zt1000 works for a while then goes dead

[Susan W. Dobbins]

Hi - my zt1000 had been fine but recently, if left off for a couple of days it boots to Windows, works a while then goes black. When I try to reboot I just hear a very low whine and get a black screen - no attempted activity. It acts like its a power problem, but the power light is on. It's not the display as it does the same when hooked up to an external monitor. HP suggests sending it away for service. I thought I'd check with you "knowers of all things", hoping I can avoid that. Can anyone help?

[Bryan Eley]

Hi Susan,

Does this problem occur with or without the unit hooked to AC power? Does it show this problem with the battery removed and only hooked to AC power?
I have read that some people have reported issues with one of the DIMM (memory) slots on the system going bad and causing problems similar to what you are reporting. One computer repair tech commented that he had seen two of these particular systems go bad with the same DIMM slot under the motherboard (I think the ztl1000 has a memory DIMM slot under the keyboard and the other on the underside of the motherboard) being the culprit. Offhand I don't know how easy it is to remove the memory from this system but if not too difficult it might be worth a shot seeing if one of the slots is bad by booting without one of the memory modules.
I hate to say it, but it sounds like you may need to send the unit in for service, though maybe some other folks have had more direct experience with these issues.

[Vibhor Kumar Agarwal]

Might be a RAM problem.

[Susan W. Dobbins]

Now, first attempt of the day, my zt1000 will now only get as far as the HP Invent logo, no longer starting Windows. Happens with or without the battery in place. Any memory-related solutions will have to wait for the weekend. In the meantime, all suggestions welcome!