Presario C300 power problem

CJon · December 6th, 2008, 05:59 PM

I have been asked to fix a Presario C300 that won't boot. With the battery in place, when plugged in, the battery charge light lights (amber) for a short while (10-15 seconds) and then begins to flash rapidly (3-4 times per second). If you try to start the machine, the light on the power switch and also on the f ront of the computer both light up (amber) for a second or 2 and then flash like the battery charge light. Removing the battery and trying to boot on the power supply gets the same result. This occurs with 2 different power supplies. As far as I can tell, the battery is totally dead. Left plugged in overnight (flashing as noted above), it won't boot the computer with the power supply unplugged.

Any thoughts?

Thanks, CJon

RichKlein · December 29th, 2008, 03:21 PM

I have exactly the same problem.

did you find a solution since your 12/8/08 post?

donutdigging · December 31st, 2008, 04:20 AM

"Removing the battery and trying to boot on the power supply gets the same result"?
Do you mean that you have tried to power from the AC adapter without the battery and still can't boot the laptop? If so, the problem should be from the laptop itself.

CoolSax · December 31st, 2008, 05:04 AM

Sounds like the BIOS is interfering with the startup. I would reset it by taking out the CMOS battery. On this model it looks like it's fairly simple to remove and it's called the RTC battery I believe. On the HP website there's a document http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c00753552.pdf which tells you how to remove it, it's on page 111. I would remove it and put it back in.

Chunky E · January 26th, 2009, 10:16 PM

A friend of mine had a Presario C300 that would not turn on. The power light by the front speaker would just flicker when I plugged in the power cord. So I used the power cord from my Presario V2000 and the C300 still had the same problem. So, I took the C300 apart. Short story, I took everything out except the monitor and mother board, blew the dust out, and put it back together and it worked like a charm.

Long story: I first took out the hard drive then plugged in the power cord and tried turning it back on, the power light would just flicker. Then I took out the RAM, CMOS battery, Wi-Fi card, keyboard, internal power supply cable, CMOS battery, CD drive, heat sink, fan, CPU, and then the speakers. Each time I took out a part, I would plug in the power cord and attempt to turn on the laptop but the power light would just flicker. I blew out the dust with an air can each time I took a piece out since there was so much dust mainly around the fan.

At this point, I figured that the mother board was bad and should just return this busted C300 back to its owner. After I had reassembled the laptop, I was surprised that I had no extra screws lying around. I thought I would try to power it up for fun. Success!

Go to HP’s website for the documentation on taking apart the C300. Tip is to start by putting a flat head screw driver under keys F1, F5, F11, and Insert to pop off the top cover. Unscrew the keyboard, unplug the keyboard, and then flip the laptop over to take out the other components. Remember which order the cables go on the Wi-Fi. Use a marker to note which color cable goes where on the Wi-Fi card. I hope you have the same luck.

aljun · February 25th, 2009, 01:52 AM

hi, i got the same problem like this, i tried taking everything off in my laptop and putting them alltogether and i still have the same problem. The power light is still blinking rapidly when i plug it in and turning it on.

i think the problem is in the motherboard itself. maybe there are some resistors, capacitors are not working properly...

any ideas how to fix this?

Thanx....