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Author Thread: Compaq pc power lose
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Anonymous
 
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hello i have a compaq pc with windows 98 i am having a problem with. the pc keeps turning it self off and restarting itself. example i turn on the pc and it loads windows but before the desk top items are all loaded it turns itself off and restarts, and it keeps doing this, it won't stay on long enough for to do any dianostics. however i can keep it on a little longer by running it in safe-mode. i have tried reinstalling windows but it still does it, i have tried to run the recovery cd that came with the pc but no help. if you have any suggestions i would appreciate anything thanks
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New member
Username: Jonathan

Post Number: 4
Registered: 02-2004
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could be anything really

faulty memory
power supply
processor overheating
hard drive crapping out

etc...
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Silver Member
Username: Project6

Post Number: 326
Registered: Dec-03
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virus...run a virus check on safe mode
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New member
Username: Sandmanz400

Reserve, N.M.
U.S.

Post Number: 7
Registered: Mar-04
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hum...i agree with jonathan P.

i suggest a bigger power supply
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New member
Username: Squattingdog

Post Number: 8
Registered: Mar-04
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The problem definately sounds hardware related. Make sure your motherboard isn't grounding out, make sure everything is properly seated, if you have the money try a new power supply but normally compaq is pretty good about that unless you've been adding hardware like dvd players etc in which case thats most likely the cause. you might also want to check the processor temp. if you're fan and/or your heat sink is off that could affect it.
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Bronze Member
Username: Sandmanz400

Reserve, N.M.
U.S.

Post Number: 26
Registered: Mar-04
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shane
if the mother board would have grounded out it would have fried.

mabe im wrong.
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Bronze Member
Username: Squattingdog

Post Number: 23
Registered: Mar-04
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Maybe I used the wrong term. Shorting out. If the board brushes up against the case it could cause a problem. I've had towers that while laying down will work fine but if you stand them up they short out. By wedging some cardboard inbetween the mother board and the case it solves the problem. Mind you I've seen a power supply blow and actually blacken the connectors on the board and smoke up and after putting in a new power supply the machine works fine so maybe I've just had some really lucky boards to deal with.
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New member
Username: Bean05

Silver Spring, Maryland
United States

Post Number: 1
Registered: Jun-04
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If it's loading windows and running in safe mode it's most likely that your computer is over heating. If it's always shutting off at a certain time then that means one of your hardware devices isn't working.
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Bronze Member
Username: Elecgenius

La Puente, Ca
United States

Post Number: 47
Registered: Oct-04
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sorry to butt in but,u have to work urself backwards and use some kinda logic. recovery cd didnt work right. that means software-viruses- problem has a minimal posibility, if any. second of all, check for unusual noises. ie. the hard drive starts to make a skipping sound. also, u can try disconnecting all ur hardware except whats necessary and run it like that. plug things one by one to see if anything starts a problem. also, remember to clean ur ram with an eraser, that helps the conductivity. it ca be anything, even the video card thats going bad. u gotta work backwards though and test one by one
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Silver Member
Username: Insearchofbass

Post Number: 957
Registered: Jun-04
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first thing that popped into my head for this problem is a loose connection cable wise at the motherboard
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Silver Member
Username: Deathshadow

Post Number: 130
Registered: Oct-04
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A. If the board was grounded out it would not turn on, nor would it have fried or booted.
B. If his PC has worked before for years he does NOT need a bigger power supply.
C. If the RAM was bad it would NOT boot.
D. If the HD was bad it would NOT load windows, you may however have bad sectors.
E. Heat is a possibility but I doubt it, open your PC up and use some dust off on it.
F. Bad Power Supply is another possibility; use a voltage meter and check to make sure you’re getting enough power.

Honestly id wipe that partition out, do a full clean format, disconnect the PC from ALL network connections (if any), Then reinstall windows, do NOT load any old files then see if it works.

We need a little more information then what you have given us as well. Are their any P.O.S.T error codes/beeps that are displayed/heard? Any boxes or warnings that come up when the desktop is being loaded? Did you add any new hardware? Any storms recently and do you have a GOOD surge protector? Did you touch the inside of the PC/Drop it/Otherwise do anything to it that may have damaged it?
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Bronze Member
Username: Sony224422

Deep River, CT
US

Post Number: 11
Registered: Dec-04
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I would check for viruses. Also, even though everyone says that the power supply could be bad, its mostlikey not. How ever, have you added any other devices that run off the power supply. if you haven't then i doubt its the power supply. If it was, it wouldn't turn on and you know. Try scanning for viruses and if that doesn't work back up your files and important items, and then do a full format.
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Silver Member
Username: Deathshadow

Post Number: 349
Registered: Oct-04
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"If it was, it wouldn't turn on and you know."

Power supplies that fale to supply sufficient or stable clean steady output to hardware devices do cause instability and crashes; Just because the PC turns on does NOT mean that the PS is functioning in accordance to the PCs needs or correctly...
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Bronze Member
Username: Sony224422

Deep River, CT
US

Post Number: 16
Registered: Dec-04
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They do, but it almost never happens. Something usually sets this off. They almost always go together, not just peices of it.

Check your connections everywhere too, you could be overloading the p/s, which would cause it to cut out and try to restart, but im guessing its a virus dispite what damien says.
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Silver Member
Username: Deathshadow

Post Number: 350
Registered: Oct-04
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Actually I find it to be quite a common anomaly (more so with cheap PSs found in the proprietary PC masses).
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Unregistered guest
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hey, i got a problem and woderning if anyone knows nethign can fix it. I got a compaq presario and i use it mainly to game and do work for college. but all the time the fan turns it self on for about 20 seconds... i checked the pc and it aint h0t but i cant seem to fix the problem. i thought bcos it was near a radiator tht was the pr0blem so i turned the rad off. but no avail
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New member
Username: Djjam

Post Number: 1
Registered: Jan-05
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Continual shutdowns usually point to the cpu first and secondly the power supply. Some early AMD'S are really notorious for this becaues of heat factors.
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Anonymous
 
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hey i have the same problem with a compaq presario i am trying to fix, i am trying to reistall XP on it, but in the middle of the reinstall process it just shuts down and reboots. any ideas!?
Thank you
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New member
Username: Jad

Post Number: 3
Registered: Aug-05
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remove all hardware leave all the vital parts in then try to reinstall windows if still fails.
click on my name and then send private email i will then send an email with more ideas. please give all info that you have and also look at manuals.
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fake
Unregistered guest
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I would say that its a power supply problem because I have the same problem and I noticed that it goes out when the cdrom starts spinning to extract files off of the cdrom drive during windows XP install.
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Anonymous
 
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I have a compaq presario 2100, 1 yr 3 months old.
@ 6 months back the battery pack stopped working.
I have a new battery pack, seems okay. but Now
the computer will not turn on.
The first 2 indicator lights do nothing, the battery indicator flickers 3 times then nothing.
When I press any of the 5 function buttons at the top only then will the computer come to life for about 3 seconds trying to boot, then dies each time. any ideas on where to start?
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New member
Username: Mistered

Post Number: 1
Registered: Aug-05
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I have Compaq Presario 6421US. Hitting the power button causes the power supply to turn on but nothing works except the fan in the power supply. HP wants $150 for a new motherboard. I can buy a new case, power supply, and motherboard (all non-Compaq) for about $100. If I get these and reuse the rest of the parts from the Compaq computer will a Compaq Windows XP disc work for installation or will I need to buy a new retail copy of Windows XP?
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Silver Member
Username: G3nocd3

San Jose, Ca
USA

Post Number: 264
Registered: May-05
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Wow a new case, psu and motherboard for 100. Either its a peace of junk setup or you have god like powers in finding deals. A decent mobo runs about 80+. Also psu, im sorry but anything under 100$ is not worth a crap. In my opinion the only good psu is a turbo cool 510. Dont skinp and buy cheap stuff, or you will find your self yet again in this delema. Get an upgrade. A decent mainboard and cpu package will be around 250-350$ nowadays. Psu will be around 60 for one thats not completely useless. And case, if you want a plain boring case you can find one for about 30$. And yes sometimes u will have to get a new copy of xp. SOmetimes the compaq,dell, and gateways discs will only load to a home setup. (so compaq disc will boot on a compaq, dell on a dell. All depends. Try it. Might as well. But then again why would you want microsoft. Lol. get a mac. Waaaay less problems, more stable, and os x will run most windows apps now. Heck even good games are comming out on mac. Like doom 3, and hl2 which is supposed to come out. :-) just my opinion. (for you pc guys, dont give me hell, i have dual core amd chip running my main comp, which is a pc, but i still think mac is a better os.
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Unregistered guest
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Hello, i have a compaq presario 2100 notebook, and i replaced the fan and heatsink in it. now my problem is that the damn thing likes to shut off when you turn it on, it stays on for about 2-3 seconds, and then shuts off, but only to turn itself right back on again?? wtf. did i not do something right? i didnt touch the mobo, followed the manual, and still have problems, i hear that if the heatsink and fan arent installed properly, it will do that, but i think that i installed it the same way that i took it out.
AMD Athlon xp 2500+
512megs of ram
40gig hdd
win xp home
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Silver Member
Username: G3nocd3

San Jose, Ca
USA

Post Number: 360
Registered: May-05
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i think there was a recall on that battery. Its either the battery or ram. A comp will NOT overheat in 2-3 seconds. Ive run my overclocked fx-55 for 2 days (forgot to turn my watercooling pump on) and it still ran fine. Never shut down. it will take atleast 10 min if anything for it to overheat. Its either your ram, or your powersource. since you have a laptop, the battery. And o why are you taking your heatsink off of a laptop cpu anyways. I wonder why it voids warrenty if you open the case on a notebook. Notebooks are very sensitive and complicated compared to desktops. Be careful with what you touch inside. Like i said, either ram or battery. Take it to a service place, since most people dont want to work on laptops. I kno i dont like to. (I have but trust me, let the pros fix it, or you will end up with no working laptop.)
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Unregistered guest
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it is out of warranty, it isnt the ram or the battery, i tested using a stick of ram that i know works, out of another laptop, and i use the power cord, and it does the same thing. do you think that a professional will still look at it even though i took it apart?
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Silver Member
Username: G3nocd3

San Jose, Ca
USA

Post Number: 362
Registered: May-05
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yea man, im positive they will look at it. Just ,manufactures will normally honor void warrenties if its a problem with their hrdware. I wouldnt trip about it. Take it to a laptop specific shop and it should be fine. Most places wont mess with laptops like i said, but if u find one that will, they will surely look at it. if not tell em to screw off and drive your car thru the front of their shop. LOL. im joking of course. but yea, shouldnt be a problem bro, just explain the problem, and have em look at it. good luck man. If u get if fixed, post what the problem was. Im sure your not the only person having this problem. (o and it still could be the psu, even tho laptops use batteries or psu;s it could still be the internal psu that transforms the current.) but yea, ask em, they should be able to give u a quick answer. Atleast less than a week. good luck bro.
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ummm........yeah
Unregistered guest
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ok, so now it turns on and off, about 5-6 times, then the power led stays on, and no screen or other activites(cpu fan, hdd), wtf? when i took it apart, i didnt feel anything from ESD, so that couldnt possibly be a reason, right? i used a nonmagnetic screwdriver, so that really couldnt have caused any problems. i just dont understand...how could there be some sort of power failure, when it turns on and off, and then stays on? something strang is going on
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Unregistered guest
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i think that i am just going to sell this one, couple hundred, and buy a new one, i dont want to deal with this. thanks for the time, if you come across any other ideas, email me, zcronk69@yahoo.com.
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ummm.......yeah
Unregistered guest
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ok, so i have found out what the problem was. somehow the cpu got fried, at least that is what i am told, it is going to cost me a couple hundred dollars to fix. the guy(professional) said that there was a bare wire somewhere, and shorted it out...not quite sure on this, but i am going to make sure that i get my old cpu back as well, dont need to be getting ripped off now.
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ummm.......yeah
Unregistered guest
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ok, so i have found out what the problem was. somehow the cpu got fried, at least that is what i am told, it is going to cost me a couple hundred dollars to fix. the guy(professional) said that there was a bare wire somewhere, and shorted it out...not quite sure on this, but i am going to make sure that i get my old cpu back as well, dont need to be getting ripped off now.
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big problem
Unregistered guest
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ok, so i have a presario 2100. when press the power button, it turns on, all lights come on. then it turns off and on, as someone described above. turns of and on 4 times, then stays on, but with no screen, and no hdd activity. ive tried plugging in an external monitor, but still same results with no screen. the fan comes on, and off, with the pattern of the restarts, then shuts right off. the hdd spins up for about a second, and then stops. are these restarts some type of error codes? there are no beeps. this pattern of restarts started out as just restarting 3 times, and now it does it 4 times, and has stuck with it. does anyone know if a mini-pci diagnostics card will work for my problem? just to see what the hell is going on with it. i am stuck....in a huge hole.
Thanks Guys, as i am sure that someone has some sort of idea as to what is wrong.
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New member
Username: Johnmike

Post Number: 5
Registered: Mar-06
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hey wassup,
i gotta compaq presario(shitty config)no matter what avi files i play it gets stuck .da whole system,avi files dat work perfect on my friends comp
nyway ive tried updatin all my drivers but its still craps out on me.does anyone hve any clue on wats goin on .yo.
98se n WinXP pro
intel 82810e graphics
ess allegro sound driver
128 sd ram
Duh!!!!!!
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New member
Username: Archzero

Post Number: 1
Registered: May-06
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I have a problem with my compaq presario 2100 xp. I tried everything and nothing works. The compaq keeps restarting and when i go to safe mode and it restarts. I even reboot, last known configuation and doesn't work. After all of that it restart after it load the configuation
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Silver Member
Username: Evadelparaiso

Puerto Rico

Post Number: 421
Registered: May-06
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When reboot select f8 select Safe mode with Command Prompt, write chkdsk /r and enter if open cmd.exe write again chkdsk /r in the message for schedule next time do you restart select Y and enter, write exit and enter. Lucky
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New member
Username: Backitup

Post Number: 1
Registered: Aug-06
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Hello I see you guys have all had or have dead compaq 2100 or 2500 notebooks. I want to buy a few for parts. Will pay cash??? hottrog@aol.com
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Gold Member
Username: Illuminator


USA

Post Number: 3775
Registered: Apr-05
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Haha
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