laptop just shut off... wont go back on!

[webmaster111]

Never had this happen before.. my acer aspire laptop just shut down. It didnt feel overheated (thats happened before but not in well over a year, maybe 2 or more years actually).

And i THOUGHT that i heard a repeating faint noise from the power adapter cord/box thing and the light was flashing on that. But then i went to the store and came back, left the laptop plugged in and now the light is solid. I believe its "normally" solid and the blinking part kind of caught my eye, but it might be of no significance.

however, i THINK i might smell something odd... but im also now shoving my nose in the laptop so.... but i opened up the bottom and nothing looks obviously friend or burnt.

the symptoms right now are that the laptop simply wont turn on. Nothing happens when i push power.
i also think i might smell something odd.
power adapter light was blinking and i thought i heard a repeating very faint noise as the laptop shut down/turned off.

its a winXP laptop acer aspire, probably at around 5 years old. i usually had it running 24/7 for the greater part of the last year and a half. Would turn it off when i left for vacation and stuff, but day to day it was running, pretty much just the internet.

please help me figure and fix this!

[photolady]

When you had it open, did you find any dust inside? With blinking light on the power adapter, it's quite possible the battery wasn't charging. Laptops weren't made to run 24/7.

[Train]

Did you ever calibrate the battery?
http://h20239.www2.hp.com/techcenter...attery_max.htm

Remove the battery and see if it will boot up. Some will do that, others will not.

[webmaster111]

It was quite clean inside actually.

I had replaced the laptops fan in the past as well, if thats worth noting.

I actually didnt use the laptop battery because it seemed to make the laptop run some crappy propriety battery software that gave me a headache. So for the last year probably i just have the laptop sitting on the desk with no battery in it.

I tried connecting the battery to the laptop though now and i doesnt boot up still.

[jdc2000]

It sounds like your AC adapter died. If you are lucky, it didn't take out the computer as well. Your battery is probably in need of a recharge at the very least at this point, which you would need a working AC adapter for.

[webmaster111]

i am cautiously optimistic

scared but hopeful

[webmaster111]

i just looked it up and i replaced the fan in the laptop 2 years ago last month, so its been run pretty hard (hard as in being left on most days) in that time.

as far as the smell i thought i smelled last night its still there so i dont know if that is a new thing or just nothing at all. the laptop powercord/ac adapter thing has had a solid green light all today.

as i noted, last night it was blinking just after the laptop shut down out of nowhere. i also definitely heard a faint noise from the acp adapter last night that is not present today. it was a repeating noise faint noise.

another question now would be do they carry ac adapters at big box stores like walmart or do i need to order online? the model is a LITEON pa-1900-04 ac adapter. im going to get one off ebay now but obviously id like to try to get it up ASAP. its my main computer believe it or not. im on another laptop now that sucks!

finally, is there any way i can charge the laptops battery to see if maybe it will turn on?

[jdc2000]

If I were looking for a replacement AC adapter, I would check the reviews for any that I found. There are all sorts of el cheapo adapters that are not worth the money and might fail and damage your laptop. I'd get the highest quality one I could find. Of course, you don't yet know if your laptop is already damaged. It might be worth taking it to some place that had an adapter to see if it would boot up before purchasing an adapter. You might be able to find a local store that has one (Best Buy, etc.). You could check walmart.com to see if they carry them also.

To charge the battery, an AC adapter would be needed. I wouldn't try jumper cables or anything like that.

[dneilson]

You could try calling any big box stores in your area and any computer repair shops you know of.

[webmaster111]

Bad news for me, the new power adapter came in, and when i plug it in (the light does turn on on the new adapter) the laptop still does not turn on at all. Its basically like i didnt push the button. (That is, there is no boot up or "revving" of parts/fans.)

What next?

[jdc2000]

Did you try the new adapter with the battery removed from the laptop?

Also, some laptops won't turn on unless you have a good battery installed, even if the AC adapter is plugged in.

[webmaster111]

Did you try the new adapter with the battery removed from the laptop?

Also, some laptops won't turn on unless you have a good battery installed, even if the AC adapter is plugged in.

I tried the new plug with both the laptop battery attached and removed. Same result.

It might be worth noting that I ran the laptop via the powercord with NO laptop battery attached 99% of the time. That is, I kept the laptop battery in my drawer and basically used the laptop as a "desktop."

[Train]

Check where the adapter plugs into the lapper.
Is it loose?

[webmaster111]

Check where the adapter plugs into the lapper.
Is it loose?

It doesnt seem loose at all. It snaps into place as well. It might be worth noting that when the laptop "died" i was sitting right next to it. Nothing and nobody was doing anything to it. I believe it had open 2 windows of firefox with facebook and thats all.

[Train]

Well the reason for my question is that connection is where most of the problems exist and to replace that power section , as it is part of the motherboard, it usually requires a new motherboard. And most times, a new laptop may be the cheaper route to go.