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[Zone]

My main computer (a laptop) refuses to answer the call to power up, so I'll probably need a new one.  All I do with the thing is word processing and the occasional game (was recenlty loaned Baldur's Gate II for example and no I never played Baldurs Gate)  Any suggestions on what I should be shopping for?  Or should I just find out what's wrong with the old one?  I am on a budget.  And I am not much of a geek 

[Ingo Monk]

How long have you have the laptop?  If more than 3 years I'd say you might want to look into getting a new one.  IMO after 3 years the performance doesn't justify the cost of repair.

[Zone]

YEah, its at least 5 years old, maybe six.

[kv]

Yeah, that's an old laptop. I would suggest investing in a new one. If you really want, talk to a geek friend or someone who knows laptops, and have them take out the hard drive and copy the stuff over to your new one, if you want. It's not too difficult- my brother did as much when my fiance's laptop died. But she just wanted her writing stuff and pictures off of it.

Anyway, new laptops are cheap, unless you want a gaming laptop (and by gaming, I mean frag-fest of uber1337 speed), which should rightfully cost you a pretty penny. Most other laptops are pretty cheap, especially if you shop around. I found one with all of the options I wanted, and then shopped around for the best possible price. It's three years old now, but it was top of the line then (minus one or two features), and it only cost me $1500 or so. I've seen places where you can pick them up for as little as $300, though, so whatever your price range, I'm sure there's a machine out there for you.

  -kv

[Zone]

Thanks for the advice guys.

[Ruski]

budget:
http://www.usedlaptops.com/
UB3R L337:
http://www.voodoopc.com/
*shrug*
and sometimes you just gotta work with what you've got.
does it power up when hooked up to AC? perhaps the battery is dead?
-RuskiFace the Pirate

[Zone]

Nope.  push button, machine stays dead.  No response at all.

[Ingo Monk]

Could also try removing the battery, then plugging in AC and powering it up.  If the battery has a short it could cause the laptop to not work.

[Zone]

I'll try that, thanks.  The battery has always been a piece of crap.

[Ruski]

do any of the power indicator lights work? normally there's some keyboard lights (typically by the power button) that let you know when it's plugged in to a power source. if those aren't lighting up, the power supply is most likely dead, deranged batteries not withstanding. that changes from model to model and brand to brand, so it's not a perfect test.
if you posted some stats on it, I could track down a couple of more thorough things to look for, as well as get you a price list for replacement parts.
-RuskiFace the Pirate