Lockups in BIOS? Anyone?

Last night I decided to use my averatec 6100 (I rarely use it because I can't take it anywhere, I have a desktop in my dorm room already) and the computer locked up while I was in BIOS. Since then I haven't been able to get it to POST; the fans turn on and the power light is on but nothing happens. I just sent an email to averatec support, I didnt feel like waiting on the phone. Anyone else have a similar problem? I did get the problem of the computer not turning on after suspend, and I can recall a few times that the laptop shut off after I unplugged AC, even with the battery in.

Richard

 

if that doesn't work, you may want to try removing the CMOS battery (along with the ac and the battery, of course), that will reset the BIOS. You need to open the bottom of the laptop, the black cover that contains both fans. This will not void your warranty.

 

while you are waiting for averatec's answer, try unplugging your AC adapter, remove the battery, press the power button a few times (in order to discharge the caps), then put back the battery in along with the AC line. Try to power it up.

That fixed the same symptons on my older compaq presario, and one sony once. Worth a try I guess

 

Hornstar,

I looked over the posts and have not seen an example of anyone getting stuck in the POST (unless it's too damn late, and i'm going blind).

Thats a pretty serious issue! Wipeouts suggestion of hitting the with no power to the machine is a valid one, and it has an effect on the 6100. If you have to pull the CMOS battery, i'd suggest leaving it out for a few minutes at least. This will allow for a good purge. If you need help finding where the CMOS battery is and how to get to it, read the post http://www.notebookreview.com/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=11124 .

Good luck!! Let us know what happens!

DD

 

I tried everything but removing the BIOS battery. I'm almost hesitant to try it, not because it might fix the problem, but if I send it back to Averatec maybe they'll send me a model that doesn't crash on suspend or when A/C power is unplugged. =/ No word from them via email yet, the message on the support phone line said they had an increase of support activity or something like that... If I don't hear from them sometime today (Wednesday) maybe I will think about calling them.

 

Well, I couldn't stand it any longer so I cracked it open and removed the CMOS battery and reseated the RAM. The video and CPU seemed pretty snug so I left them alone. Still, no dice.

 

Thanks to everyone who have posted suggestions, I went ahead and called Averatec support (and spoke to a cute sounding Texan named Susan) and got an RMA for my laptop. Even though the wait was long for tech support, at least they were pleasant and spoke english. =) I'll let you guys know what happens.

 

Glad we could be supportive...if not functional.

Better luck with the replacement!

DD

 

Good luck.

Could you let me know in what state they told you to send the computer in ? Is it in California ?

 

Yep, Fremont California. 3358 Gateway Blvd. Not a long drive from where I'm going to school in Fresno, but I don't have a car right now, else I would have dropped it off myself =D I took the laptop into a UPS store to have it shipped friday. I checked the tracking number early sunday morning and it was in Sunnyvale, which is not far from Fremont. I think it should be there monday and hopefully I'll get it early the next week. Depending on what model you have they may have a different address to send for repairs.

I also made sure it was insured, no sense in shipping a laptop only to have it smashed before it even gets there. =D Man, that would suck.

 

Just got my laptop back today! I called Averatec support last night, (there was no wait for a tech this time) and he said that the laptop would be arriving in a few days. Seems to be running fine. Kinda scared to go into BIOS now though [ ]

 

I recommend you jump into the bios. As soon as you get back something you've sent for repairs, aren't you checking that what was wrong is really fixed ?

 

Well,we're all crosing our collecetive fingers for ya! [ ]

 

Heh, I did boot into BIOS sucessfully, and enabled 32 bit transfer on my hard disk. so it looks like everything is working fine. No problems to report yet, and I even managed to fix my media card reader! All around good day for me, thx guys.

 

hornstar-

Glad to hear you RMA has gone better that expected. That would indeed make for an excellant day!

DD