Hp Laptop battery issue

Kim_Possible

I have a HP Pavilion DV2700 laptop- purchased June 2008.
The Battery is very poor [30 mins] so I use the power cable which recently started intermitantly charging so I purchased a new cable (before xmas) which seemed to have solved the problem untill a few days ago when the power cable will make a connection then fail until i put pressure on it at the source of laptop.

Another minor issue is the left hand button on touchpad is loose- i have looked underneath and all "clasps" are intact but obviously not holding.

My query is: is it woth my while contacting samsung to try and fix these issues in particular the power pack problem. Or what is my alternative?

AdamMerry

Think you would be better off contacting HP and not Samsung

My self i would see if i could find a local computer shop that might be able to do the job a bit cheaper, HP can be a bit expensive for OOW repairs

Hammyman

In regards to the mouse button, it would probably need the entire palmrest replacing as they're "plastic welded" on and the thin bit which is the "hinge" snaps and glueing doesn't really do the job. Send the charger back for a refund/replacement.

Frogletina

Kim_Possible wrote: »

I have a HP Pavilion DV2700 laptop- purchased June 2008.
The Battery is very poor [30 mins] so I use the power cable which recently started intermitantly charging so I purchased a new cable (before xmas) which seemed to have solved the problem untill a few days ago when the power cable will make a connection then fail until i put pressure on it at the source of laptop.

I have just had the same problem with my HP, I had to keep tweaking the tip to make a connection

I was advised it could either be the cable or the power jack (the bit it connects to inside the laptop)

I took it to my local computer repair shop today and they checked and advised it was just the power cable and I was able to purchase a new one. Of the two problems, I fortunately had the easiest and cheapest to fix.

aarrgghh

Lower end HPs are just junk, I have two. One scrapped at 16 months the other got a new systems board at the 12 month mark. Then had to swap power leads with the scrap one. Battery lasts 15 minutes, never did better than an hour. Same your self more misery, write the loss off and replace. You will get no joy from HP I can guarantee that.

Kim_Possible

Bumping this to add... I have now taken my hp laptop to an independant shop who had a look at it and said that there was nothing wrong with the power jack inside and that the non branded power pack that i had been using with it was intermitantly charging. He tried to sell me a new non branded power pack but I refused saying that I would buy a new hp power pack as if i the issue occured with my non branded power pack, it could happen again with the new power pack he was trying to sell me.
He also stated that the power pack was powering the laptop ok but would only charge the battery so far [eg up to 20%] and that this could be due to a circuit fault!!..... ??new motherboard.
With regards to the left button, he said it would require whole touchpad replaced

Considering all this- should I try and contact Hp again? I tried to contact them initially but as laptop was OOW I could not get to speak to anyone it was just an automated message.

fwor

Kim_Possible wrote: »

Considering all this- should I try and contact Hp again?

Not unless you're prepared to pay them to repair it - which as others have said will probably be expensive.

Assuming that you didn't buy it directly from HP, if you want to pursue your rights under the Sale of Goods Act then you need to go after the company that sold it to you - though they will probably claim "wear and tear" for the touchpad problem.

Personally, I'd probably go with what was suggested above - flog it for spares on eBay and get a new one.

Hammyman

Kim_Possible wrote: »

I have a HP Pavilion DV2700 laptop- purchased June 2008.
The Battery is very poor [30 mins] so I use the power cable which recently started intermitantly charging so I purchased a new cable (before xmas) which seemed to have solved the problem untill a few days ago when the power cable will make a connection then fail until i put pressure on it at the source of laptop.

Another minor issue is the left hand button on touchpad is loose- i have looked underneath and all "clasps" are intact but obviously not holding.

My query is: is it woth my while contacting samsung to try and fix these issues in particular the power pack problem. Or what is my alternative?

1) There is a faulty contact with the socket in the laptop. Now as far as I remember these aren't soldered to the motherboard which is good news as it means it is a completely non-technical no dismantling or soldering DIY repair. When you look inside it you'll see a pin in the middle and a bent flat plate. What happens over time is the plate straightens out and doesn't make as good contact with the outer of the charger plug. What I do is get a small jewellers screwdriver AND WITH THE BATTERY REMOVED, prise the plate down hard towards the pin and hold it there a few seconds. That fixes it 99/100. IMPORTANT NOTE: If you do not fix this, the heat created by the intermittent connecting and disconnecting will melt the plug on the end of the charger cable.

2) To change the mouse button you need to change the entire palmrest which is basically the big lump of plastic around the keyboard that has the touchpad in it. To do this requires completely dismantling the laptop. Most people instead decide to go into the Mouse Properties in control panel and enable tap to click so you tap the trackpad instead of clicking the left button. You can usually enable "tap and hold to drag" so you tap the trackpad and keep your finger down on it to simulate holding the left mouse button down.

As regarding the "advice" the shop gave you, they're talking nonsense and complete hogwash. The reason your battery doesn't last long is because it is end of life and needs replacing, not because of any charging fault on the mainboard. You can get a battery off Ebay for around £30.

I get well narked by morons like the pillock in that shop as they're basically talking out of their backsides. I mean look at the advice! First the pillock claims the charger is faulty then when you won't buy one says its powering the laptop OK but would only charge the battery up to 20% which is absolute bollox. Either its faulty in which case it wouldn't run the laptop OK or its not in which case it'd run the laptop OK and charge the battery. It can't be faulty but manage to run the laptop and only partially charge the battery. Pillocks like that are OK at putting Windows on a computer or building a desktop which lets face it any trained monkey can do, but proper electronics and fault finding (which you need to be able to do when repairing laptops) they are absolutely crap at to the point of being fraudulent by describing themselves as technicians.

Apologies for the rant but I have to fight being associated with stupidity like this and also spend a great deal of my time sorting out the mess they leave. One moron in a local shop managed to completely shaft a keyboard connector on a £700 Sony Vaio last week when putting a new keyboard in. Quite how you manage to do that is beyond me - he must have used a hammer. The muppet then brought it round for expecting me to fix it only to find himself shown the door because it was beyond repair and potentially looking at paying out his customer £100's.

Kim_Possible

Thank you for your replies.
A bit of background.... I have a computer Science degree so I know a bit about how a computer works! Tho it is a bit of a misconception that just cause youve got a computer degree youll know all about the ins and out of the laptop hardware. You are taught programming theory and some hw knowledge. I did not let on to the repair shop.
When I collected the laptop I questioned his theory of a faulty circuit only charging the battery so far. I know enough to know that the mb is either faulty or its not- no half measures! I suggested a new battery and he dismissed this. At that point i knew he was full of rubbish and I feel i wasted my time taking it to the shop. Thats why i asked should i try and recontact hp.
I will try Hammys suggestions as above. And Fwor's Sale of Goods advice and report back.
I feel like as the laptop is only 2.5 I need to try to salvage something before i give up and buy new.
BTW- laptop completely dead -using a old [slow] laptop in meantime.

Hammyman

Good for you for not falling for his flim-flam and having the decency to leave. Give the socket trick a go - at worst you'll waste a couple of minutes of your time.

Kim_Possible

UPDATE:
I ordered a new power ac pack direct from hp- it comes in two parts (25.00 and 15.00 respectively). Both item were in stock when I ordered. The plug piece of the power pack arrived (@£15) but now got an email to say the other piece (and most important bit@ £25) will be delayed until 31st Mar.
I need both pieces to power the laptop. My alternative is to buy the item from pc world at £75 in the hope it solves my power issue. What to do....