Help! I dropped my work laptop and now it won't start up!

[Kathy in Cambridge]

I was working on a work-related project and DUing and the laptop slipped off my lap when one of the cats decided to jump on me. It landed on the rug softly, but it turned itself off and now won't start.:cry:

Please tell me it's not broken!

[Floogeldy]

1. OUCH!

Jiggle the battery?

[Misunderestimator]

2. That was gonna be my advice... take out the battery and put it back in.

If it's plugged in with the battery in it might not be able to turn off completely... unplug it and take the battery out... then put the battery back in, plug it in, and try to restart it.

[Kathy in Cambridge]

4. It didn't work

:cry:

[Misunderestimator]

7. sorry edited mine after you responded... did you unplug it too...

and take the battery out?

[Misunderestimator]

3. Is it plugged in or running on battery?

[Kathy in Cambridge]

6. Plugged in

[Misunderestimator]

8. Unplug it AND remove the battery... then wait a moment and plug it

back in

[Kathy in Cambridge]

9. It didn't work-still nothing

[Misunderestimator]

11. Damn.... All I can say at this point is that it's good it's a work laptop.

so they can fix it. :shrug: Anything is possible... a cable inside could have loosened, the LCD cracked somewhere... the freaking thing has a mind of its own and decided to pout... sorry, I wish I could help. :(

[Kathy in Cambridge]

12. Thanks for the help-I googled and my hard drive might be f*cked

I'll have to send the laptop back to HQ and use my home computer (which stinks).

[Misunderestimator]

14. Precisely why I bought a new laptop for myself...

as a backup for my work one (which I disabled for a few hours a few weeks ago, after spilling water on it...), since I telecommute most of the time. My home computer is like 10 times slower for work than either of the laptops, so I feel a lot better knowing that I have a backup now that's better than what it's backing up.

Anyway, good luck to you... it sucks realizing how tied one can be to a computer sometimes :)

[Renew Deal]

15. The laptop would still power up if the HDD was broken.

It's probably something else. You should reseat the battery, memory, any removable drives and cables.

[Kathy in Cambridge]

16. It just won't turn on. I've had little issues with it up until now.

this is scary-I hope it's not fried.

[progressoid]

5. Drop it again - that always works on TV for amnesia patients

[Redstone]

10. Listen to me very carefully and do exactly as I say...

Close the computer and coat one corner of the outside of it with a thin, inconspicuous layer of Vaseline.

When you get to work tomorrow, find some excuse or other to hand it to your boss in a way that he or she can only get a grip on one corner...

Voila! Painless computer replacement!

Redstone

[hfojvt]

13. try removing the hard drive

and then putting it back in. When mine fell, the hard drive was jarred loose. Then I had to re-install windows.

[Kathy in Cambridge]

17. Where is the hard drive? I have a Dell laptop.

[hfojvt]

20. that I cannot tell you

but look for a panel on the back or on the side. There should be a screw or a switch holding it in. Or Dell customer service could tell you better. Or the Dell website.

[Misunderestimator]

22. On one of mine, the HD is connected with two screws on the bottom...

The other is at home right now, so I'm not sure. They are in a
different spot on different models. You can find your original system
configuration here by entering your "Service Tag" located on the
bottom of your laptop:
http://support.dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/my_systems_info/en/details?c=us&cs=04&l=en&s=bsd&~tab=2

(On edit... that won't tell you anything about where to find the hard
drive, but it should be there somewhere on the site.)

[Floogeldy]

18. No knock on you, Kathy

But this is exactly why I got two PCs (one for home and one for office), instead of a laptop to carry back and forth.

I'm sure the same thing that happened to you would have happened to me within a week of purchase. Laptops are fragile. Or else, I probably would have left it sitting on the roof of my car after searching for my keys.

But if it is a work computer, maybe you don't have to pay for it.

[Kathy in Cambridge]

19. I have a crappy home laptop that will suffice for now

but I have a ton of important work stuff on my work computer. And I only backed up some of it. I'm kicking myself now. :-(

[Steven_S]

21. That happened to me about a year ago....

Dropped it while it was on. Small local repair shop said it was the hard drive, replaced it with a 40GB, installed XP and haven't had a problem since.

Luckily it was not expensive, and everything was backed-up.

Good luck to you, Kathy.

[mogster]

23. Did it land upside down?

The screen may be broken.
If you shake it (carefully), does it make any sound that wasn't there before?

[Kathy in Cambridge]

25. No, it just won't power on. I'm talking to my help desk now

they're having me try a few things to make sure it's not a battery issue. I KNOW it's a hard drive/circuit board issue. It won't turn on no matter what.

[LynneSin]

24. Been there done that

And never bothered to get it fixed since the system board was destroyed.

I'm about ready to unload it on ebay since the screen did not shatter and can be pretty expensive for folks to replace