Computer boots into black screen, power light blinks.

[sivad]

Hello all,

I have a mysterious problem dealing with starting up my computer.
I will try to detail everything I have done.

The computer I have is a
Compaq Presario V5000T Laptop.
It was running service pack 3, XP home, and 2GB ram.
Everything else on it was factory.

The ram was recently installed, factory ram was 512MB. (About a month ago- upgraded to 2 GB)
Also, the AC Adapter wire was torn a few months ago, and was replaced 2 months ago, but not with a compaq standard adapter. (I bought a generic one with the same specs.)

The laptop has been running fine for the last 2 months, and had no issues with anything. But yesterday, as I was browsing the internet, the computer suddenly turns off.  (The battery and ac adapter were both plugged in.)
I though the ac adpter may have gotten loose, so I replugged it in, and then tried turning it on. This did not work. I was late for class, so I took off without testing it further.


I came back about 8 hours later, and tried to turn it on again. (Battery and AC adapter both in)
It turned on, and I was able to use the computer for about 15 minutes. When all of a sudden, the computer turned off again, with no warning.

However, this time, when I attempted to turn it on, it fails. I hear the cd drive running, but nothing else happens. The screen remains dark, and the other major sign is the the Power button (IO) constantly blinks orange. The LCD light on the panel also blinks (IO) in the same fashion.

I have tried many things, such as unplugging the battery and adapter, and holding the power button to drain the power for 60 seconds. Then plugging the adpater ONLY in, and trying to turn on with just that. Whether it's just the adpater, or just the battery, or a combination after resetting, draining, nothing works. It just constantly blinks.

I have reseated the ram, and replaced it with the factory ones. Still nothing.

The adapter works, seeing as I tried it on THE SAME EXACT model computer and it powers that one up. (I have also been using it for 2 months)

I am open for any suggestions, and further questions. I have no idea where the problem could be. If you need more info, please let me know. Thanks in advance for taking time to read this.

[eledel]

High i'm a student at a high school computer help desk and i've seen something that might be your problem.

1.your hardrive might be faulty and cuasing the problem-try getting someones elses COMPATIBLE hardrive and installing it to see if thats the problem

2. I've also had to replace a couple of AC/DC power converters for some computers with those symptoms but that shouldn't be a problem for battery power on a laptop

3 The final cuase i have seen is a bad mother board

[sivad]

Thanks Eledel for the response.

I took out the hard drive, and tried to boot without one, but it still presents the same problem. Once I get my hands on a compatible one, I'll put it in, and see if the same problem occurs.

I'm not sure whether the converter is the problem. If so, I have no idea how to check, or repair it. Hopefully it's the hard drive.

As for the mother board, I'm guessing it would be a lot cheaper and easier to just purchase a new laptop. My computer isn't worth a lot, but I am pretty tight on money at the moment.

Thanks for the response, I'll see if the problem is the hard drive, and re-post here.

Is there anyone else with this problem? How did you go about dealing with it?