Compaq laptop failed to boot

[zfc]

My laptop model is Compaq Presario CQ40-502AU. I have been using it for more than 2.5 years.

Recently, the laptop failed to boot occasionally. The LED keep blinking but the laptop won't start.

By referring to this article:

http://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c01732674

I preformed hard reset and manged to get the laptop booted. However, the problem reappered after several days and performing a hard reset is not enough to boot the laptop. Sometimes, I need to do the hard reset numberous times to boot the laptop.

I have recorded a video on the condition of LED blinking.

https://skydrive.live.com/redir.aspx?cid=4aa65a2248b908f1&resid=4AA65A2248B908F1%21412&parid=4AA65A2...

I'm not sure whether it is considered as continous blinking indicating the problem of my power adapter?

Somebody please help me on this. Thanks!

[BrentW · Accepted solution]

Greetings,

Disconnect the AC adapter and remove thebattery from the notebook. Once this is done, press and hold the power button down on the PC for one minute. Reconnect only the AC adapter and try to turn the unit back on. if this issue occurs again, power down the unit by pressing and holding the power button for 8 seconds. Disconnect the AC adapter and replace the battery. Attempt to boot the PC again. 

If the PC boots, during the Compaq logo, press the escape key to get into the boot menu. While in the boot menu press the diagnostics mode key (Should be F10) and run a full systems diagnostics. This should tell you what device is failing. Hopefully it is nothing serious, perhaps a bad battery.

If your system appears to be stable while booting, and not randomly shutting down on it's own, I would attempt to update the BIOS once booted into Windows by downloading it at :

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/softwareDownloadIndex?softwareitem=ob-86224-1&cc=us&dlc=en&lc=en&...

Be sure to follow the directions exactly as posted on the HP site.

Good luck
Brent 

[zfc]

I did all the steps as suggested by you. My laptop passed all the tests including start-up, run in and hard disk test.

For your information, my battery has spoilt and I have been using my laptop without the battery for almost half year.

I updated the BIOS from F.52 to the current F.55. Well, so far it can function normally. But I think I'm still need to put it under observation period since I'm not sure whether the issue will occur again. As in my previous experience, the issue reoccured after several weeks if not mistaken.

Thanks for your help!

[BrentW]

Greetings again,

No problem. I am glad that we were able to determine your system hardware is fine. Normally a flashing indicator is a Motherboard issue. With the test you determined it was not. That BIOS update that I pointed out was made to improve the functionality of your AC adapter. Hopefully you will not have this issue again, but as you stated, keep it under observation. If it seems to be working good after a few weeks, come back and mark the post as a solution so the next individuals that search for the issue can find the solution easier.

[zfc]

I think the problem has been solved. Thanks!