My laptop died

MRSCARNEY

Well, actually the screen has died, it sounds like it is still booting up OK but obviously I can't be sure. Have looked on the net and this seems to be a known fault with HP Pavillion laptops but as it is 2 and a half years old it is outside of their extended warranty. (I had the motherboard replaced under warranty last June when the wifi stopped working - another known fault). From what I can gather the video card is attached to the motherboard and it is really not worth me paying for the repair. This also means it won't work with an external monitor either.

I have ordered a new laptop (not HP ) and have got the majority of my stuff backed up on an external hard drive which I can transfer to my new laptop when it arrives. However, there are some photos from the last month which won't be on the back up and I have deleted them from my memory card. Is there any way I can access the data on my hard drive ?

Thanks

espresso

You could connect an external monitor to enable you to get the data off. It's likely to be the inverter which generates the voltage necessary for the screens backlight.

MRSCARNEY

espresso wrote: »

You could connect an external monitor to enable you to get the data off. It's likely to be the inverter which generates the voltage necessary for the screens backlight.

I will try this when I get chance to borrow a monitor however the problem is a well known issue with this make and model and it means that the video card has gone so it doesn't work on an external monitor either. I get 1 long beep and 2 short beeps on start up and this matches what other people have said on forums.

espresso

To get your data off, something like this here would suffice.

MRSCARNEY

Thank you so much, I didn't know such a thing existed and not too expensive either :T

So would I be right in assuming that I just have to remove the HD from my old laptop, connect it up to that and plug the usb into my new laptop?

asininity

Since the laptops knackered why not take the HD out of it connect it up to a desktop computer and transfer your data that way?

audbod38

My laptop had same problem a few months back , found the answer on another forum ,cant remember which one though , i unplugged power cable , removed battery then held down power button for 30-60 seconds,worked on my laptop. My friends went same way but i had to plug the power cable into hers and press power on button,as it didnt work other way, but it did finally get her screen to show , hope that makes sense.

bazster

Earlier post is almost certainly right, inverter board dead. Not difficult to replace, and working replacement usually cheap enough on eBay. You need to be prepared to pull the screen apart, but hey, you're gonna chuck it in a skip anyway. There'll be a "how to" for your model somewhere on the web, Google is your friend.

Even backlight tube replaceable by a determined DIY'er, I know, I've done it.

espresso

MRSCARNEY wrote: »

Thank you so much, I didn't know such a thing existed and not too expensive either :T

So would I be right in assuming that I just have to remove the HD from my old laptop, connect it up to that and plug the usb into my new laptop?

Yes it's as easy as that.

MRSCARNEY

audbod38 wrote: »

My laptop had same problem a few months back , found the answer on another forum ,cant remember which one though , i unplugged power cable , removed battery then held down power button for 30-60 seconds,worked on my laptop. My friends went same way but i had to plug the power cable into hers and press power on button,as it didnt work other way, but it did finally get her screen to show , hope that makes sense.

Found something along those lines on the internet and the first time I tried it it worked but then everything I had open stopped responding so I shut the PC down and haven't been able to get the screen back since despite trying various battery in/battery out options. Now all I get is the dreaded 3 beeps.

I have to say that I am quite disappointed with HP about all this and whilst researching this problem on the internet I found a link to another problem I have which is the left hinge - apparently HP extended the warranty for this to 2 years but I am outside of that now anyway.

I appreciate that this might be a repairable problem but to be honest I have lost faith in this laptop now and trawling the internet I am obviously not alone.

I really appreciate people taking the time to respond and I am very grateful for all your comments. My main priority is to get the data off it and I have ordered the sata/usb cable now.

jazza77

Mrscarney I have a similar problem with my Hp slimline desktop which is also down to faulty nvidia graphics card and appears to be widespread in hp laptops and slimline desktops. Having googled to see what I could find on the net I didn;t immediately find much out about it, however after some rooting around found a very useful site http://www.hplies.com/

If you have a look through all of the info on there you will see that many people have been affected by this with some having success in getting their pc / laptop repaired free notwithstanding that they are now outwith the extended warranty period.

HP and Nvidia appear to have been aware of this problem for some time and imho should have recalled all affected machines, however from reading some of the posts it appears that it is possible the cost could run into $billions, presumably the reason Nvidia and HP are not proceeding in that manner.

I have reported my problem to HP tech support and am currently awaiting their reply - will let you know how I get on.