Laptop shuts off when picked up by corner?

[MikeyG]

This is definately a different one. I haven't been able to find anyone else that's had this problem after some searching around the net. I'm trying to see if anyone has an idea about what might be causing it before I go tearing the computer apart. I don't have the right size screwdriver on hand at the moment otherwise I already would have.

My girlfriend was in class the other day and she said a fellow classmate bumped into her laptop and it shut off. Ever since then, she said it will shut off occasionally on it's own. I fooled around with it for a few minutes to try to duplicate the problem and found out that it will completely shut off if you pick it up or put pressure on the bottom right corner of the body. This is the same place the DVD drive is located. The laptop is a HP Pavilion dv2000 that was purchased July 2008. I've done some checking on the battery and power supply, but all of those seem okay. I just can't figure out why it shuts off when pressure is applied around the DVD area. I also tried to press the DVD drive from the side (as if to eject the disc), and it shut the computer off.

My only idea I have left is to take the computer apart and check power connections. I don't think there's any major power supply connections in the area of the DVD drive. My other thought is maybe pressure on that corner puts pressure somewhere else inside where there might be a loose connector or such.

I'm really wondering if anyone might know what is causing this. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

[Gangles]

an educated assumtion is telling me that the initial inpact made some connector/wire or hardware loose or made it move causing a short everytime pressure is applied to the affected area.

[luke6283]

I have the exact same problem with my HP Pavilion dv7, did you ever find a solution or what it was inside that was causing it?

Thanks,

Luke

[eastavin]

Did you ever figure this out and get this fixed?  We have a Pavilion g6 doing the same thing now and its driving us wacky.  any hints would be appreciated.

[eastavin]

Problem solved.  The cause was the replacement battery supplied by Costco under their extended warranty program for HP laptops.  The battery somehow has a slightly different smaller volume and thus when inserted leaves small gaps between the battery case and the computer shell where no such small gap exists with the MU06 HP battery.

STEP 1 To diagnose and solve this issue... start with your laptop off.  Turn over the laptop so you are looking at the bottom.  Put 4 fingers on the edge of the battery and pull it towards yourself... or towards the middle of the case.  ask yourself.. does it move or budge ever so slightly... perhaps a 1/32 or 1/16 of an inch?  Compare it to the original battery.. I noted that there is less give or less movement.

Step 2 put the battery back in with which the trouble is experienced.  Get some duct tape or aluminum foil tape... needs to be wide and sticky.  Measure and cut a length of tape equal to the battery and while pulling the battery towards yourself with lots of strength apply it over half the battery and the rest over the edge of the battery closer to the centre of the computer.  Push it down well.  You are gluing the battery to the computer case with tape in the pulled in position.   MAKE SURE YOUR TAPE IS NOT COVERING ANY VENTS OR GRILLS.. TRIM IT BACK IF IT IS...FAILURE TO DO SO WILL CAUSE YOUR COMPUTER TO OVERHEAT AND YOU WILL HAVE A WORSE PROBLEM TO FIX.

Step 3 start your computer using the battery.  If this is the cause of your trouble then this fix should have solved the mystery of why the laptop turns off when you pick it up by a corner.  It did for me.

Moral of the story... sometimes an HP battery can be better than a knockoff...  unless you have lots of tape.

[Msenghott]

I recently had the same problem on a users laptop (hp Folio 9470M)  and i found out that the issue was a loose connection between the battery and the motherboard or connectors to the motherboard. Because i tried a new battery, but the problem persisted. I had noticed that when i had it connected to a power source, it did not die. So i concluded that the issue was the motherboard/ systemboard connectors.

[solomonBergs]

i have the same problem