Help diagnosing HP Pavilion notebook

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Hello there...

I'm needing help diagnosing a non-working HP Pavilion ZE1000
I received it from a friend after it failed. None of the laptop leds would turn on, and there were no POST beeps of any kind. The HDD and CD unit would turn -the floppy won't, but it might be a BIOS setting-, but the screen won't show anything at all.

After double-checking the obvious (LCD disabled, brightness setting, power supply output, etc.) I checked internet and found that the DC jack is a common problem with these laptops. Sure enough, on this one it was a little loose, but even after fixing it all the symptoms stay the same. I have tried re-setting all the connectors and looking for any obvious damage on the mobo (there's none).

The weird thing is that if I leave the laptop "on" (Fan & HDD turning), after a while the CPU and the VIA chipset get warm. Should I just assume that the BIOS is fried, or are these symptoms of a defunct mobo?

Is there any guru around that has dealt with this problem before?

Thanks for your help,

JR
 
Can you try an external monitor? Disconnecting all extra hardware (drives) and replacing the memory are some things to try.

Nothing weird about CPU and chipset getting warm - BIOS is exactly that (Basic) and does not bother with power savings and such.
 
Thank you for the prompt reply...
I tried the external monitor to no avail... Also, I have removed hdd, cd and floppy, but the thing doesn't show any improvement :(

Also, I have tried to power the laptop without the memory in place, but I understand this model would not boot at all without some RAM in place.

I think the important detail here is the abscence of any LED. Should the power led turn on or blink, even if the BIOS was dead? Or are there situations where no leds go on?

BTW: I've been looking for the service manual for this laptop at the HP website, but I get the one for a newer laptop. Is there a *public* document specifically about the ZE1000 series with troubleshooting information?

Thanks,

JR
 
I don't think it would make much of a difference, but:
The model number is wrong: the laptop is a ZE1110 (Part of the ZE1000 series).
My bad :(
 
If there's no power LED, then there's no power.. Try running the thing with no battery installed maybe?

HP usually publishes technical details of enterprise products. The documentation for consumer product lines is, mildly put, terse.
 
That's the catch: There IS power (HDD and CD activity, fan on). I already tried to run the thing without battery, without peripherals, etc. but there's no difference in behavior.

Any other hints? Have anyone around seen something similar?
 
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