Having trouble with a ZD7000A, could use some advise.

This is an older HP laptop and it appears the focus here is mainly on the newer models but I'm desperate so if anyone can shed some light or point me in the direction that will help I would appreciate it.

I have a ZD7000A (went through the big repair/replace debacle) and it's been running great for a long time.

Over the weekend I decided to rebuild my computer using the provided discs (including the new drivers disc that came with my ZD7000A repair). I installed WinXP/drivers and then updated windows to latest. I left the computer on overnight and noticed that the laptop was locked up the next morning. I restarted and it locked up a couple minutes after boot and got worse and worse each reboot till it wouldn't do anything. At first I figured the ATI card was now dying, but after doing a little debugging it turns out when I first turn on my laptop, my fans only run about 1 second and then turn off (they both turn on and then off together) then they won't turn on again and my computer overheats and locks up.

I removed the fan cover on the bottom and propped the computer up on it's "back" (exposing the bottom to air) and set a fan blowing on it and the computer ran like a champ so it's simply the fact that I can't get the fans running.

I did a little reading and hoped the bios got messed up so I reset the bios and the reflashed, neither helped. I restored a previous image of my machine and that also did not help.

I have cleaned the whole fan/heatsink assembly (it wasn't that dirty).

Anybody have any ideas on what could be the problem? Would really appreciate some help here.

 

It's possible that ur laptop overheated and some transistors that power/control the fans or the fans themselves have burned out. Did you apply a thermal compound to the CPU before applying the heatsink?

It's plausible that your laptop may now just be a glorified paperweight.

 

I haven't removed the heatsink so, nope, I didn't install any thermal compound. The most i have had the machine apart is the fan cover off to better help cool with external fan.

Alas, I am afraid that something is fried and that stinks, since everything else if fine if the fans run.... I can see me now hard wiring the fans to 5V or something.

 

You've probably already resolved the problem, but did you check the hard drive?