HP Elitebook does not boot, battery light flashes in alternating color

Question

I have an Elitebook 2740p which refuses to boot. Depending on battery and charger state I see the following behavior (turquoise and amber are the official names for the two colors that the laptop's little lights can turn):

• Not plugged in: It just stays dead. No lights, nothing.

• Plugged in: The battery light (the middle one of the three LEDs) flashes, alternating amber (very short) and turquoise (a little longer).

• Plugged in, battery removed: The battery light flashes turquoise (perhaps once a second).

In any case, there is no reaction when I press the power button.

What does this mean?

Solution

Your battery is most likely dead. I checked HP website and found this article explaining the different indications given by the computer and battery:

https://support.hp.com/rs-en/document/c01732674

Comments

[Admin]

Thanks for the answer and the link. Is this hypothesis consistent with the fact that it does not start on AC power either?

[Admin]

Yes that is correct. :-)

[Admin]

I finally bought a new battery for the laptop and can now accept your answer. After a while being plugged in, the new battery charged and the machine has run without problems on a few occasions since then. Only the battery seems to drain very fast now, but that could be because I bought a cheap replacement.