Hi, I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice on a computer issue I’ve been working on for a couple of weeks; I apologize in advance for the long story. A while back, I was given a laptop that apparently was going to be trashed, to use for parts. The laptop is an HP Pavilion DV7-3160us. I know nothing about the nature of what caused the issues, nor do I have access to that info. Luckily, the charger from my cousin’s HP G71 fit the DV7 for testing purposes, so that’s the one I’m currently using for all of these tests.
First attempt, nothing, no post, no lights, nothing spinning, just completely dead. I tried reseating everything, but suspected a power issue. I knew it wasn’t his charger, but for thoroughness’ sake, I tested it with a volt meter, 19.5V. I then tested the power jack, by plugging it in a using two straightened staples in the red and black sockets, touching them to positive and negative leads respectively. The power jack also showed 19.5V. With those ruled out, I figured it had to be one of two things, motherboard or processor. With no way to test either, I decided to try a new motherboard, since processor failure is pretty rare compared to motherboard, and especially considering HP’s reputation with weak motherboards.
Anyway, I found the exact motherboard on eBay (one of the few places I could actually find the exact one) and purchased it. The motherboard is a DAUT1AMB6E1. A couple days after it came, I finally got a chance to install and test it. I took it all back down, installed the new motherboard, removed and re-applied thermal paste, and hooked everything back up. Using AC and no battery, I tried booting. Now, it cuts on, the lights come on, the fan and hard drive start to spin, but no display, no POST beep, and I’m getting the flashing CAPS LOCK / NUM LOCK. I had been thinking it may have had a bad processor as well, but then I checked into it online, and the code it’s pulling (two flashes, pause, two flashes, etc) is indicative of a corrupted BIOS.
However, I’m not really sure how to flash the BIOS when I have no display. I’ve tried hooking in an HDMI cable to a tv, no display, then unhooking the screen display and plugging in the HDMI, also nothing, so looks like no way to get any kind of graphics. I’ve been looking up this problem for a little while, and I’ve tried all of the suggested “fixes”, including removing the battery and AC, holding the power button for 60 seconds, then trying again, removing battery, AC, and CMOS battery, then holding down power for 60 seconds, as well as numerous hard drive/RAM/CMOS battery reseatings and every possible configuration of the available RAM.
So, it looks like I’ve hit a wall here, and I’m not quite sure how to proceed. I’m considering contacting the eBay seller for an exchange, as a DOA replacement motherboard has crossed my mind, but I’m not sure if that’s the best option yet (returns can be a headache). Anyway, I apologize for the long story, but felt it was necessary to list everything I’ve done and tried to help give any needed info for a diagnosis. Thanks to everyone in advance for checking this out and all assistance is very much appreciated.