, it is much easier to swap out parts as they fail.
My biggest disappointment with the CQ56-115DX is my own fault: my "baking experiment" on one unit destroyed the keyboard, and now I have no supply of spare keys 😞 This is strictly my fault, not HP's.
05-02-2015 10:52 AM
@Captain_Bob wrote:My understanding is that the cpu is integral with the motherboard, and you have to change out the whole thing. Are you sure you didn't replace the hard drive? Could one of nice HP folks who sometimes post on this forum perhaps be good enough to explain this in more detail?
No - I've been working in computers since I was 8 I know the difference between a CPU and a hard drive (or I would hope I do!), the CPU on these is certainly removable and swappable.
I ended up fixing the laptop - and have since fixed 2 others with exactly the same problem. To fix it I just took it to pieces and used a hot air gun directly pointed at the GPU for about 2 minutes and it repaired it.
Seems that these laptops fail quite often like this - it seems to be to do with the cheap way of soldering the GPU's to the boards, and it doesn't just affect laptops, it is also the cause of the RROD on the Xbox and the PS3's YLOD - all have the GPU's soldered on the same way rather than using a socket to put the GPU on (a socket would make more sense 'cos if the GPU goes you can just pop the GPU out and pop a new one in, and a socket is likely to keep the heat more away from the soldering so it doesn't come loose, but of course a socket costs more money than just soldering it straight onto the board).
The funny thing is that Xbox admitted it was a manufacturing error, and so therefore were liable under trading standards rules for all replacements up to the "natural" life of the product - which for most electrical items is normally 3 years. Now as it's a manufacturing error that is causing these chips to fail like this does that leave HP, PS3, and any other manufacturer also using this process liable for up to 3 years for replacement/repair of their product as it is failing due to a defect in the manufacturing process, not general wear and tear (actually I'm quite sure Xbox have fixed the problem now as I had my Xbox changed 3 times and then they stopped RROD - maybe they started using sockets for the GPU's instead of soldering them on?).
05-28-2015 04:34 PM
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