Both C ports suddenly dead on HP Spectre

[Mow2017]

Hi. I’m looking for help diagnosing and repairing an HP Spectre notebook (HP Spectre x360 2 in 1 Laptop PC 14-ef0000sa) that has suddenly stopped powering on.

The battery ran down and fully discharged before I'd had time to charge it. I normally never let it fully drain but was  busy at the time, though I didn't anticipate there would be any issue. However, when I subsequently plugged it in, there was a split-second flicker of the power light, and then both USB-C charging ports were  completely dead — no lights, no response, and the laptop will not power on at all. I’ve tested the charger on another laptop and confirmed it’s working correctly.

I’ve already tried a full power/EC reset with no success. At this point I suspect a power-delivery issue (e.g. USB-C charging controller, battery fault, or related power circuitry), rather than a software problem.

My priorities are:

a) Recovering data from the internal SSD (there are important files on which I'd been working stored locally on the desktop) and

b) assessing whether the laptop itself is economically repairable, or even possible to repair.

Other than a couple of keys recently going non-responsive (a common bugbear with all my previous Spectres over time, though the lifetime performance outweighed the irritation when it always, inevitably, occurred, hence being on my third one) it was working fine this morning, and as the specs and performance are way better than the backup Envy I'm now needing to use, I'd really like it to be saved if poss. Be good to know if anyone has experienced the same/similar and what the outcome was. Many thanks, and Merry Christmas!

[Deep_World]

Hi @Mow2017,

Welcome to the HP Support Community!

Thanks for reaching out!

We're thrilled to have the opportunity to assist you and provide a solution.

Sorry for the inconvenience caused don’t worry let me help you.

To better understand the issue, could you please provide a few more details?

I totally understand why you want to recover your data and figure out if the laptop is repairable.

To help narrow things down, a few more details would be useful:

• Have you noticed any unusual behavior from the laptop before this happened e.g., overheating, random shutdowns, or blinking lights?
• did the power light do anything at all (like a brief blink, even if it didn’t fully turn on)?
• Have you removed the battery or tried powering it on with the charger only?

In the meantime, here are a few troubleshooting steps you could try:

1. Try a different power source or outlet - sometimes a wall outlet can be faulty, even if the charger works with another device.
2. Power drain attempt - unplug the charger, hold the power button for at least 30 seconds, then plug it back in and try turning it on.
3. External boot attempt - if you have a USB drive with a bootable OS, see if the laptop will at least power on to that, which can help isolate whether it’s battery/power related or a more serious motherboard issue.

Since your main priority is recovering your files, the SSD can usually be removed and connected to another computer via a SATA/PCIe adapter (or enclosure), so your data is likely safe even if the laptop itself is dead

I hope this helps.

I'm glad I could help! 😊 If this resolved your issue, please mark it as "Accepted Solution" and click "Yes" on "Was this reply helpful?" Your feedback not only keeps us going but also helps others find the solution faster! 

Take care and have an amazing day ahead! 

Best regards,

Deep_World