Dead HP Laptop

[Matt Meiser]

My wife's ~5 year old HP DV5-1003NR laptop wouldn't start yesterday morning and the num lock and caps lock lights were flashing. Googling turns up that the single blink means "Bad CPU". I tried Googling to see whether it was worth repair but mostly turned up a bunch of internet drivel. A new Dell is on the way but I'd still like to determine whether its worth fixing, because it is a pretty nice laptop, better than my personal ~6 year old Dell. I can get a "new system pull" CPU on eBay for $9. Anyone have experience with these and know if it might be worth a try or if there is a good chance its something different that's not worth fixing?

I've got a nightly backup of the system on our Windows Home Server and I assume the hard drive is still good so its not really an issue of recovering data.

[Jerome Stanek]

Have you tried removing the battery and uplugging it. then put the battery back in and plug it in.

[Matt Meiser]

Have you tried removing the battery and uplugging it. then put the battery back in and plug it in.

Yep, first thing I tried. I also pulled the hard drive, ram, optical drive, and wireless card and got the same.

Most everything I've found online is "me too" postings and people reporting what Bob's House O Laptop Repairs (or worse, the Geek Squad) told them was wrong. HP's site though confirms the code is "Bad CPU." 2 blinks means "bad main board" so they are making some determination in the BIOS.

[Phil Thien]

Sometimes POST (Power On Self Test) codes can be red herrings.

I'd reseat the existing CPU and RAM, and see what happens. If that doesn't work, and it is still flashing bad CPU at you, I'd spend the $9.

[Jacob Muldowney]

I am sure its not your cpu. Unless you bake them and I mean you have to really try to fry one they dont usually die. I have never had one go bad. I have built over a 1000 computers for clients. That said it sounds like an issue that HPs are known to have. The gpu and cpu share a heatsink. After a time the gpu starts to break the solder joints on the motherboard due to excessive heat. There are two options. 1. get a new motherboard knowing this will happen again to it at some point. 2. Have the gpu reflowed or have somebody re-solder it with an Ir bga rework station and completey start over on the soldering job. A new motherboard will set you back anywhere from $50 to $100 and not really worth it considering it will happen again and it is 5 years old. You can get a new Lenovo on sale for $300. What model is it?

[Matt Meiser]

I did read about that, but sounds like people with the GPU issue get 2 flashes which is "bad motherboard" or something like that. But my wife did say its been getting really hot. And she says she told me but I didn't listen. I did blow a bunch of crap out of the fan/heatsink area last night. Haven't taken it far enough apart to actually see the fan/cpu other than what I can see through cooling slots. Maybe tonight.

The replacement is a "new" Inspiron 15 with an i3 processor, 6GB RAM, 1TB HD, and 15.6" display out of the Dell Outlet store which means I was able to still get Windows 7. $600 delivered with a three year in-home repair warranty.

[Steve Meliza]

I agree that the CPU is likely not at fault and you might need to replace the whole main board. But for $9 it might be worth a shot.

[Greg Portland]

My wife's ~5 year old HP DV5-1003NR laptop wouldn't start yesterday morning and the num lock and caps lock lights were flashing. Googling turns up that the single blink means "Bad CPU". I tried Googling to see whether it was worth repair but mostly turned up a bunch of internet drivel. A new Dell is on the way but I'd still like to determine whether its worth fixing, because it is a pretty nice laptop, better than my personal ~6 year old Dell. I can get a "new system pull" CPU on eBay for $9. Anyone have experience with these and know if it might be worth a try or if there is a good chance its something different that's not worth fixing?

I've got a nightly backup of the system on our Windows Home Server and I assume the hard drive is still good so its not really an issue of recovering data.
Are you sure the CPU isn't soldered into the motherboard? I'd open up the case before ordering any parts.

[Darius Ferlas]

Is it an AMD based machine?

[Jacob Muldowney]

Laptop cpus are not solder to the motherboard. They have a socket just like desktop motherboards.

[Matt Meiser]

Its an AMD Turion processor.

We're debating on whether to sink any money into it at all. LOML's new laptop is on its way, mine is a 6YO Dell hand-me-down purchased for 10% of original cost after I'd used/abused it for 4 years at work. I don't use it a ton (sits on my desk 99% of the time right next to its replacement work machine) mostly for Sketchup, iTunes, and when I don't want to appear online in the evening/weekends and need something more than my iPad. :D Theoretically that machine could come up for sale in another 2 years too. Longer term I'd like to replace that with a Mac anyway so I can try my hand at some iPad development. And worse case my shop PC is a 2YO HP desktop that's not a half bad machine--just located in the shop not the house so its not like I don't have something I could use. Or LOML thinks she might be about ready to not have a home laptop anyway and go to just a tablet.

[Darius Ferlas]

There was a batch of HP laptops with a Turion X2 (I think) that had faulty chips. Not sure if they caused further motherboard damage. I don't think I'm in a position to spend your money but to me a laptop is good for 3 to 4 year and then it goes to some school charity, or it's a write-off.

[Terry Beadle]

I have a 6+ yr old HP and am now on the third motherboard. The boards are a little under $100. The problems these machines have are heat related. I've bought a 3 fan angle stand from MicroCenter that cost about $25 and it seems to have cured the problem. This is a known bug with HP mother boards. HP didn't used to be like that but then few note books are. For myself, as long as the keyboard works, the ram is good, and the video and wireless work, I'll probably keep using it. When ( not if ) the board goes out again, I'll buy a Toshiba or an Asus as they have the fewest problems after purchase according to the professional problem trackers. There's always some luck involved with what ever brand you purchase. Dell is a good one but not as reliable ( what ever that may mean..hoot!).

Unless you really can use a second machine, it's probably not worth the time and money for a repair. However, it does bring up a problem I've had in my mind about note books and computer equipment in general. How come a $400 LN wood plane will last a couple hundred years but a $500 computer is not expected to last more than 5? CPU"s, RAM and other key componets of a computer should last 50 years or more unless you over clock or operate the unit outside it's engineered limits. You should be able to replace the hard drive, floppy ( hoot! ) , CD/DVD etc units as needed but the main machine should not need to be dumped into the environment after only 5 years normal use. A 55 Chevy still runs if it's oiled and tuned up for over 60 years. ...so why shouldn't we expect our note books to be the same. The computer equipment don't have as many moving parts and certainly don't have to be driven over the rough roads and farm trails. Like most electronic things now days, you replace, you don't repair as parts cost more than a whole new unit ( almost ). Let's see...yep...I've reached my rant limit and it's time for a swallow of coffee and a cookie !

Good luck with your situation and enjoy the Dell !

[Steve Meliza]

How come a $400 LN wood plane will last a couple hundred years but a $500 computer is not expected to last more than 5?

I can hand you a wood plane that is 50 years old and you could use it for what it was designed to do and make something useful. If I gave you a computer that was 50 years old you could also use it for what it was designed to do, but the product would be nearly useless unless you want a calculator that will fill an entire room in your house, keep you warm in the winter, and need fixing each time a bug crawled into a relay. The problems are not in the CPU or RAM, it is in the manufacturer (eg. HP or Dell) knowing that a useful lifespan of a computer is only a few years and that they have to make compromises in longevity in order to be competitive in price, features, size, and weight. My favorite PC is an HP that is so old it has a Pentium 75 CPU with a passive heat sink. The thing is built like a rock, but in today's world only has enough power to serve as a NAT that allows me to share my internet with multiple computers, a task that could be performed by a modern computer the size of a nightlight and using a fraction of the electricity.

My Dell laptop just died after 6.5 years because of a failure in the hard drive controller on the main board. Rather than sink money into something that already had loose hinges, a dim LCD screen with many dead pixels and a short battery life, I decided to replace it with a new laptop that may only last me another 5-6 years. That new laptop has a SSD so it runs a lot faster and cooler. It can handle newer software like Lightroom4 with grace and ease.

In short, because the LN plane isn't made obsolete and nearly useless every decade or so.