boot problems... presario F579wm (F500)

i am having a problem with my laptop. when i turn it on the screen will be blank, but the lights will be on. after 20 seconds or so it reboots and does the same thing. but if i keep tapping F8 it will eventually boot up. if i dont it just cycles on and off every 20 seconds. i checked the ram, tried different ram, removed the hard drive, i even reflashed the bios but still the same thing. i dont know what else to do. it is a compaq presario F579wm. windows XP pro. it first did it when i put it in stand by, then came back later and it would not start back up, same thing, black screen, reboots every 20 seconds but never shows anything on the screen. whats weird is F8 is neither the boot menu or bios setup button. i have no idea why it boots when i tap F8, i thought it was only to boot to safe mode. is this a hardware problem or a bios problem? i still have a few months warranty left, should i send it in? please help.?
thanks,
John

 

Re-install or do a repair install of XP to rule out a software side issue. If it still persist, it will most likely be hardware issues.

It just sounds like software issues to me.

Try this first anyway, to cover bases:
- Pop out the battery pack and unplug the AC power

- Hold the power button for 30seconds or more

- This time only plug in the AC power and try turning it on again

 

This definitely sounds like a hardware issue to me. The Presarios are very cheaply made and often don't last, especially recent models with CPUs that run hot and don't have sufficient cooling. This can cause heat damage to components over time. I purchased one in March 2008 that had a cooling fan fail after several hours of use. I would send it in for repair while you can, but take photos of everything (right before you put it in the box) and have HP send an e-mail stating what they are going to fix. They will probably try to say you broke something and blame it on you. HP repair is terrible - they misdiagnosed my problem, and then caused damage to my new laptop during repair - scratches everythwere, solvents on the LCD screen and case, chipped case. And then tried to blame FEDEX and then me! Fortunately, I took photos with the FEDEX label in them before shipping. But i don't think you have any other choice. Send it in and keep calling or e-mailing for a status, or they will send it back unfixed after your warranty has run out.

 

BTW, they'll have you do a bunch of trouble-shooting before they accept it for repair. Be sure to call during West Coast working hours or you'll get a poorly trained, english-challenged tech who won't help, but will run you through the standard script for hours. You might get one anyway, but if it's going nowhere, tell them you have to go and call back to until you get someone who seems to know what they are doing.

 

well i tried another hard drive all together and it still would not boot. i also removed and cleaned the contacts on the memory, cleaned contacts on the HD. i even cleaned the contacts on the battery because i dident have anything else to try. i left the main power, battery, and cmos battery out all night and it booted fine the first time i put the battery back in, but did the same thing on next reboot. so i called HP/compaq and there sending a box so i can send it in. im typing on it now but i almost never got it to turn on this time. im backing up my data as best i can but im having to pick and choose what i want because im away from home for a few months and im copying it to a friends computer for the time being. its about 30 gigs of stuff that i dont have to have but i dont want to lose it either, and about 2 gigs of work documents, videos, and pictures that i cant lose. so when the box gets here ill take pics of my laptop beside the box and sticker. i have a sticker on the top of and two on the inside, will they freak over that? other than that theres not a scratch on it. i think overheating did it, because for the past few months it has seemed to me that its been running pretty hot, when i know the cooling fan is on and open to air. i even starting turning it upside down when i wasent using it to make sure the cooling fan was clear. anyways thanks for the help guys.
John

 

damnedest thing..... right after i talked to compaq it started working fine. what a pain. idk what the deal is. i kinda wish it would do it again, cause i know right after the warranty goes out its gonna do it again. ahhhh!!!!!!!
John

 

I'm having the same problem. It's either the CPU or Motherboard/BIOS. Repair on the Motherboard is about $200. Selling the parts, i.e., DVD drive, RAM, Screen, Keyboard, battery, and such, will bring at least $150 on Ebay. I think I'm taking that rout and will stay away from Compaq in the future!! John Mackall.

 

Your laptop is included in the HP repair/recall for products with the Nvidia chipsets/GPU's....
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/...0071&cc=us&dlc=en&lc=en&jumpid=reg_R1002_USEN

As long as the laptop is not more than 2yrs old you should be able to get it fixed for free. Check the above link and contact HP.