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Having major issue with compaq laptop

2Xtreme21

2Xtreme21

Diamond Member
I got a laptop in today with a problem that I'd have seen before. Basically when Windows started it would get to the "welcome" screen (where you would click on the user portrait to log in) and then freeze before the user icons showed up. The lady told me it was okay to just reformat it and reinstall XP because she got all her files off. Cool this'll be easy, I thought. Still tried logging into safe mode and otherwise exhausted all other methods (system restore, recovery console, etc.) before reformatting, but it still kept locking up at this screen.

I took it home last night and ran an HP/Compaq system restore / OS CD I had. Booted into Windows setup fine, started formatting the drive and about 20% in, the laptop just shut off. Turned it back on, did the same thing, got to about 50%, shut off. I thought maybe the battery was dead or dying, so I charged it for about 12 hours and ran it again today with it plugged in, and same thing happened-- this time around 2% complete.

I want to narrow it down to two things: hard drive (semi-easy fix as I have a spare notebook one lying around) and power supply (hard fix-- will probably have to tell her she needs to buy a new laptop). It could be the battery too, but the green light stayed on while I was formatting today indicating a full charge, so I don't think that's it.

Anyone have any ideas? Is the machine shot? How much would I be looking to spend in both money and effort to replace the power supply? Would a docking station suffice? (I'm not sure if they have their own PSU's or not).

Thanks for all the help!
 
Tried using some DustOff cleaner on all the fan intakes and held it up away from anything for a little while and it has yet to shut down. Maybe that was the trick. I know that the second I put it down though it'll shut down. Guess I should ask her to invest in a cooling pad?
 
Originally posted by: 2Xtreme21
Tried using some DustOff cleaner on all the fan intakes and held it up away from anything for a little while and it has yet to shut down. Maybe that was the trick. I know that the second I put it down though it'll shut down. Guess I should ask her to invest in a cooling pad?
Click to expand...

That's an option. If there is no manufacturer's warranty left, you may consider opening the laptop and putting new thermal paste on the processor. It might help stay cooler.
 
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