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HP Recommended
HP TouchSmart 300
Microsoft Windows 10 (32-bit)

Stop me if this sounds familiar...

 

A few evenings ago (late September 22nd/early September 23rd), I was working on our family's HP desktop computer; we have had it since about 2011, in order to replace another desktop that broke down due to a C0000218 error the year earlier. It had Windows 7 on it when we bought it, but the computer was compatible for a free upgrade to Windows 10 a few years ago; the last update the computer had was about a week ago, perhaps less. I had actually finished my online tasks for the night and was getting ready to shut down; I just need to close and save some files, and that would have been it. I had several files open, so I tried to right-click the item on the taskbar to close everything all at once; however, the right-click menu was slow to appear, and after waiting several moments, I went to close the open files directly, before the right-click menu materialized. My cursor indicated loading for a while, but nothing really froze; regardless, I couldn't just sit and wait there for the computer to act right, so I stepped away from the computer for about an hour to do some other stuff. I figured it would get it together eventually and I'd finish the shutdown when I got back.

 

Once I got back to the computer, I saw that it had apparently gone into Sleep Mode; thinking nothing was wrong, I moved the mouse to get it to wake up. From that moment, it was acting oddly; not only did the monitor not come to life, the fans quickly kicked up into a harsh whine. After about 45 seconds to 2 minutes of this with no change, I was forced to shut the computer off manually with the power button. I waited a little bit and tried the power button again, but the monitor never displayed and the fans kicked up high upon startup. I maybe did it a couple more times, with longer wait periods between each, but nothing ever came on except the fans. I even disconnected the power cord from the unit and gave it a minute or two, but it did nothing; in fact, the only real change on that instance was that the light of the power button never came on. For fear that turning it on again may cause harm to the device, I've not tried to power it on since that evening, despite the temptation, and have decided to look around for solutions, leading me to join the HP Support Community for outreach.

 

It's my understanding through some of the solo research I've done that this type of thing has been a pretty long-standing and common problem, as the following links suggest:

Why this struck so suddenly for me specifically is unknown, so if anyone has any idea what the problem is, or better yet, how to fix it, please don't hesitate to respond. I have enough busted computer equipment in our household without having to add another, so I'm hoping for the best in coming here for some help.

 

 

Thanks in advance,

ADonMartini_790

3 REPLIES 3
HP Recommended

@ADonMartini_790 Are you a writer by profession? I mean, you've done quite well with the details and not to mention, the amount of research you've put in, I just hope I can respond with the same elegance as you've created this post! 😉

 

That out of the way, the fan is currently noisy and there's no display on the screen (do correct me if I'm wrong) perhaps, you should connect an alternate monitor to it and check if that works fine?

And if that doesn't help, try tapping on F10 during a restart, check if it boots into the BIOS screen, so we can identify if this is either a display failure or the system board.

 

P.S: Welcome to HP Community 😉

 

Keep us posted,

If you would like to thank us for our efforts to help you, 

Give us a virtual high-five by clicking the 'Thumbs Up' icon below, followed by clicking on the "Accept as solution" on this post, 

Have a great day!

Riddle_Decipher
I am an HP Employee

HP Recommended

First things first, thanks for the compliment, Riddle_Decipher; you aren't the first to suggest that I should write professionally.

 

Second, please forgive the delay in my response; I've had to deal with a recent family health crisis in recent weeks, and it's technically ongoing, so all my responses may be slow moving forward.

 

Finally, to return to the topic, the TouchSmart 300 desktop I'm having trouble with is one of those all-in-one devices where the hard drive and monitor is combined into a singular unit, so I couldn't use the first suggestion as if the computer had two separate components. I suppose I could see if pressing F10 would make some kind of a difference, but since the computer won't even display the HP image upon startup, with the monitor remaining dark as the harsh fan noise kicks in, I doubt it may.

 

I guess I could try it, even if I'm not wholly comfortable turning it on for fear it may do some kind of harm; if there is any real difference, I'll let you know.

 

 

Thanks,

ADonMartini_790

HP Recommended

@ADonMartini_790 Better late than never, that said, I hope your family recovers from the health crisis, soon!

And though it is an All-in-one desktop (combined into one monitor and tower) the step about connecting another monitor to it, applies to you! If you can get another monitor, you could use the HDMI port to use it as a dual monitor, or to simply check if the display on this AIO desktop has failed or if the computer has other issues.

 

Keep me posted,

And take your time.

Riddle_Decipher
I am an HP Employee

† The opinions expressed above are the personal opinions of the authors, not of HP. By using this site, you accept the <a href="https://www8.hp.com/us/en/terms-of-use.html" class="udrlinesmall">Terms of Use</a> and <a href="/t5/custom/page/page-id/hp.rulespage" class="udrlinesmall"> Rules of Participation</a>.