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Dear PC Doctor:
When I came to work this morning, my computer would not turn on! The power button flashed a few times – 5 long red flashes, and then 2 short white ones. The computer worked fine yesterday! What can I do? Do you have any advice for me? It’s a relatively new (maybe three years old?) HP computer.
Thanks,
Shauna
Dear Shauna:
I’m sorry this happened to you!
The HP support site has a table that interprets those flashes - You can find it at https://support.hp.com/ What it suggests for the 5 long red flashes followed by 2 short white ones is to remove any recently inserted hardware, reset CMOS (Complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor or small amount of memory on the computer motherboard) , and/or update BIOS (Basic Input-Output System) while removing affected components.
The best thing to do would be to use another computer or your smart phone to look up how to do those things for your specific model of computer. For example, some towers have a button top on the outside of the tower that is labeled Clear or Reset, and holding that down (after you’ve disconnected the computer from power) will reset the CMOS. I discovered on my computer that the button was inside the tower’s case. It looked just like an orange baby aspirin, but was clearly labeled CMOS.
Good luck!
Until next time,
Happy Computing!
PC Doctor
Editor's Note: Questions should be directed to PC Doctor, care of the Athol Public Library, info@athollibrary.org or Athol Public Library, 568 Main St., Athol, Mass. 01331, or dropped off at the library
Posted: to Athol Library News on Mon, Dec 28, 2020
Updated: Mon, Dec 28, 2020