[makai]

Well, you're welcome! I just hope its a simple switch problem as anything else may be more expensive!

FYI... things that can cause this symptom
Bad switch
Bad connection
Bad graphics card
Bad LCD inverter
Bad LCD cable
Bad LCD
Bad bios
Bad Motherboard

[Advertisements]

Sorry it took me so long to get back about this...I had yet another computer problem to deal with on yet another computer (this time it's a desktop) and it was a quick fix...well sort of. But it's fixed!

Anyway, getting back to the problem at hand...without taking the lap apart, the only place I could surmise the switch being at was one of the latch holes in front of the keyboard (you're so right about the service manual being ambiguous about it), so I went in there and jiggled them (there are two and I'm not sure which one is the trigger.) No change...

...well, I shouldn't say that there isn't any change in the status overall, as before when I would try F10 on a boot, after tapping it a number of times it would beep at me, and it's not even beeping at me anymore. The LED lights remain blue as well, without changing as they had before. I have a feeling that I've got the thing totally confused as to what is expected of it!

[Termie]

Sorry it took me so long to get back about this...I had yet another computer problem to deal with on yet another computer (this time it's a desktop) and it was a quick fix...well sort of. But it's fixed!

Anyway, getting back to the problem at hand...without taking the lap apart, the only place I could surmise the switch being at was one of the latch holes in front of the keyboard (you're so right about the service manual being ambiguous about it), so I went in there and jiggled them (there are two and I'm not sure which one is the trigger.) No change...

...well, I shouldn't say that there isn't any change in the status overall, as before when I would try F10 on a boot, after tapping it a number of times it would beep at me, and it's not even beeping at me anymore. The LED lights remain blue as well, without changing as they had before. I have a feeling that I've got the thing totally confused as to what is expected of it!

[makai]

without taking the lap apart, the only place I could surmise the switch being at was one of the latch holes in front of the keyboard

The switch shouldn't be at the "front" of the keyboard, unless you're calling the "front" up by the power switch. After looking at the manual more closely, it looks to be around the upper left area near the power switch. The manual says its connected to the fan heatsink, and that should be upper left. Look at the bare chassis, (item 21) on page 19, and look at the where the battery sits. The battery sits in a "well" or hole in the chassis. Now go to page 89/90, and you can see the edge of the battery well... the switch is to the left of the well.

BUT, I just found something very INTERESTING! Have a look at THIS page. Here's a cut and paste...

Free repair for some out-of-warranty HP Pavilion and Compaq Presario laptops

You are eligible for a free repair if you experience one or more problems with some HP laptops even after the original factory warranty is over. The following laptops are included in the Limited Warranty Service Enhancement program.

HP Pavilion dv2000, dv6000, dv9000.
Compaq Presario v3000, v6000.

This service enhancement program is available in North America for 24 months after the start of your original standard limited warranty for issues listed below; otherwise your current standard limited warranty applies. Customers who already have a 24 month or longer warranty period will be covered under their existing standard HP Limited Warranty.

HP Pavilion dv6000, dv9000 and v6000 failure symptoms:

1. The wireless card is not working properly.
2. Your laptop has no video on both internal LCD screen and external monitor.
3. The laptop has no power and LEDs will not turn on.
4. The laptop will not start.
5. The battery charge LED doesn’t turn on even when the power adapter is connected.
6. The laptop gives you a beep error message on start up.
7. The laptop works fine with an external monitor but there is no image or the internal LCD screen.

Wow, this thing covers most of your problems! Now I don't know how long your laptop has been out of warranty, but it still mighy qualify for a free repair. I would call HP and see what they say. Be sure to make a LOT of noise if they try to fluff you off! In dealing with vendors, there's a term called "elevate". You evevate to a higher authority any time you don't get a satisfactory answer from the person you're talking to. Elevating a complaint works well in a lot of cases, as many vendors would rather just fix the problem than keep dealing with it. So if HP tries to fluff you off, make sure to tell them you want to elevate your claim... it's worth a try! Let me know how it goes!

EDITED link to Free repair page.

Edited by makai, 25 August 2009 - 03:39 PM.

[Termie]

Wowwwww! OMG I think this still applies, this lap is less than 2 years old! I will definitely look into it and let you know!

THANK YOUUUUUUUU!!!!!

[Termie]

There's always a catch. This system doesn't meet the specifications (namely the model # and SN#) of their program. It figures, doesn't it? I suppose in a year or maybe less from now, if I'm not successful at fixing this thing and have chucked it off the bow of a boat, they'll list it THEN. That's the way it goes.

Going back to your above post regarding the switch - I don't see any type of toggle or trigger of any kind up by the power switch at all, no opening of any kind, either, which is why I assumed it had to be at the front-the laptop's lid has two latches at the front edge and it closes with an audible click, so I figured that if anything were to trigger a switch, they would have to-but they're not anywhere near the power button.

Just tearing the durned thing apart is becoming more and more intriguing LOLs I suppose that's what I'll end up doing just to check some of the other stuff out?

Oh, I did notice the BIOS updates listed on HP's website regarding that Warranty Enhancement program. I wondered if BIOS maybe the thing to check next, even though we've tried (maybe it needs updating, but how to you do that if it refuses to run?) And the other thing is...HP gives 2 model numbers to these durned things, one is dv9000, the other is dv9640us (or 9460us, I forget which) so I have no clue as to which number I should go by when searching for downloads like this. They probably do it intentionally to mess you up! Grrrr!

[makai]

Gee... sorry to get your hopes up! Somehow it always happens that anything that can get anything "free" doesn't apply to anything we own!

Ok... looking further at the manual, the switch might be toggled by the left cover hinge itself, or something to do with the hinge or hinge cover. You're going to have to pull that speaker bezel off... and you're going to get your wish and tear into this thing!

As for bios... you should never update the bios unless there's a specific thing the bios update will fix. And... only if it'll fix something that will make a difference in the way your computer operates. Bios flashing can be very dangerous so it's always advised to skip it if possible. Lets forget about the bios for now and we'll get back to it if ever you get this thing running.

Go tear this thing apart... locate the switch and either disable it (disconnect the connector), or mess with it. Be careful with the switch connector, use a lot of light, and don't pull on the connector wires to disconnect it. By the way, I've read on the web that this switch has been troublesome for some people with older model HP DV-series laptopa and people end up disabling it. You'll lose the sleep mode when you close the lid, but at least the laptop will be working. Let's hope it is the switch, but with everything you described, I'm not even sure it's that.

[Termie]

Aww, don't feel bad about getting my hopes up...I'm very used to this scenario and approach it with a half hopeful/half skeptical attitude...blame it on HP, if anyone. They obviously cut the model line a bit short as far as this program coverage is concerned!

I'll have to put off my Attack and Destroy (ok, well attack, at least) mission until this weekend (my weekend starts Friday), so you probably won't hear from me until then (unless I'm up in the wee hours in the next 2 mornings and get a hair up my derriere LOL)

[makai]

Ok, until the weekend then!

[Termie]

Well unfortunately the weekend has come and gone, and I had gotten busy getting my kids ready for school (yay!) Now I'm trying to find some quiet time (ironically, my weekday hours are for work ) to tear it apart (preferrably not, I think, at the kitchen table where it's been sitting for some time...) I just didn't want you to think I'd forgotten about it. I've just had so many other things get in the way!

[makai]

No worries, I'm still monitoring your thread hoping you'll get it fixed.

[Termie]

I'm baaack! Hey Makai...I resurrected this thread rather than start over. Remember me? I had to let things go at the end of last year with this lap; medical problems cropped up and prevented me from dealing with the problems I had with it. That and the cost of a new motherboard. Anyway...just an update in case you might be interested.

It sat for months in a box. I had the opportunity (had surgery, can't do much but sit!) to dig in again. I fired it up, expecting a black screen again, which, unfortunately, I got. I tried that display switch command (fn and f4) a few times...nothing. I played Chopsticks with the F keys out of frustration, and rebooted...and you wouldn't believe it. It started. I almost fell off my chair. It went into a recovery, and for the rest of the day (about 11:30 on), performed like a champ with a few little glitches. I thought I had it squared away last night, fired up this a.m., Windows Vista wanted an update, which it did successfully, and on reboot...went into Repair. I fiddled with that a number of times, each time getting no success, but I did find out a few parameters (each run gave me either the same or a new set, and I'm listing them in order)
Bugcheck 116, Parameters: 0x94c9b008, 0x8b417f40, 0x0, 0x2
(System files integrity check & repair failed, error code 0xa.

Next up was a BSOD, which went too fast and I couldn't read. It went back and rebooted and Repair. I asked for Restore, which said successful but it would still reboot and go to Repair. The next 3 attempts gave me
Bugcheck 116: Parameters 0x817ac510, with the same last 3 parameters as above, each time I ran the Repair/Restore.

The last repair run, Sys Restore cancelled itself, gave a
Bugcheck 116, Parameters 0x94o9b008 and the rest were the same.

I tried the Advanced Options to see where that would bring me, and it gave me an option of running a few tests; started with the Memory Test but ended up w/ black screen, unresponsive.

The last time I tried to reboot and it went off into Repair again, then offered Restore, the screen became *very* degraded looking (cursor leaving tracks on the screen, that sort of thing.) After it finished, and I chose Finish to reboot, it shut itself down. I said screw it and am in the process of doing a Recovery from the partition.

I provide the above info simply for curiosity's sake...after all this time, I certainly don't expect you or anyone else to delve into trying to solve this problem! I'm just tickled I have something visual back on the screen at this point; I thought that graphics card/motherboard was a goner. At this point I think I'm mainly having a Vista update problem (I hope) but we'll see!

Thanks again so very much for your help last year. You were totally awesome and so patient!