# Solved: hp pavilion dv6 won't start - black screen, no bios



## a11iecat (Oct 5, 2014)

Hello! I have a HP pavilion dv6 2088dx laptop that will not power on fully. What I mean is, I get a black screen, no blinking lights for capslock or numlock, and it only seems to make a tiny bit of "powering on" noises. The wifi and sound icons (above the keyboard) both glow red (normally will turn white or blue when fully powered up). I've tried force restarting, plugging in an hdmi cable to my tv (to rule out display issues), removing the battery, removing the hard drive and restarting, even starting it with the memory stick removed. My techie bf is wanting to put the motherboard in my oven, but I thought I'd check with you guys first. (I've been a member here for years, but can't remember my password or email that I used to sign up, but you guys have never steered me wrong!)

Thanks,

Uni/a11iecat


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## CoolBurn (Dec 5, 2013)

Did the laptop have two memory modules installed? If so, remove just one memory module and try booting up. If no boot, then remove that module and try the other module.


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## a11iecat (Oct 5, 2014)

Thanks for the help; I just tried it in every conceivable combination of the 2 memory modules (Mod A in slot 1, Mod A in slot 2, Mod B in slot 1, Mod B in slot 2, A in 1 & B in 2, B in 1 & A in 2, and none at all) and it still wouldn't boot. What else might I try?


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## CoolBurn (Dec 5, 2013)

Remove the AC adapter and the battery from the laptop. With both removed hold down the power button for a good 30 seconds. After 30 seconds, insert just the AC adapter and try again


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## a11iecat (Oct 5, 2014)

I just tried it, with no luck.


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## CoolBurn (Dec 5, 2013)

Is the black screen the same as it is on vs off?
Any sounds (beeps)?


When you tried the hdmi cable, did you try pressing the Fn key plus F4 or whatever F# key is to switch between video outputs. Also sometimes when connected via hdmi closing the laptop lid may auto switch output devices.


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## CoolBurn (Dec 5, 2013)

Might also look for the following,
The diagnostic utilities use the LEDs near the Num Lock or Caps Lock keys to blink a series of error codes. At the end of the series the blinking stops. The pattern of blinks will occur any time you attempt to start the computer until the error is resolved.


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## a11iecat (Oct 5, 2014)

CoolBurn said:


> Is the black screen the same as it is on vs off?


  Yes.


CoolBurn said:


> Any sounds (beeps)?


 No.



CoolBurn said:


> When you tried the hdmi cable, did you try pressing the Fn key plus F4 or whatever F# key is to switch between video outputs. Also sometimes when connected via hdmi closing the laptop lid may auto switch output devices.


 No, but I will. I've never had to use the Fn or F4 key to switch before, though. It was plug-n-play.



CoolBurn said:


> Might also look for the following,
> The diagnostic utilities use the LEDs near the Num Lock or Caps Lock keys to blink a series of error codes. At the end of the series the blinking stops. The pattern of blinks will occur any time you attempt to start the computer until the error is resolved.


There are no blinking lights. Caps and Numlock are both unlit. The mousepad light is on steadily, without blinking. The only other lights are the wifi and mute, which are both red, the sound bar, which is white, the power button and the button denoting 'powered on' are white, and with the lid shut, the HP logo is white. The AC adapter light and the charging light are both lit white when it's plugged in.


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## CoolBurn (Dec 5, 2013)

Just to check the blinking may happen quickly and when it's done it will not longer blink or be lit until the laptop is restarted. It may only blink once or up to 6 times.


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## a11iecat (Oct 5, 2014)

Update: I tried the hdmi with the Fn keys and it did nothing. :/


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## a11iecat (Oct 5, 2014)

CoolBurn said:


> Just to check the blinking may happen quickly and when it's done it will not longer blink or be lit until the laptop is restarted. It may only blink once or up to 6 times.


There is absolutely no blinking of the lights. I was watching for it every time. In fact, I was _hoping_ for it.


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## CoolBurn (Dec 5, 2013)

Turn it on normally and leave it alone for 30 minutes or longer if possible (I&#8217;m in impatience and hate waiting). It is possible that the bios is corrupted and is trying to recover itself (although this does have a blink count &#8220;2&#8221;, it's very hard to catch because the process begins so quickly). If the bios is trying to recover itself it may take several attempts before accomplishing the recovery. So you want to give it some time to try. 


If the laptop does bootup, the first thing you would want to do is download and install the latest bios firmware for your model from HP's website.


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## a11iecat (Oct 5, 2014)

I will try this when I get home from work.


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## a11iecat (Oct 5, 2014)

I tried this twice: once for a few hours and once for 30 minutes. Still nothing.


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## CoolBurn (Dec 5, 2013)

Turn the laptop on and press all 4 arrow key's at the same time once. Wait about ten minutes to see if anything happens.


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## a11iecat (Oct 5, 2014)

Still nothing.


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## a11iecat (Oct 5, 2014)

Does anyone have any other suggestions, or should I let my bf put the motherboard in the oven to re-melt the solder? I have a soldering iron/gun and some solder, if it would be better.


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## a11iecat (Oct 5, 2014)

Well... an interesting thing happened. I left it 'on' and running on a flat surface (it *had* been on an incline due to the cooling fan I had under it) for about 24 hours. I noticed it was hot and turned it off. However, I thought to myself, "one. more. try..." and tried turning it back on. Voilá! It worked!! 

My thoughts are that it was indeed the motherboard soldering that had heated up and slid "downhill" while on the (inefficient) cooling fan, but allowing it to become hot on a flat surface fixed the issue, because the solder returned to its initial placement. 

Maybe I'm way off, but it's working again nonetheless!


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