# Laptop won't power on



## eileen alana (4 Feb 2008)

I bought a TARGA laptop from Lidl just before Christmas and when I went to turn it on yesterday, it is totally dead, no light or sound. I have tried charging it etc but no use. What could be wrong with it?


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## ney001 (4 Feb 2008)

eileen alana said:


> I bought a TARGA laptop from Lidl just before Christmas and when I went to turn it on yesterday, it is totally dead, no light or sound. I have tried charging it etc but no use. What could be wrong with it?



take battery out and then plug it in directly to the mains - could be a faulty battery


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## eileen alana (4 Feb 2008)

ok, not sure if my daughter tried that yesterday but I'll try again, thanks


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## Howitzer (4 Feb 2008)

Press the top right hand corner of laptop down (just above the PageUp button) at the same time as you press the power on button.

Some poorly made laptops develop a loose connection at that junction which prevent the "Power On" message getting through to the actual laptop.


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## eileen alana (4 Feb 2008)

Ney001 - No, it still doesn't work. Guess I'll have to get on to the manufacturer's


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## eileen alana (4 Feb 2008)

Howitzer said:


> Press the top right hand corner of laptop down (just above the PageUp button) at the same time as you press the power on button.
> 
> Some poorly made laptops develop a loose connection at that junction which prevent the "Power On" message getting through to the actual laptop.


 

Still no luck


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## ClubMan (4 Feb 2008)

Maybe the battery and power supply are both dead?


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## eileen alana (4 Feb 2008)

clubman- what do you mean by the power supply, there is a light where the charger is attached


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## Technologist (4 Feb 2008)

eileen alana said:


> I bought a TARGA laptop from Lidl just before Christmas and when I went to turn it on yesterday, it is totally dead, no light or sound. I have tried charging it etc but no use. What could be wrong with it?


Return it.


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## ClubMan (4 Feb 2008)

eileen alana said:


> clubman- what do you mean by the power supply


What you refer to as the "charger".

As mentioned above you should certainly bring it back under warranty if it's not working properly. If your priority is to retrieve user data from the hard disk (which you should securely erase before returning in my opinion) then you can take the drive out and put it into an external drive housing to copy data from it. There are numerous threads dealing with this but you should get assistance from somebody with experience in these matters if you don't know what you're doing.


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## eileen alana (4 Feb 2008)

ClubMan said:


> What you refer to as the "charger".


 
excuse my ignorance


Got phone number for TARGA technical support in Dublin, they were closed for the night. I just hope my laptop will not have to be shipped off to be repaired in Germany.


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## ClubMan (4 Feb 2008)

eileen alana said:


> excuse my ignorance


The battery charger is built into the laptop (or possibly even the battery itself) - the external power supply/transformer powers the laptop and the charger.


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## eileen alana (4 Feb 2008)

Thank you for simplifying that, Is it the same so for a mobile phone? The external power supply that you attach to charge it up


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## ClubMan (4 Feb 2008)

Technically yes as far as I know. The charging circuit is inside the phone if I'm not mistaken. Even though most people including myself call the power supply/transformer the charger!


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## eileen alana (4 Feb 2008)

Next time mobile or laptop needs charging, I shall be asking around if anyone has seen the power supply/transformer anywhere, I think I'll be getting some funny stares from my lot!


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## Technologist (5 Feb 2008)

eileen alana said:


> Got phone number for TARGA technical support in Dublin, they were closed for the night. I just hope my laptop will not have to be shipped off to be repaired in Germany.


To assert your legal rights, it's important that you bring the laptop back to the shop where your purchased it and tell them that you believe that the laptop was not of 'merchantable quality' and that you want to discuss refund, replacement or repair. Don't let them fob you off with having to bring it somewhere else under warranty. Your contract is with the shop & it's their responsibility to put things right. If they want to get someone else to examine or fix it, that's up to them. They have to do the running, not you.

Since you've only have the machine for about six weeks, you might want to consider how long to allow them to repair it, proportionate to the time you've owned it.

If you do contact Targa support, you may in effect, be waiving your statutory rights.


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## ClubMan (5 Feb 2008)

_Lidl _are generally fine for dealing with issues like this. Not sure if they'll offer a refund, replacement or a repair though.


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## Technologist (5 Feb 2008)

ClubMan said:


> _Lidl _are generally fine for dealing with issues like this. Not sure if they'll offer a refund, replacement or a repair though.


That's a contradictory statement.


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## ClubMan (5 Feb 2008)

Not really - those are the consumer's statutory rights and they should have no problem following up on them with _Lidl_. The problem about a replacement is that they won't have the item in stock since it was a special so they will probably have to liaise between the consumer and supplier in any case unless a refund is requested or offered.


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## eileen alana (5 Feb 2008)

Technologist said:


> To assert your legal rights, it's important that you bring the laptop back to the shop where your purchased it and tell them that you believe that the laptop was not of 'merchantable quality' and that you want to discuss refund, replacement or repair. Don't let them fob you off with having to bring it somewhere else under warranty. Your contract is with the shop & it's their responsibility to put things right. If they want to get someone else to examine or fix it, that's up to them. They have to do the running, not you.
> 
> Since you've only have the machine for about six weeks, you might want to consider how long to allow them to repair it, proportionate to the time you've owned it.
> 
> If you do contact Targa support, you may in effect, be waiving your statutory rights.


 

I emailed them last night and got back the following reply:

_thank you for your inquiry to the technical support. We are sorry about the problems
 you have experienced with your computer. 

At first you can try to reset laptop power completely. Please do as follows:
- disconnect battery from the laptop
- disconnect also power adapter
- press power button and keep it pressed about 10 seconds time
- re-connect battery and power adapter and try to start laptop.

If the laptop would not start even after this procedure, we kindly ask you to call our
 hotline number preferably when you have the computer in front of you. _

I am due to call the hotline number this evening, have I already waived my statutory rights now that I have emailed them? I'd rather take it back to the shop. I purchased it just a week before christmas and I also vaguely remember something on their advertisment boards about these laptops being exempt from refund policy although on my receipt it says Refund within 28 days only with Receipt


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## ClubMan (5 Feb 2008)

The 28 day period is a non statutory return period that _Lidl _have - if you just don't like the goods then you can return then unused/as new with you receipt to get a refund. This does not affect your statutory right to a repair, replacement or refund if the goods are not fit for the purposes sold as may be the case here. I don't think that you have waived any statutory rights by contacting _Targa _support. If you are concerned then ask the _NCA _at www.consumerconnect.ie to clarify.


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## eileen alana (5 Feb 2008)

OK will do. Thanks


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## Guest125 (5 Feb 2008)

I think we should wait until Targa support talk her through some procedures before talking about statutory rights etc.I never had a problem with either Lidl or Aldi,wish I could say the same about local retailers.


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## eileen alana (6 Feb 2008)

I had a look through my free 3 year warranty,TARGA do a free pick up and return. I called them and they are coming in a couple of days and I was also informed I would have laptop back within 10 days. I live quite a bit away from my nearest LIDL's so this arrangement suits me perfectly. Good service would you agree..


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## Guest125 (9 Feb 2008)

Top class I'd say!!! Try that with your local Retailer who has a few laptops in a glass case that were landed on them by a pushy salesman.


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## PeterMurphy3 (9 Feb 2008)

i would say its the motorboard thats gone.​


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