HP Photosmart 318 will not power up

On 26 Apr 2006 21:16:04 -0700, Marcy wrote:

> Hi there everyone,
> I am about to pull my hair out. My HP will not power up. Fresh
> batteries, and I can't get a sign of camera life. The LCD remains
> empty. No lights, no nothing. Can anyone help me?

There are several things you can check, but if the camera really
has died, it probably isn't worth trying to get it repaired. First,
check the batteries. Although it's very rare, it is possible that a
brand new battery can be defective (I once had a totally dead one in
a brand new pack), and even if only one battery is bad, the camera
will most likely appear to be totally dead. If you don't have a
battery tester, a cheap flashlight that uses 2 AA cells works very
well as long as it uses a bulb (not an LED). If both sets of 2 AA
cells provides a very bright light, the batteries are good.

Next, open the camera's battery compartment and examine the
contacts, looking for corrosion or evidence of battery leakage. If
it looks good, put the batteries back in the camera, paying close
attention to orientation. If even one battery is inserted in the
wrong direction, the camera won't turn on. There should be a
diagram inside the battery compartment showing how the batteries
need to be inserted.

If the camera still doesn't turn on, try removing the CF card, as
a damaged card (or the socket it plugs into) can prevent the camera
from turning on. The HP 318 will use internal memory if the CF card
is removed.

If the camera is still dead at this point, you should probably
start looking for a new camera as the HP 318 is a fairly old 2mp
camera and you should be able to find a very inexpensive replacement
that produces better pictures. It's possible that the camera might
work if a power supply is used to power the camera instead of using
AA batteries, but that was an optional accessory that didn't come
with the camera, and even if it is able to power up the camera it
wouldn't be much of a help, as you'd need the camera to use AA
batteries if you don't want to be tied down to an A.C. wall socket.