laptop dead, help!!!

Hello
I have a Compaq Presario 2500. Awhile ago, when the laptop was plugged in to the wall, sometimes the power would go in and out and my battery would drain. I would move the cord around and it would be fine. It got worse and worse. I thought it was because my dog had chewed a bit of the cord. It ended up that I had to tape the cord in a certain spot in order to get power through.

Last week, no matter what I did, the power would not go through. A couple months ago I noticed a crack around the outlet where the power adapter plugs into the laptop.

I bought a new power adapter but it does not work either! So I am thinking that it has to do with this crack in the hardware. When I plugged in the power cord, I would hear little sizzling sounds, and then I could smell something.

My battery is dead, my power cord is not working. I have limited access to computer technicians because I am on a rural island. Any advice, please? I need to access my files!

Thank you

Sizzling from a laptop isn't good. Sounds like your power port has fried. Unless you have someone hand with a soldering iron and they know exactly what they are doing, the only recourse would be to replace the laptop.

Don't throw the laptop away just yet. If you need to recover the files, they are probably intact on the drive inside. If you have a good techie friend/pc shop they could recover the data.

There is nothing actually wrong with the computer, it just doesn't have power. I need to somehow recharge my battery but I don't know anyone with a Compaq Presario who could charge it for me. I really need to get all my files off that computer! So it is pretty hopeless that my power port can be fixed?

If you're handy with a screwdriver, there is a complete 154 page manual, including disassembly instructions (with pictures), for the "Compaq Presario 2500 (DP662AV) CTO Notebook PC" on this page:

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/p...&cc=ie&y=3&x=6

Note that it doesn't appear to specifically show or explain how to repair/replace the AC socket but, it does show you how to completely disassemble the laptop so you can get to the socket from inside the case.

If yours is not the "DP662AV" model, there are 353 other "Compaq Presario 2500 Notebook PC series" models listed on the following page. I only checked a couple of the others, but their pages also had a link to similar manuals:

http://h20180.www2.hp.com/apps/Looku...c=ie&h_lang=en

I went thru the same thing with a much older Comcrap laptop. The power plug was a problem years before HP bought them out and neither company has been motivated to correct the design flaw. On Ebay in the section for laptop parts there were postings on a regular basis selling the cheap little plastic plug that mounts on the motherboard, usually around $5 buy now deal.

When mine went out it was still under extended warranty so they just replaced the whole mother board. That did not last six months.

In my area there is a chain called "Batteries Plus" that can check the battery correctly. That is full discharge and slow trickle charge back up. If they can do it, just about any similar battery store or computer shop should be able to do that for you.

Hopefully, your motherboard will not be damaged. Some models have a separate "charging board" that controls the charging rate of the battery and that could be damaged.

Good Luck.

Thanks for the feedback.

I live on a rural island, is there a place I can mail the battery to and get it charged so I can get my files burned onto a CD?

Never heard of such a service, but that's not to say one doesn't exist. Is there anyone--students' parents, neighbors--on the island that can help out?

I'm having a similar problem too. Mine is an Acer TravelMate 290E. I turned the computer on for a short while before the screen went totally blank. I tried the 'power' switch again, but nothing happened. Thinking that my battery was flat, I tried charging the laptop but the light (that indicates the whether the battery is being charged) did not light up either. I left the laptop plugged in and when I checked it a while later, the laptop felt slightly warm to the touch (i think it's supposed to feel hot when the laptop is in use). But there is still no response. Do you think I should get a new battery? Or maybe a new charger? Could the fault lie with the charger?

You might try Acer's Service & Support website:

http://us.acer.com/acerpanam/page6.d...crc=3088110577

i got it working thanks.