Wierd computer issue.

TheGame · 10-02-2008, 07:08 AM

So... last night the electricity in my neighborhood went out. I use a laptop, so when the electricity went out, my Laptop kept running fine with no issues. the power was off about an hour, 30 minutes into the outage I decided to close my laptop and let it sleep.

30 mins later the power is back, so I go to turn on my laptop and it turns itself off instantly.. No sound or anything, just on then off quick. About 30 minutes after that, when I attempt to turn it on again, this time it powers up a bit longer.. 10-15 seconds, I hear the fan kick on and it checking the CD drive, then boom it dies again before the screen lights up.

I tried removing and adding the plug, removing and adding the battery and nothing makes a diference, it keeps doing this 15 second thing. I give up and decide the computer is just screwed for a week til I get paid.

Then... a few hours later, I try again for the hell of it to turn it on, and it acts like it did right after the outage. It turned on and off quick twice, then on my third try it randomly booted up completly..

I'm a bit scared to turn the computer off again now and risk it not wanting to restart, so I'm just letting it sleep by closing the monitor then turning it back on by opening it. I was wondering if anyone had an issue like this before? If so, did it actually fix itself over time, or is there something I need to do or check before I risk powering downt he computer?

Happydude · 10-02-2008, 07:49 AM

wow, that sounds really weird. IT sounds as though something is wrong with the battery, like it's not keeping a charge.

I haven't come across a problem like this, and you said it came on randomly...which makes it even harder to troubleshoot.

There are a few options:

1. If your computer was plugged in when the power went off, there might have been a short circuit overloading and blowing some capacitors which are used mainly in the start-up process.

2. There might have been a small dust piece or something that has gotten in between the battery and the electric pins that the battery connects to.

3. your computer is just old.

The only one of those options you can check yourself is #2; for the others you would need to take it in to be repaired or replaced.

Professor S · 10-02-2008, 07:54 AM

It sounds like you got a power surge when the power went off or on again, and it blew some stuff up. I'm not familiar with how laptops handle power, but hopefully only your battery got fried a little. If this were a desktop we were talking about, your whole system might have gotten crisped up a nice golden brown.

In any case, in the future, even with a laptop, I'd advise investing in a voltage regulator for charging the battery. You don;t really need to regulate voltage with an on board battery, but they make the best surge protectors, IMO, with the added bonus of a secondary power source if power goes out for a LONG time.

TheGame · 10-02-2008, 09:19 AM

Thanks for the tips guys. I think even though its working I'm going to invest in a new laptop next friday. I don't have cable, and video games don't do it for me like they used to. Can't really risk having my best entertainment source going out lol. I'll have about $700 to spend on one (after taxes), might have to hit up walmart or something. :x

To Happydude... It could have been dust, but I don't know, nothing changed from the last 3 attempts to turn it on, except for the 3rd time it worked randomly. And my computer actually just hit its 2nd birthday as of today (what were the odds?). And I think its likely that it got fried when the power came back on, since I left it plugged in like an idiot, it was working just fine when the power went out lol.

And to strangler, I'll likely get one of those regulators a bit after getting my new laptop. I guess the only good though, is that it is randomly working now. Hopefully it holds out one more week. :P

Angrist · 10-02-2008, 10:15 AM

Couldn't you try your insurance, if the power killed your laptop? Or even better, the electricity company's insurance.

Have you tried removing the battery and only using the power adapter? How does that work?

TheGame · 10-02-2008, 10:41 AM

Well, I tried with battery and plug in, didn't work at first, took out battery and just had plug in.. didn't work, took plug out and just battery, didn't work either. When it decidd to power on later it had both in there.

I'm just hoping the problem it had before wore off, but I'm not going to power cycle it (turn it completly off then on) until I have enough money to buy another laptop lol.

Oh, and the warranty ont he laptop wasonly one year.

Dyne · 10-02-2008, 02:26 PM

So I'm guessing it wasn't plugged into a surge protector?

manasecret · 10-02-2008, 02:47 PM

Do you have any other power supplies laying around? That would be an easy way to figure out if it's just your power supply (the cord dealie), and not something more critical (read: harder to fix) inside your computer.

Just make sure the specs on the power supply matches the one that came with your laptop. You want the output voltage to be exactly the same, and the output current to be equal to or greater than the one that comes with your laptop.

If you don't have one, I know that many stores like Best Buy sell universal power supplies now.

And remember from now on, since you learned the hard way -- surge protectors are critical for your expensive, time-consuming-to-replace electronics. And while the battery backup/surge protector systems (usually called a UPS) that Prof. S mentioned are nice to have, they are not any better at surge protecting than surge protectors and they're a whole lot more expensive. A UPS may help protect against swells in the line voltage, but most laptop power supplies these days are designed to handle more than twice the standard U.S. voltage (240V and up) with no problem at all. And a sag probably wouldn't do any damage.

TheGame · 10-02-2008, 09:05 PM

I have a surge protector actually. Which is what makes it even more odd... Its almost like the thing failed... The computer itself came with a special two piece plug also that's meant to stop surges too I believe. The problem is extremely wierd. I will be buying another protector soon though.

If I have to take a guess at what may have added to the problem, its the fact that I put my computer to sleep when the outage happend... Maybe the computer didn't want to reboot in its old state or something. But I'm not about to let my computer power completly down again quite yet. Time will tell I suppose.

My laptop is nice, but admittedly it has aged quite a bit. Even for when I bought it back on 06 it wasn't quite 100% up to date with the times. I was saving for a down payment for a new car, but the extra money I have now... if my computer doesn't pass all my tests next friday... will likely be put towards a laptop. lol

manasecret · 10-02-2008, 10:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheGame

I have a surge protector actually. Which is what makes it even more odd... Its almost like the thing failed... The computer itself came with a special two piece plug also that's meant to stop surges too I believe. The problem is extremely wierd. I will be buying another protector soon though.

Surge protectors, once they have done their job by protecting against a surge, will then need to be replaced. The reason being, the device inside the surge protector (called a varistor, almost always a metal-oxide varistor or MOV), protects the expensive electronics down the line by burning out itself instead of causing the electronics to go up in smoke. The problem is, once the MOV burns out, it's no longer there to protect anything. Most surge protectors now give an indicator light telling you when the protector no longer works. However, the asinine way they design that indicator light is to turn on a red warning light when the protector is working and turning off when it isn't working (!) instead of the more logical method of turning on the warning light when the protector is not working.

But this special two plug protector you mentioned worries me. What is it exactly? ALL surge protectors require a third prong ground connection to protect against surges, and I wonder if this two plug protector is something that converts a two prong outlet into a three-prong outlet?

Quote:

If I have to take a guess at what may have added to the problem, its the fact that I put my computer to sleep when the outage happend... Maybe the computer didn't want to reboot in its old state or something. But I'm not about to let my computer power completly down again quite yet. Time will tell I suppose.

I always worry about putting my computer to sleep, and so never do it. Windows XP can be so weird sometimes, and die for what seems like no reason. Seems possible that might be an admittedly voodoo reason for it dying.

Quote:

My laptop is nice, but admittedly it has aged quite a bit. Even for when I bought it back on 06 it wasn't quite 100% up to date with the times. I was saving for a down payment for a new car, but the extra money I have now... if my computer doesn't pass all my tests next friday... will likely be put towards a laptop. lol

I have a laptop and I agree that they age much more quickly then desktops. I don't think I will buy a laptop again for a very long time.

GameMaster · 10-02-2008, 10:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by manasecret

I have a laptop and I agree that they age much more quickly then desktops. I don't think I will buy a laptop again for a very long time.

Desktops still offer more power per dollar too.

A couple weeks ago I was set to get a new MacBook Pro for school. And I ended walking out with an iMac. It was significantly cheaper and lot more powerful. Even though the resolution would've been the same 1900 x 1200 is much more enjoyable on a 24" screen.

I also think there's a large belief among parents and students that they think they need a laptop for college. And its simply not true. Its nice to be able to IM and surf the internet while you're professor is lecturing but I personally still prefer taking notes with a good ol' fashioned paper and pen. And if you need to go the library, computers are available. Couple this with the increasing capability and capacity of thumb-drives, and you can carry your files with you anywhere. And when you're in your room, you can use your desktop.

Not to rain down on laptops though. They're great for travel. They take up a lot less space than the typical PC with its giant tower. And its nice to have when you go on vacation.

TheGame · 10-02-2008, 11:58 PM

Yeah my surge protector is fried. The indicator is on saying that it doesn't work anymore. It just says surge, and the orange light is on by it that wasn't there before.

As for the plug thingy I'm talking about... it reminds me of gamecube's plug (I think?) where its one side of the plug wire, plugged into a little black box which has the other end of the plug wired and goes into the wall.

And as for laptops... well... Its just more convienent for me personally. Taking it on the road with me is a big upside, and I kinda like being able to toss it under my bed. Nobody even has to know I have it lol. For me its like comparing a cell phone to a house phone at home.. even when I'm in my house I still prefer to use my cell. I don't even know my own home phone number.

KillerGremlin · 10-03-2008, 03:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheGame

As for the plug thingy I'm talking about... it reminds me of gamecube's plug (I think?) where its one side of the plug wire, plugged into a little black box which has the other end of the plug wired and goes into the wall.

That's where the magic happens and the fairies turn the AC into DC.

KillerGremlin · 10-03-2008, 03:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by manasecret

I always worry about putting my computer to sleep, and so never do it. Windows XP can be so weird sometimes, and die for what seems like no reason. Seems possible that might be an admittedly voodoo reason for it dying.

Windows XP has a long history of problems with the sleep function. It's something they never bothered to resolve for whatever reason.

manasecret · 10-05-2008, 11:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheGame

Yeah my surge protector is fried. The indicator is on saying that it doesn't work anymore. It just says surge, and the orange light is on by it that wasn't there before.

Probably fried. But most surge protectors are designed to do the opposite, turn on the light when the protector is still working, and turn it off when it isn't. So it may think it's still working.

Quote:

As for the plug thingy I'm talking about... it reminds me of gamecube's plug (I think?) where its one side of the plug wire, plugged into a little black box which has the other end of the plug wired and goes into the wall.

That would be the power supply, and the thing that is probably fried. Before you give up entirely on your laptop, you might try switching it out with another one if you happen to have one laying about. Or go to Best Buy and buy a universal one and try that. Just be sure all the specs match between the original power supply and the extra one.