# Laptop doesn't boot, fan starts then stops



## skylar011 (Apr 22, 2008)

I finally got around to cleaning the inside of my laptop.. I've traveled a lot and I smoke and have animals so it's gotten really bad.

I have an HP pavilion.

I tried as hard as I could to be safe with all my hardware but I believe I might have shorted something along the way? I don't know how though.

I had to take my processor out because it connected to a long metal strap which connects to ventilation grills and was covering a lot of area but ... when I put it back on I might have pushed quite hard on it because I thought the pins were shorter than they were and weren't going in all the way.


Well with the laptop all put back together I started it up and the power lights turn on permanently but my fans turn on for about 2 full seconds and then shut off. It does the same thing without a harddrive or processor. I get a flash to the monitor (very slightly) but I don't believe I get a black screen. I don't see any light coming from it at all except for that initial very slight flash. I'm not quite sure where the bios ram is (or I'd try to clear it).. and I don't know where my ram card is either. Normal computers are sooooooo much easier to figure out and laptops are too confusing!!!

So yeah, I have no idea what I screwed up (and my clutch decided to go out on me yesterday AND I found out I didn't get a job I applied for and thought I'd be a shoe in for)

This week is turning out to be very aggrevating.. can somebody help me try to turn it around???


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## TriggerFinger (Jan 30, 2008)

hi skylar011,

Welcome to TSF! :wave:

first off, quit counting the bad. it does not help. it could have been worse, right? tomorrow is another day. a fresh start :grin:

so about your laptop. when you opened it up, did you use a service manual as a guide? if not, it is never too late to download one. 

i suggest you follow the service manual, open it up again and see if you have returned everything in their proper places. the symptom you gave seem to tell that there is a short somewhere or you have a bad RAM. given that, check each and every connector that you removed and reseat them properly. check also if you had placed the processor properly (notice the small slot triangle on one corner, that should match somewhere on the base where you plug it in). remove the heatsink and reapply thermal compound.

do the same for the cards (i.e. Modem, NIC, RAM). remove them and reseat them well. do not use force (or too much of it). if they do not seem to fit or if they do not plug in right, it means you are doing it wrong. Never, never use a HAMMER! :laugh:

remove anything not belonging on the motherboard like dust, dirt, hair.. you know what i mean.

when you cleaned it, you did not use any liquids (alcohol, acetone, etc.), did you? well i hope not.

if you can post your model of laptop, i can help you find the service manual.

cheers man... 

post back what you find out...


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