Hi

my toshiba laptop was dead, the powerlight came on, the hard-disk was spinning but the screen remained blank.
I tried everthing , stripping it completely, trying a new ram and narrowed the problem to the motherboard or the cpu. i.e I can conclude that the problem is with the the mobo or the cpu.
This was a month ago.

Today I switched on again and voila! it worked, the bios loaded! I had removed the hard-disk, so switched it off, attached the HD and started it up again.. this time it didn't work. And hasn't since. I have again stripped it down , but it still doesn't work.
CAn anyone plzzzzz exlplain what is going here?? I mean it started , that means nothings fried, right??

Thanks

btw the fan spins for exactly 5 seconds before turning off.

there is something like a "hardware reset" available on many laptops.
- try to plug out everything except cpu and memory
- remove the battery and do not attach the power supply
- open the lid and hold the power on button for like 20 seconds
- plug everything back in and try to boot
that worked for me for some compaq and dell laptops which did act like yours

my two cents...
mscrx

Either there is a short on the plug socket where you connect the AC to or the MOBO has a fault in it. Best to just have the MOBO replaced. I didn't have spare parts so I just did it a quick way just take out the HDD and stick in to a system that works! Only do this if the unit isn't under a protection plan.

:) I would like to share my knowledge in repairing Laptop & Desktop Computer to everyone, that's why i join here. Thanks

chessonly, it would be better if you tell me exact model of your laptop.