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(I hope this is the correct place to post this question. It is getting increasing hard to know which website to post questions.)

My daughter's HP Pavilion Entertainment laptop, about 3 years old, started acting funny today. She had been using it to do some work, and then closed it. Later when she tried to open it to get back to what she was doing, it wouldn't come up. She shut it down, and when she tried to bring it back up it started acting very strangely. The lights along the keyboard would flash on and off, and that is all it does.

So, what's causing it to do this and why? And what do I do about it?

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Definitely the right place to post this kind of question! Any kind of computer software or hardware-related questions are generally okay here. The FAQ link in the top-right of the screen (superuser.com/faq for this site) gives you an idea of what you can and cannot post for each site. Can you let us know what lights are flashing, are they flashing slowly or quickly, in a pattern or not, do you see anything on the screen, or hear any beeps or any fans spinning at all? – kez Oct 14 '10 at 15:45
Ah, thank you about referencing the faq at the upper right. I've never looked at it before. Still, there is confusion. For example, I posted this question on Server Fault first, and that was only after noticing several other questions about laptops being asked there, so I thought that was the right place. – Rod Oct 14 '10 at 20:47
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2 Answers

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Is it a DV2000, 6000 or 9000 series? If so they can be repaired for a reasonable fee

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260595095107

Symptoms may include:

Laptop will power and turn on, but no display on screen

When Powered on you can hear fan and blue lights light up but nothing on screen

Cycles on and off by it self however never shows anything on screen

Screen is full of "squiggles" or vertical/horizontal lines

Reboots on its own after a few minutes and repeats this

No power at all however power jack and supply are good

Cannot connect to the Internet, WiFi not functioning

Blue screen and keep rebooting

Keyboard, USB connectors not working

.

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I guess this may be it. My daughter's laptop is a dv9700, so I suppose that falls into the 9000 series. – Rod Oct 15 '10 at 14:54
You would be correct! – Moab Oct 16 '10 at 17:45
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I would first suggest doing a "hard" shutdown of the PC and then start it back up. This is done by holding the power button until the laptop shuts off (about 5 to 10 seconds). Turn on the laptop again and see if it start back up.

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We tried, repeatedly, to do a hard shutdown by holding the power button in for several minutes, but her laptop didn't respond to it. – Rod Oct 14 '10 at 20:48
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