I wanted to start fresh with an older laptop, so I put in the hardware disk to reboot the entire system and erase everything previously on it. The battery is no longer good, so the laptop has to be plugged in to have power. I had just started to run the disk, it was erasing evrything and then my dog ran by and unpluuged the power cord. Now it wont even start. I think I may have erased everything and not installed anything because I had'nt even put in the serial/license number yet. Is there anything I can do to get the laptop to turn on again so I can try to run the reformat disck again?
2006-11-30 17:15:56 · 8 answers · asked by db82000 E 1 in Computers & Internet ➔ Hardware ➔ Laptops & Notebooks
u need to use a bootable floppy or a bootable cd and format it and reinstall. thats it
2006-11-30 17:18:55 · answer #1 · answered by Trinity 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If it won't even turn on, and the laptop didn't impact a solid object when your dog unplugged it:
Chances are your dog damaged the power supply. It could be the impact from the accident, or a stretched cord, or something else; borrow an adapter from someone else who has the same laptop (probably not available) or pull out a multimeter ($30 at Radio Shack) and test the power supply. If you don't know how to do this, find someone who does (too difficult to explain here, and too dangerous for a newbie.)
If it won't even turn on, and the laptop took a hit:
Do all the power supply tests above, and if it comes up working, then something's broken in the laptop (most likely). Good thing it was an older laptop, eh? As another poster suggested, leave it off and unplugged for five minutes and try again. If it's a mac laptop and you know you have a good power supply, check the Apple support site -- many mac laptops get into a state where they can't turn on even when they're working properly otherwise, and you can either follow the instructions they provide or take it to an Apple store or Apple reseller.
If the computer turns on and POSTs (ie shows a branding image, or a memory check, or something similar) but the OS doesn't boot:
This is probably not your problem, since you've already booted from the CD before in order to restore, and presumably you'd just try it again -- but if you haven't, and this does describe your problem, try it again with the CD in the drive and it should boot/install just fine. Worst case, the laptop is old and the CMOS battery is dead, so the BIOS was reset to a configuration that doesn't even try to boot the CD -- enlist the help of a computer-literate buddy if this is the case, as changing the BIOS settings varies significantly for different laptops.
Good luck.
2006-12-01 01:55:47 · answer #2 · answered by daveowenville 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If it won't power up, it's not the disk. If it hit the floor when the dog tripped over the cord, it might be toast. It may have also done something to the plug when it got stretched by the impact. Check all connections on the cord carefully. Try unplugging it, remove the battery, wait 5 minutes and reconnect. See what happens.
2006-12-01 01:21:17 · answer #3 · answered by Computer Jock 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The dog may have jarred the laptop and destroyed the power input. Since the laptop is old, it could also be any number of other things. You could have it fixed--however the cost to do so may be more than even the computer's worth. I suggest getting a new laptop--try Dell, they are getting cheaper and cheaper, especially during the holidays.
2006-12-01 01:22:36 · answer #4 · answered by thebrockmillionaire 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Assuming the laptop is still turning on...Just reboot it with a restore cd and it should rebuild itself. You dont need to replace the hard disk some dufis said earlier. If you have a windows cd, load it into the laptop then turn it off and back on. As long as it can boot from a cd (set the bios to boot from cd if need be) you can rebuild it with the restore cd or windows cd.
2006-12-01 01:26:14 · answer #5 · answered by candl91402 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
before you go through all the trouble suggested above...check to see whether the outlet you plugged your computer is a GFCI. it's possible that when it came unplugged it could have tripped the circuit interrupter...plug something else into the outlet...if it doesn't work then it, or the breaker in the "breaker box" is thrown. if this is the case then reset the breaker or outlet.
2006-12-04 21:31:03 · answer #6 · answered by matt p 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
because of "my dog ran by and unpluuged the power cord"
you have to change your harddisk with another one.
Also check power supply. is it ok? If not, change it with a new one
The best thing to do, get help from a computer techician.
2006-12-01 01:21:10 · answer #7 · answered by iyiogrenci 6 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Is it even trying to boot? Or is there no power to it at all?
2006-12-01 01:19:30 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋