Author: Paul Stimpson Date: To: Hampshire LUG Mailing List Subject: Re: [Hampshire] Hardware - laptop fails to start
Hi,
The cd drive being checked you are seeing and the eject working is quite possibly being done by the drive itself so it doesn't conform the machine is alive.
Vic's torch trick is well worth a try, as is connecting an external monitor. Are you sure than nobody has pressed whatever hot key turns the internal screen off and sends the video to the external monitor?
If you turn the machine on in the dark can you see the screen lamp light? Even if the screen is black you should see a slight glow from the screen in the dark.
Are there any other signs of life? (Beeps, hard drive light flashing after a few seconds like something is loading, LED on network port lit when cable is plugged in, lights on any usb devices coming on)
I've seen similar problems in a laptop when it had a faulty battery that was dragging the whole machine down. Have you tried removing the battery and just starting the machine on the power adaptor?
