OK, so I’ve got this HP Pavilion, dv7-1245dx, laptop.
Vista
AMD turion-X2 64
It hasn’t run for a year now.
My first issues happened about a year after I bought it, when the keyboard/touchpad died and I resigned myself to using a USB keyboard and mouse.
I understand the heat issues and try to maintain proper ventilation etc..
Currently, if I try to start the machine it may or may not boot up. It can take anywhere from 2 minutes to two hours.
Sometimes it comes up and just dies within a few minutes. Sometimes I can get a hour or so of web browsing or multimedia and it dies. No blue screen, just shuts off.
I’ve somewhat given up on this machine but just now I’ve fired it up.
It would be really great if I could get this thing running and was reliable.
I’d be happy to put another OS on it, but I’m not sure how I would go about that.
Help ?
Vista
There's your problem... :-)
I would either try reloading Vista (back up your files that you want to keep first and make sure you have the installs and keys of any other software you have installed), or get Windows 7 and load that.
Additionally, HP's web site has a utility that checks your system to see if it has the latest drivers available for your hardware, and lets you easily download them. It's worth running that and make sure you have the updated drivers and firmware.
Putting another OS on it would be the easy part. It sounds like it might be overheating though. If you keep turning it on and it overheats over and over, you will damage internal components eventually.
Has the fan totally died? can you hear it whirring? Is it clogged? Can you blow a can of air in it or vacuum out stuff (better be off first)? I have had to do that myself when I noticed my fan wasn’t moving. I turned mine over and found the fan, I used a toothpick or something slim to move it around and make sure it could spin freely.
If its not the fan I dunno.
Making a live version of Ubuntu is as easy as downloading the iso (disk image) and burning it to a CD-R. It doesn’t have to be done on the damaged computer either.
http://www.ubuntu.com/download/desktop
12.04 is the long term support version, sounds like you would need the 32-bit version. Not that I know of course.
And while yer at it, clean the old gunk off the mating surface of the heat sink/CPU and apply a dab of new cpu grease (thermal paste).
Unless yer a total mechanical putz, it couldn't hurt and a small tube of quality paste will only set ya back about $5.
ps: office 07 sucks beyond description .. cheers
THAT part sounds like power/power protection problems... Try removing the battery and running on 110 power only. If the battery is failing, it can cause a panic-kill like you are describing... If that doesn't fix it, see if you can borrow a compatible power supply to use for testing - Yours may be failing, or may have a near break in the cabling that will cause power loss if not perfectly aligned...
If the power plug socket in the computer is all wobbly, that is another place where laptops often fail - that connection takes a lot of abuse. If that socket is bad, it is usually not worth fixing, although that depends upon the laptop - some are replaceable.
Currently, if I try to start the machine it may or may not boot up. It can take anywhere from 2 minutes to two hours.
That sounds like a hammered hard drive, or an horribly infested machine... Try removing the hard drive entirely and booting from the DVD with a live Linux CD or something. If it runs nice from the CD, then either the drive is failing, and should be tested for such... or needs dis-infected, restored, or some other software problem.
If it is still having problems with the hard drive out and running from the DVD, then switch around - put the hard drive back and remove the DVD drive and see if it works better then... If so, the DVD drive is faulty and needs to be replaced... technically, it would be better to use a known-good hard drive with a rudimentary system on it, but I don't suppose you have that as such just laying around.
My first issues happened about a year after I bought it, when the keyboard/touchpad died and I resigned myself to using a USB keyboard and mouse.
It might be a good idea to disconnect or remove the faulty KB and mouse, as they could be causing trouble too - And if you get the thing running decently, a new KB is going to be around 15 bucks, and a new mouse pad cheaper than that.
I know that all sounds like a lot of gymnastics, but a decent service tech should be able to diagnose the problem in well under an hour of bench time. It may well be a motherboard or processor issue, but if that is the case, the thing is a frisbee anyway : ) So all these ancillary issues can be eliminated before deciding it is doomed to the junk pile. Good luck.
Laptops are notorious for their heat sensitivity. I would take it to a professional shop and have them open it up and blow out all the old dust and things from the insides and then thoroughly clean off the cpu heatsink-fan and replace if necessary. A visual inspection will show any other problems that might have developed.