I just bought this HP Pavillion ZV5000, I knew there was trouble with it, but didnt know what, so here is whats happening, I turn it on, I can hear the HDD spin up, then it stops, all power lights stay on, then after about 4-5 seconds it spins up again, but I get nothing on my screen, no post at all, I've also tried using a regular monitor hooked into the back, still nothing, I've changed the RAM with known GOOD RAM, still getting the same result, anyone have any Ideas?

Welcome to TechSpot!

Take it back to where you got if it brand new as you said it is... Or call up HP and tell them the problem you're having. They might give you 48 hour swap out or overnight you a new system. Depends on where you got it from?

I bought the Laptop used, I knew there was something wrong with it, but didnt know what, so getting a new system is out, its a nice laptop, would just like to figure the issue out, thanks for the reply.

Okay you did what most techs would do if it was the LCD panel but you had tried another monitor and it did the same thing. Could be bad MOBO (motherboard). Because you still don't see anything on the screen. You don't get a post or nothing right. PSU looks okay, HDD spins even if the HD was bad you would see info on the screen, but you don't.

I've been reading alot about this issure, and beleive it or not, I guess this is a common problem with this machine, the post that the A/C adapter plugs into seems to be the culprit, and mine is kinda loose, I can go about changing the jack, which doesnt seem like much fun, but I guess to find out for sure, I can buy a XC1000 expansion port cable, and it will bypass the plug, I'm not sure if I can charge my battery that way though, but at least its a fairly cheap way to find out if that is my issue, I'll repost after I try this.

Compaq, and most older HP from 2003 will work with current PSU cords, unless the model has change then it won't work. You can buy the universal adapter sold at CC, BB, Staples, Office Depot, OfficeMax, Wal-mart, Target.

You can charge the battery though a docking station but most of these units use PSU in the laptop to run the port replacators or have a larger PSU to handle both. Do you have this already or are you going to out and buy one?

I tried a universal adapter, I took the Laptop to radio shack, and he tested it there, the adapter did the exact same thing, which is why I'm leading to beleive it is the problem in the jack its self, I've read many other people having the same issue, and they all said after they bypass the main jack with the expansion port cable, their laptop works great, I have had a kinda tough time finding one of these cables, so far found some for $81, I really dont want to have to replace the jack in the Laptop itself, I'm not the best solderer, I'm hoping this cable will work, here is another persons post "XC1000 expansion port cable, It simply bypasses the dysfunctional power jack, and use the expansion port as power entrance.
I purchased an XC1000 HP media cable from eBay and it solved the problem. Thanks for all the suggestions" there are many other posts about it with the same outcome on TechRepublic.com

No I won't recommend doing that re-soldering as most of here just replace the motherboard and call it a day.. Good glad you're all set and that XC1000 HP media cable solved your problem..

Thanks for your help on this, I'll repost how it went..

HP Dock / xc1000 cable

Hi there, I just happened to stumble upon this site (thanks to Google ). It seems that this problem with the DC adapter jack is quite common on these computers which puzzles me when I try to figure out why HP doesn't have the XC1000 cable no longer available. I have a zv5000 series notebook and although it's done it's work, it is still quite reliable for the kids. If I knew about the XC 1000 cable 2 years ago when the problem started, I would have bought one in a hurry. The problem initially wasn't a broken solder connection, it was due to the jack being 'tapered', so I made a 'paper thin' sleeve to go over the adapter end so it would prevent it from touching the plastic tip (at least it lasted for a while - 2 years).
Can anyone out there please let me know where I can obtain a XC1000 cable or dock for this computer?
Thanks in advance!

This thread is from over a year ago, just make a new one