Constant blinking capslock/numlock and long boot times

[paulmedynski]

Hi folks,

I've got an HP Pavillion dv4-1225dx and it recently started exhibiting some strange behaviour.  Here's what's happening:

1.  From off (ie cold boot), it will initially light up the power button and media buttons and the CPU fan will spin up.

2.  Then the fan stops, the screen stays totally off, and after about 8 seconds the capslock and numlock lights will start blinking.

3.  These lights blink once every 4 seconds.

4.  After a varying amount of time (sometimes 1 minute, sometimes 5, sometimes up to 20 minutes), the laptop will start booting.

5.  windows 7 boots fine and functions without any problems except for the occasional BSOD (but that's been the case for years with this laptop, so nothing new).

6.  The capslock and numlock lights continue blinking once every 4 seconds forever.  This contradicts what I've read on HP's Blank Screen LED Error Codes support page:

http://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c01443366

7.  Once Windows 7 has booted, the laptop refuses to charge the battery.  It says "plugged in, not charging".  The battery light (lightning bolt) is no lit or flashing, and the Power/AC led is lit solid (not blinking).

8.  I just replaced the battery with an HP genuine replacement.  This whole slow boot/blinking capslock/numlock behaviour started before I replaced the battery.

9.  If restart the laptop (warm boot) it boots immediately, but the capslock/numlock lights continue to blink.

10.  With the laptop powered off completely, it sometimes indicates that it is charging the battery, sometimes not.

I'm going to install and run the latest HP Support Assistant to see if it can explain any of this.

Any thoughts?

Thanks,

-Paul

[Cloud_Strider · Accepted solution]

It looks like you have ran into a variety of issues.

Unfortunately, the caps lock and num lock blinking once very 4 seconds indicates an issue witht he processor.  This is a result of internal hardware monitoring in the notebook.

Processor issues can manifest in a number of ways.  Some are minor annoyances, some are complete failutes of the notebook, and some are somewhere in between.  Your processor is manifesting in a way that is in between minor annoyance and a complete failure.  I have seen cases where a processor failure was behind a notebook stuttering where the screen appeared to free for a split second every other second.  As one can imagine, that would be quite annoying.

This means that a hardware service is needed.  Sorry.

If it is in warranty, I would recommend contacting HP support for a service order.

If it is not in warranty, it may be worth contacting HP to get an idea of how much a repair would cost and weigh that option against a new notebook.

[paulmedynski]

Thanks Cloud_Strider.  I've come to the same conclusion myself.  I'm well out of warranty, but I've got all the tools and wherewithall to try a few things myself, including re-seating the CPU and applying fresh thermal compound, and installing a new CPU (they're pretty cheap on eBay).

As an aside, the laptop will consistently charge the battery, but only when the laptop is completely off.  Once it starts booting (whether it completes or not), it won't charge the battery.  So the low-level charging circuitry is working 🙂

-Paul

[Cloud_Strider]

If it is out of warranty, then you don't really have a lot to lose by trying a few things on your own.

However, I will note that HP support will be limited if a non-HP part is installed (even for out of warranty payment options) if it comes down to being serviced by HP.

I do wish you luck with the self repairs. Let me know how it turns out.

[paulmedynski]

Well, I did the full cleaning and reapplied thermal paste, but to no avail. As you suspected, the CPU was simply toast. I looked around on eBay for replacement CPUs, and then realized I had a bunch of AirMiles points so I just cashed some in for a new HP laptop instead 🙂 Needless to say, the new laptop works fine!

-Paul

[Cloud_Strider]

Thanks for letting the community know the results.

Glad you had enough AirMiles to get a new notebook. That is certainly one remedy. 🙂