<p>My laptop died today. Not sure what happened. I got a message that the battery was going dead and to attach the power cord. The cord was already attached. I rarely use it unplugged. Tried an alternative power cord and it still doesn’t turn on. Took the battery out and still doesn’t work.
I am not sure how old it is maybe 5 yrs old. It is windows xp so at least that old.
I had already backed up the photos so I am not losing anything aside from some microsoft word documents that aren’t important. H had already replaced the laptop for himself but I preferred my old keyboard. I liked the way it felt.
At this age I doubt it is worth spending money to see what is wrong with it.</p>
<p>From what my hubby says, 5 years is a fairly long life for a laptop. He’s trying to resurect our D’s which is under 2 years old. S’s died before it turned 3 years old. H has a few that are some years old, but he kieeps tinkering with them. Not many would work on a laptop 5 years old, as you say, the cost of repair probably is greater than its current value. I’ll ask hubby if he has any thoughts when he comes home–he’s our tech support.</p>
<p>I have had to buy new batteries and new chargers- there are also applications that will check your batteries " health".</p>
<p>I agree that 5 years is a long time for a laptop, but you might try taking the charger/battery to someone who has similar computer to get them tested.</p>
<p>I guess that is one nice thing of the apple stores, cause you can check the other components of your computer easily.</p>
<p>I run several maintenance utilities regularly, depending on what applications I am running, I know that Windows supposedly does that in background?, but still files and stuff can get corrupted and need to be removed.</p>
<p>However- there are so many new computers out there, I bet you can find another that has the feel that you like.
Plus the backlit keyboards are awesome.</p>
<p>power pack works on D’s computer.
Wish I could spring for an Apple computer but I am also pretty close to needing a new cell phone and I am thinking about an IPhone. Will need to find something relatively inexpensive. I only need it for email, internet and word processing. Or just keep using H’s laptop till I get used to it.</p>
<p>5 years old…time to get a new one. NOT worth repairing. </p>
<p>Do you have a Costco near you? Good buys on HPs and Lenovos. I got a HP for less than $650 (on sale with coupon). I have a laptop but hook it up to a backlit keyboard and a nice big monitor. But it’s small enough as a laptop - I can take it with me as a travel. Costco has a generous return policy and includes a 2 yr concierge tech service. So far…so good. And Windows 7 is a big improvement. </p>
<p>I’m getting an iphone soon too…soon as my darn contract with Verizon expires in May. Can’t wait!</p>
<p>To summarize:</p>
<p>Your laptop gives you a message that your battery is unable to power up and to plug in your power brick.
With the power brick plugged into your laptop (with or without the battery installed), Windows does not boot up. The warning message appears outside of the Windows start up screens. Correct?</p>
<p>Your daughter has the same laptop and that your power brick works fine with her unit. Her laptop boots to Windows.</p>
<p>Try plugging your laptop into an external monitor. If you see the Windows boot up sequence on the external monitor, then your screen is probably bad. Time for a new laptop…</p>
<p>If your external monitor matches your laptop screen (blank), try the following:</p>
<p>Remove your laptop’s hard drive. There’s an access panel underneath your laptop that’s held in place with a screw or two. Remove the plastic panel and pull out the drive. It should slip out with a tug.</p>
<p>Install your hard drive into your daughter’s laptop and see if it boots up. Plug your daughter’s hard drive into your laptop and see if boots up.</p>
<p>If your hard drive works in your daughter’s laptop, your laptop will need to be replaced. This would be a good time to download any files you want to a USB drive. If your daughter’s hard drive does not work in your laptop, the screen or video circuitry is likely bad. New laptop time…</p>
<p>As a last resort, you could remove all the screws from the bottom of your laptop and take off the bottom panel. The screen should be connected to the motherboard with a ribbon cable. The ribbon connector should be snug to the motherboard. Might be worth a try…</p>
<p>If you need a new laptop, most companies have a refurbished area on their web site. You should find some pretty good deals there. Good luck!</p>
<p>I have declared the laptop dead.
H thinks I need to just get used to the new laptop he has. He rarely uses it-swears he bought it for me. I think I have discovered why I hate it. I am left handed and it is widescreened and the keyboard and the mousepad are to far to the right for my comfort.</p>
<p>It is irritating when folks buy things & then tell us it is for US when we didn’t have much/any say in the selection and we have to “get used to” their purchase. ARGH! As another “leftie,” I do have trouble with things that appear to be designed for “righties.”</p>