Chromebook 15 N17Q5 Does not boot

marard

My Chromebook, purchased in 2018, started to have starting issues after a year.
The laptop was rarely used.
Initially, the laptop would start up if the power button was pressed multiple times.
I took it to Acer service center, they kept the laptop and returned it saying there was no issue.
Then ultimately in 2020 it just wouldnt start.
When we press the power button, the Blue light on the right would glow and then turn off.
I gave up and the laptop was in storage for a year, then it started up flawlessly and worked for a week and now ut exhibits the same problem.
When I press the Power button the LED flashes Blue and then nothing happens.
I have tried hard resets to no avail.
The ACER service center in Singapore refused to even check the laptop saying its out of warranty and outdated model.

Does anyone have any suggestions?
Can I change any PCB or daughterboards myself?
ACER support is extremely unwelcoming in Singapore, the technician wanted to charge us $50 for telling us that this model was unservicable!

marard

Chromebook CB515-1H Series
Model: N17Q5
CB515-1HT-P39B

billsey

Your CB515-1H doesn't have a battery reset switch in it, so the easy fix isn't as easy. Try first unplugging the power, then press and hold the power button for 60 seconds. Release the power and plug the charger back in and wait for it to display the full charge indicator. Then turn it back on. If that doesn't do it try taking the bottom cover off and disconnecting the battery between the unplug step and the hold power button step. After the press and hold on the power button, reconnect the battery, put the bottom cover back on, then continue.

Easwar

Hi @marard,

Try to Hard reset your Chromebook

1. Turn off your Chromebook.
   
2. Press and hold Refresh + tap Power .
3. When your Chromebook starts up, release Refresh.

https://support.google.com/chromebook/answer/3227606?hl=en​

marard

Hi Billsey and Easwar,

Thanks for suggestions some remedial steps.
But, none of the steps you mentioned worked.

I noticed the following:
1. After I removed the battery, the power LED next to the charging port was blinking Orange.
But the Laptop doesnt boot or start with the battery disconnected.

2. Gave up on the laptop and it was lying in the corner for about 2 weeks.

3. Tried the power button(Laptop was not charging at this time), and presto! The thing boots up fine and there is a display an all.

4. I used the laptop without incident or issue for a few days and then it froze while I was using it one day...and rebooted automatically.

5. After it rebooted, I used it for about 30 mins and checked if there was an update to be applied, etc., it was already updated to most recent software.

6. Manually rebooted the laotop.

7. It booted up and while I was entering the password to log in, it died.

Same problem all over again.

Question:
Should the laptop boot up on mains power even if battery is disconnected?

The battery seems fine, but I am not sure how to check the battery. Any suggestions?

billsey

Typically that type of issue is with the battery. The battery has some smarts in it that monitors charge level to make sure it never goes down enough to potentially cause excessive heat or a fire. When that gets confused it can allow an overcharge situation, and when over charged it can get even more confused. When you let it sit long enough, the overcharge will bleed off and things just magically start working again, until it gets too high again. I'm not sure how best to force calibration on a Chromebook, the battery reset I suggested usually is what works.

marard

Hi Billsey,

thanks for the I fo on the battery’s internals.
I am will check if anything changes if I use another battery for testing.

Do you have any info about how their model behaves when the battery is disconnected?
I mean, they f I disconnected the battery completely and plug on main power to the laptop…should it boot? 
In my case, with the battery disconnected, and the laptop connected to mains power supply, the LED blinks Orange, but the laptop doesn’t boot. Nothing happens when I press the power button.
Any ideas?

Regards,
DM.

billsey

That's fairly typical in laptop designs, the charger is only used to charge the battery, the battery is used to power everything else. It keeps the voltage a little more stable which is helpful for creating the lower voltages used by various chips on the MB.