Machine won't start up, powers off at agpCPQ.sys

My machine is the 8.5" Windows XP machine with 160gb HDD. It was working fine until today - I turned it on and it powered off before booting all the way. I thought maybe the battery was flat so I left it to charge a bit before trying again but it makes no difference. I tried Safe mode boot and it gets as far as agpCPQ.sys, holds there for a moment then powers off. I tried letting the battery charge all the way up - no difference. HOWEVER... twice now I've found also that if I get to the boot options screen, move the highlight to, say, Safe mode, but don't hit enter, it powers itself off after about 30 seconds anyway without even attempting to boot.

 

Since posting I was showing a friend the problem and while doing that I turned the machine over in my hands a couple of times. After he'd gone I thought, what the hey, plugged it in again and tried to fire it up - and it came up. But one very important thing I noticed this time - I could hear the fan spinning, and I'm fairly certain I didn't hear it before. My guess is that the fan was stuck, something in the temperature management recognized the fact, and killed the power before any damage could be done. Turning the thing over a couple of times must've shaken the fan loose again. No idea of the cause - I only use the machine in a clean environment and it's kept in its sleeve inside a carrying bag the rest of the time - it's not exposed to a lot of dust or anything.

 

Don't be fooled into thinking that just because you're in a clean environment, dust is any less likely to get into your machine.

Reason being, I have two elderly clients I work for regularly. It seems they have no end of ailments. Their apartment has been set up with that many filters etc to keep the dust out so they can actually breath. The apartment is always kept clean and you never see any dust in the air or on the furniture. BUT every time I've opened up their computer to work on it, it is always caked in dust.

I'd suggest keeping a can of compressed air in the cupboard. You can pick them up real cheap at the local supermarket. A quick jet into the fan of your AAO every now and then should be enough to loosen the dust / clean it out to keep the fan operational.

 

i had real similar problem. sent it back for repair. just needed the recete. they explained to me there is a defect in a lot of the fans they used, makes em prone to gettign jammed with dust, even in a place that got no dust. consider it a manufacturer defect and they pay for shiping and everything. problem efects a lot of models cuz the same company made a lot of bad fans. my acer asipre one was two years old or so and they still fixed it. just call em. they are real good bout fixin that problem cuz they consider it their fault.

 

1 more thing. swarvey said can o air fix the prob. not really true from what they told me. problem with the fans they told me is that fan really needs replacin. just cleanin won't solve problem. sooner or later gotta replace fan. other wise fan burns out i guess. can cause lot of problem.

 

What I was getting at is that no matter how clean your operating environment, dust can and WILL get into a computer. The electronics inside will simply attract it. Such symptoms can be seen more easily in desktop computers. For example, your RAM may not be bad, but if it's why your computer is failing and you take it out of the slot, i guarantee that after years, or even mere months of use, the contacts will no longer be bright, shiny gold, they will be more of a brownish colour. (simply rubbing them clean, back to a shiny finish with a pencil eraser is sometimes all it takes to repair faulty RAM, technicians like myself have been using this technique for years). You will also see dust virtually everywhere inside your computer, even if it's not much, it will be there.

The can of air is NOT a fix, it is simply a helpful tool when it comes to keeping a computer clean. If you want to say it causes a problem, then by all means, don't attempt to keep your fan clear of debris, and wait for it to get that caked in dust that it fails and DOES require replacement.

On the other hand, if you do decide to jet some air into the fan and see a clump of debris come out, then I'll gladly lend you a knife and fork so you can eat your words