UPDATE - Inspiron 1545 Doesn't Boot - RESOLVED

From a post on 1/4/2014 1:10 PM
I am working on an Inspiron 1545 that won't boot. The report I have is
that
it was working okay when a window appeared from the FBI demanding a
payment
of $300. I know. It was the FBI Moneypak virus. That scarred my
granddaughter into shutting the notebook down. When she tried to start it
again, it didn't boot. It has an Intel T4400 2.2 GHz processor, 4 (2X2) GB
RAM, 15.6HDF LED LCD, Windows 7HP.

The symptoms are...
The fan spins briefly then is quiet.
The DVD+/-RW drive light blinks. The drive door will open and spin when a
Hiren's Boot Disk is inserted.
A bootable USB light blinks once at startup.
There is not anything visible on the display.
Same when an external monitor is hooked up.
There are no beep sounds.
The same symptoms weather the battery is mounted or removed. The battery
is
recently replaced.
There are no hot spots on the case when in "run" mode.
The HDD and memory modules have been reseated.
When the power button is pressed a second time, nothing happens and the
machine appears to be in "off" mode.

I am the go-to guy for computer repair and am knowledgeable to a point but
am stumped with a machine that refuses to start. I could use suggestions
on
where to start. Could these symptoms be caused by a bad HDD or is a dead
motherboard more likely?

Dean...

The laptop is at its former working state thanks to Bob Villa's suggestion
of removing the hard drive and connecting it to a working computer with a
USB adapter. I ordered an adapter and waited a week for delivery all the
time researching the procedure for replacing the motherboard. Complicated
but not too fussy. When the USB adapter came and the HDD was plugged into my
desktop, Norton immediately reported Boot.Pihar and removed it. A full
Norton scan of the HDD reported six more instances of malware. A full scan
with Malwarebytes reported two more nasty files. The HDD was put back in the
1545 and the power button pressed. I really didn't expect anything other
than a black screen but to my surprise, after a few reboots, the computer
came to life. After some polishing with CCleaner, the 1545 is good to go and
I am again a hero to one of my granddaughters. Thanks Bob and Ben as always
helpful.
Dean...

On Monday, January 20, 2014 4:21:08 PM UTC-5, Dean-MN wrote:
From a post on 1/4/2014 1:10 PM

I am working on an Inspiron 1545 that won't boot. The report I have is

that

it was working okay when a window appeared from the FBI demanding a

payment

of $300. I know. It was the FBI Moneypak virus. That scarred my

granddaughter into shutting the notebook down. When she tried to start it

again, it didn't boot. It has an Intel T4400 2.2 GHz processor, 4 (2X2) GB

RAM, 15.6HDF LED LCD, Windows 7HP.



The symptoms are...

The fan spins briefly then is quiet.

The DVD+/-RW drive light blinks. The drive door will open and spin when a

Hiren's Boot Disk is inserted.

A bootable USB light blinks once at startup.

There is not anything visible on the display.

Same when an external monitor is hooked up.

There are no beep sounds.

The same symptoms weather the battery is mounted or removed. The battery

is

recently replaced.

There are no hot spots on the case when in "run" mode.

The HDD and memory modules have been reseated.

When the power button is pressed a second time, nothing happens and the

machine appears to be in "off" mode.



I am the go-to guy for computer repair and am knowledgeable to a point but

am stumped with a machine that refuses to start. I could use suggestions

on

where to start. Could these symptoms be caused by a bad HDD or is a dead

motherboard more likely?



Dean...



The laptop is at its former working state thanks to Bob Villa's suggestion

of removing the hard drive and connecting it to a working computer with a

USB adapter. I ordered an adapter and waited a week for delivery all the

time researching the procedure for replacing the motherboard. Complicated

but not too fussy. When the USB adapter came and the HDD was plugged into my

desktop, Norton immediately reported Boot.Pihar and removed it. A full

Norton scan of the HDD reported six more instances of malware. A full scan

with Malwarebytes reported two more nasty files. The HDD was put back in the

1545 and the power button pressed. I really didn't expect anything other

than a black screen but to my surprise, after a few reboots, the computer

came to life. After some polishing with CCleaner, the 1545 is good to go and

I am again a hero to one of my granddaughters. Thanks Bob and Ben as always

helpful.

Dean...

Wow! Well done... Ben

Glad it all worked-out!