System Failure

[Thorax_the_Impaler]

Hello everyone!

I am becoming a quite annoyed owner of HP's budget notebook, the Compaq Presario CQ56, with AMD hardware (processor, graphics). I bought this laptop off of a friend with the explanation that it had a severe overheating problem. I didn't actually take it seriously until the laptop overheated so badly it corrupted the OS. Being that I do not own any electronics I've never torn apart/fixed, I stripped the laptop down layer by layer like an onion, and pumped some pressurized air through both the cooling fan and the cooling vents. I was greeted with an unbelievable amount of pet hair and what looked like cobwebs covered in dust. Needless to say there was no lack of airflow after that; and things were working just fine.

Well, not anymore. The cooling fan has issues upon startup; it basically will not start. The laptop freaks out and informs me a cooling fan is not working properly, and after a couple reboots or sometimes just a few seconds of waiting, the fan starts and the computer functions as it should. I called HP and they refuse to tell me anything because the OS was changed, and the only help I got was from not-so-knowledgeable tech support that insisted I had that issue because I removed Windows 7 from the machine. Does anybody have any suggestions as to how I could fix this fan? So far I've nailed my options down to replace the fan if nothing else works.

 

[-RockMan-]

Hello everyone!

I am becoming a quite annoyed owner of HP's budget notebook, the Compaq Presario CQ56, with AMD hardware (processor, graphics). I bought this laptop off of a friend with the explanation that it had a severe overheating problem. I didn't actually take it seriously until the laptop overheated so badly it corrupted the OS. Being that I do not own any electronics I've never torn apart/fixed, I stripped the laptop down layer by layer like an onion, and pumped some pressurized air through both the cooling fan and the cooling vents. I was greeted with an unbelievable amount of pet hair and what looked like cobwebs covered in dust. Needless to say there was no lack of airflow after that; and things were working just fine.
.

Hmm, I know you are distressed about this laptop but it can be saved.
When you took apart the laptop, did you note that the cpu grease was dried out or not ?
Have you considered the fan itself getting ready to die soon?
Look online about your laptop and see about getting a "ew" genuine fan controller.
Lastly, when it was working, was the current bios stable and what version did it have ?

Once you reply back here, we'll see about getting it fixed.

 

[Thorax_the_Impaler]

Hmm, I know you are distressed about this laptop but it can be saved.
When you took apart the laptop, did you note that the cpu grease was dried out or not ?
Have you considered the fan itself getting ready to die soon?
Look online about your laptop and see about getting a "ew" genuine fan controller.
Lastly, when it was working, was the current bios stable and what version did it have ?

Once you reply back here, we'll see about getting it fixed.

Thank you for responding!

If by CPU grease you mean that paste like substance on the CPU then it was not crusted and dried out; the only way I can describe it is "fresh".

I have considered the fan may be ready to die; but the original owner of the laptop said that it had this problem from the day he purchased it in the store.

I'm not sure I understand what you mean by an "ew" genuine fan controller?

The BIOS on this machine has never been touched since it's factory installation. HP-Compaq manufactured a slew of different models under the CQ56 name, and being that I am running Ubuntu 12.10; I can't use any system scanners I know of to look closer at the internals. Also, I do not have any Windows OS's other than an XP installation disk; which due to hardware/software incompatibilities will not install without some serious modifications I am not knowledgeable/capable of. I've been trying to get my hands on a 7 installation disk so I can dual-boot it with Linux; but no luck so far.

This problem does not completely stop functionality; I am on the laptop typing this and the fan is running as it should. I'd like to upgrade the RAM from 2GB to 4GB since the memory is dirt cheap; but I will not do so if this problem persists/escalates.

 

[-RockMan-]

Thank you for responding!

If by CPU grease you mean that paste like substance on the CPU then it was not crusted and dried out; the only way I can describe it is "fresh".

I have considered the fan may be ready to die; but the original owner of the laptop said that it had this problem from the day he purchased it in the store.

I'm not sure I understand what you mean by an "ew" genuine fan controller?

The BIOS on this machine has never been touched since it's factory installation. HP-Compaq manufactured a slew of different models under the CQ56 name, and being that I am running Ubuntu 12.10; I can't use any system scanners I know of to look closer at the internals. Also, I do not have any Windows OS's other than an XP installation disk; which due to hardware/software incompatibilities will not install without some serious modifications I am not knowledgeable/capable of. I've been trying to get my hands on a 7 installation disk so I can dual-boot it with Linux; but no luck so far.

This problem does not completely stop functionality; I am on the laptop typing this and the fan is running as it should. I'd like to upgrade the RAM from 2GB to 4GB since the memory is dirt cheap; but I will not do so if this problem persists/escalates.

What I meant by genuine fan, is that it is original and comes straight from the manufactuere, and not some cheap 3rd party fan that may fail.
About the windows 7 installation dik, if you have a real product key for 7, call mircrosoft support and see if they may offer you a iso download.
Otherwise, you will need to get your own elsewhere, I can't say where on tech-forums due to some rules. :/

 

[NoLief]

It's possible you put it back together wrong or something happened during that process of putting it back together? Maybe take it apart again to make sure nothing is wrong, caught, snapped or broken. I recommend downloading some internal detection programs to detect the fans operation/temps etc.
Could be temps having to do with the CPU as well.
A fans a simple thing to fix and replace though, so still worth it to buy a RAM upgrade.

 

[Thorax_the_Impaler]

It's possible you put it back together wrong or something happened during that process of putting it back together? Maybe take it apart again to make sure nothing is wrong, caught, snapped or broken. I recommend downloading some internal detection programs to detect the fans operation/temps etc.
Could be temps having to do with the CPU as well.
A fans a simple thing to fix and replace though, so still worth it to buy a RAM upgrade.

I assure you I am very careful when dismantling my electronics and even so I have checked over this laptop and no parts are snapped or broken. As I said above this fan problem has plagued this machine since the day it was purchased, so I'm pretty sure it's nothing I did (the machine runs way better since I cleaned it out). And I would download internal detection programs but they are difficult to find for Ubuntu; trust me I've looked and the only ones I can find through the software center cost money I'm not willing to spend. In addition I do not usually like installing third-party software unless I trust its origin; and usually I don't. If you can recommend any internal detection programs that can be run on Ubuntu 12.10, please do so. I'm always happy to receive advice and such.

What I meant by genuine fan, is that it is original and comes straight from the manufactuere, and not some cheap 3rd party fan that may fail.
About the windows 7 installation dik, if you have a real product key for 7, call mircrosoft support and see if they may offer you a iso download.
Otherwise, you will need to get your own elsewhere, I can't say where on tech-forums due to some rules. :/

As far as I am aware the fan is genuine. But even if it is I wouldn't say that changes much; Compaq products usually have crap hardware in my opinion. I've owned a couple Compaq and HP-Compaq computers in my life and at least one piece of hardware (other than the battery) went bad very quickly in every one of them. After observing other forums, I see that some fellow techies agree with this notion.

As for the Windows idea, I do still have a product key for the factory installed software, but Microsoft denied me an .iso because of some lame-ass excuse having to do with a warranty. The laptop was running a 64 bit version of Windows 7 Home Premium. A 64 bit system on a single core (2.3GHz) processor; much less Home Premium of all versions; I wouldn't want it anyhow.

 

[KSoD]

How to replace Microsoft software or hardware, order service packs, and replace product manuals

You can order replacement media from Microsoft without having to do with HP. Microsoft's excuse was lame. The fact is that it is an OEM product, that meaning that the manufacturer has to do all the support for the OS. Microsoft doesnt. Which means that you would have to deal with HP directly in order to get any support. But since they wont help cause the original OS was removed, just use this form to get the media and install the version of Win7 you need.

I would say you could use a download from Digital River, but those are not OEM versions. They are full retail versions so the serial wont work. Leaving you no further along than where you are now. So ordering the replacement media is going to be your best bet in this case.

But since you dont want it anyhow, there isnt much that can be done to help. Even if there was a BIOS update, it would only have an option to do so from within Windows or if your lucky via a USB Thumb Drive. The only way to know this would be by checking the Compaq site to know if there is an update or not. But really the BIOS wouldnt tell you much. The best thing you could do would be to replace the fan.

 

[-RockMan-]

As for the Windows idea, I do still have a product key for the factory installed software, but Microsoft denied me an .iso because of some lame-ass excuse having to do with a warranty. The laptop was running a 64 bit version of Windows 7 Home Premium. A 64 bit system on a single core (2.3GHz) processor; much less Home Premium of all versions; I wouldn't want it anyhow.

Thats understandable, but think about Ksod's reply closely.
If you still need a os, download windows 7 home premium.
You may install it as a trial which is very legal and legit for 30 days.
If you attend on keeping that os, amazon, newegg,com or even ebay sellers has pretty good prices on most windows 7 os's.
Yes, ebay is working closely with microsoft to prevent counterfiet or msdn keys from being hosted online.

If I were you, I would save about 110.00 and be on the lookout for a good steal.
Since it is late january 2013, it would be a good time to look, before spring sales start up.

Good luck to you.