[Mesime]

Hi,

I own a HP Pavilion DV9339US computer; it's only 1 year old. After not using for a month, I turned it on and it won't start up. It actually turns on (it has power), but every 25 seconds, like clockwork, it powers off for less than a second and then powers back on again. During this entire time, the screen is black.

I've left it on like this for the past two days, with no change. I'm not sure if this is relevant, but before I stopped using it, it couldn't catch an internet connection; it didn't recognize wireless networks or ethernet.

I need help before I take it to Best Buy and pay 1/7 of the original price for them to tell me it's going to cost more. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

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Hi Mesime...

Are you able to boot into Safe Mode? To get to the Safe Mode options screen, tap the F8 key during boot up. You may bet a Boot Sequence screen first on a Dell...if you do, press the Esc key, then continue tapping the F8 key to access the Advanced Boot Options screen where you can select Safe Mode and press Enter.

Let us know if it will start in Safe Mode.

wannabe1

[wannabe1]

Hi Mesime...

Are you able to boot into Safe Mode? To get to the Safe Mode options screen, tap the F8 key during boot up. You may bet a Boot Sequence screen first on a Dell...if you do, press the Esc key, then continue tapping the F8 key to access the Advanced Boot Options screen where you can select Safe Mode and press Enter.

Let us know if it will start in Safe Mode.

wannabe1

[SRX660]

If it still reboots in safe mode stop the auto reboot.

Recovery Settings

One of the things that is quite different about Windows XP compared to Windows 9x (9x is shorthand for Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows Me in all their various versions), is that one can control how it responds to certain critical errors—those that cause the infamous Blue Screen of Death (BSOD). In Windows XP, the default setting is for the computer to reboot automatically when a fatal error occurs. If that fatal error only occurs when you're shutting down, the system reboots automatically.

If you haven't changed any of the system failure settings, you should be able to see the error by looking in the Event Log. But a better long-term solution is to turn off the automatic reboot so you can actually see the error when it happens—chances are it will tell you enough about itself to let you troubleshoot further. To change the recovery settings to disable automatic rebooting:

1. Right-click My Computer, and then click Properties.

2. Click the Advanced tab.

3. Under Startup and Recovery, click Settings to open the Startup and Recovery dialog box.

4. Clear the Automatically restart check box, and click OK the necessary number of times.

5. Restart your computer for the settings to take effect.

Now when you go to shut down and a fatal error occurs, you'll at least see it and it won't cause an automatic reboot. You still have to sort out what's causing the problem, but that gets us to the next section quite nicely.

Write down all the information on the error and post it here.

SRX660

[Mesime]

Thanks for the quick replay guys. I'll try it as soon as I get back to my loft.

[Mesime]

The F8 trick didn't work at all. Maybe a few more details would help...the OS is Microsoft Vista and the only thing the laptop is doing is powering on and off. It stays powered on (all keys are lit up) for approximately 25 secs, then it powers off for less than 1 second and powers back on. It has been repeating this little ritual for 3 days with no change.

The screen stays black the entire time. You can here the fans come on and it sounds like it's about to start up, and that's when it powers off again.

Any ideas?

[wannabe1]

Have you tried removing the battery for an hour or so and then trying to start it?

I had a Toshiba that had a very similar issue. It turned out to be the power adapter. Is your battery charging fully? Have you tried starting the machine using just the battery? Or using just the power adapter without the battery installed?