I had recharging issues and my U30GT, it looked dead too. I read the forum posts and somewhere suggested pressing the power button for a very long time (15 secs). This starts it up (if necessary) then shuts it down (if necessary).
THEN you let go... THEN you press again for 3 secs to do the regular cold start up.
It worked for me, but make sure that the machine has the full charge.
I think that mine must have hung with a dark black screen.... I think.
Ta
bonzo
Comment