Problem 1.
Computer doesn’t turn on at all.

When you plug the AC adapter into the laptop, there are no lights turning on at all. When you push on the power button, nothing happens. The laptop appears to be completely dead, makes no sounds, no indications of life.

Possible problem:
– The AC adapter failed and the battery has no charge left. In this case test the AC adapter with a voltmeter. If it’s dead, replace it with a new one.
– DC jack failed and the motherboard doesn’t receive any power from the adapter. In this case the DC jack has to be replaced.
– Motherboard failed. The motherboard has to be replaced, if it’s not too expensive. Otherwise get ready to buy a new computer.

Here are some tips for testing AC adapter and DC jack.

Also, make sure to read step-by-step instructions for troubleshooting dead laptops.

Problem 2.
Screen is blank.

The laptop turns on, power LED lights up, cooling fan works but nothing appears on the screen. The screen is completely black and blank. There is no image on the screen at all.

Possible problem:
– This can be memory failure. It’s possible one of the memory modules failed. In this case you can try reseating memory modules to make sure they are making good contact with the slot. You can try removing memory modules one by one and test the laptop with only one module installed. You can try replacing memory modules.
– If reseating/replacing memory doesn’t help, try removing the hard drive, DVD drive, modem, wireless card, keyboard, etc… In other words, disassemble the laptop to bare minimum and test again. If the laptop still doesn’t turn on, most likely you have failed motherboard or processor.

Read this guide for bare bone system troubleshooting.

Problem 3.
Laptop turns on and off repeatedly.

The laptop turn on without showing any image on the screen. After a few seconds it turns off by itself. Then it turns on and off again.

Possible problem:
Most likely this is motherboard failure. You can try reseating/replacing memory as I described in the Problem 2. If it doesn’t help, probably the motherboard failed.

Problem 4.
Laptop makes noise while running.

The laptop turns on and everything works fine, except it makes some constant weird grinding or rattling noise.

Possible problem:
In most cases this noise is coming from the cooling fan or hard drive. Take a closer look at the cooling fan.

If the fan doesn’t spin but the the laptop makes noise, probably it’s coming from the hard drive. Back up all personal data as soon as possible and replace the hard drive.

Also, you can remove the hard drive and stat the laptop. If the laptop still makes noise, most likely it’s bad fan.

Problem 5.
Laptop shuts down or freezes.

The laptop runs properly but after a while it freezes or shuts down without any warning. When it happens, the bottom feels hot. Also, the cooling fan runs louder than usual.

Possible problem:
Most likely this is heat related issue. It happens because the fan heat sink is clogged with dust and the processor not cooling down properly. Cleaning the fan and heat sink from dust should fix it.

Here’s how you fix heat related problems.

Problem 6.
Battery not charging properly.

The battery stopped charging properly. It doesn’t charge at all or charges only after you adjust the position of AC adapter plug inside the power connector.

Possible problem:
– Failed battery.  If it doesn’t charge completely try reconnecting the battery first. Also, try running the laptop just from AC adapter with battery removed. If it runs fine from AC adapter, most likely it’s either bad battery or failed motherboard. Try replacing the battery first.

– Failed DC power connector. If the battery charges only after you adjust the position of AC adapter tip inside the connector, most likely this the DC jack failed.

Here are some tips for charging problems.

Problem 7.
Screen light fails.

The laptop starts properly but after a while the screen light turns off. The image still appears on the screen but it’s very dark.

In some cases the screen light never starts and all you can see is a very faint image.

Possible problem:
Most likely it’s either failed screen inverter or backlight lamp (CCFL) failure.  When either one fail, the backlight stops working.

In order to troubleshoot this, you’ll need some spare parts: either new working inverter or known good backlight lamp.

Read how to troubleshoot backlight failure.

Problem 8.
Strange or garbled image on the screen.

The laptop turns on properly but has a distorted or garbled image on the screen.

Possible problem:
– The graphics card failed. First of all, test your laptop with an external monitor or TV. If you see the same garbled image on the external screen, most likely the graphics card failed.
– If the problem appears only on the laptop screen, this can be related to one of the following: poor connection between the video cable and motherboard or screen. Also can be failed video cable or screen.

Here are examples of failed video and explanations how to narrow down the problem.

Also read why display shows strange colors.

Problem 9.
Some keyboard keys stopped working.

Some keyboard keys do not work at all or type wrong characters.

Possible problem:
Most likely the keyboard failed and they are not repairable. Read how to replace the keyboard.

Problem 10.
Keyboard has missing or broken keys.

A key got separated from the laptop keyboard.

Problem solution:
If a key separated from the keyboard, it’s still possible to fix it.
If you have many keys missing, probably it makes sense to replace the whole keyboard.

Read how to attach a key back .

Problem 11.
Repetitive beep sound on startup.

You turn on the laptop but there is no video on the screen. Instead, it starts making repetitive beeping sound. In some cases you can “fix” the problem temporarily if you press on the keyboard keys.

Problem solution:
Most likely you have stuck keys. In this case you’ll have to replace the keyboard.

Problem 12.
Liquid spill.

You spilled something on the laptop and it’s stopped working.

Problem solution:
Liquid spills are very dangerous and unpredictable. If it happened, turn off the laptop ASAP, remove the battery and do not use it until all internal parts are inspected for liquid damage.
It’s sill possible to make it work again.

Read how to deal with liquid spills.

1. Network port failure.

Most motherboards have the network port permanently attached. If the network port fails (I’m talking about hardware, not software failure), the whole motherboard has to be replaced.

Instead of replacing the motherboard, you can use a PCMCIA network card. You plug this card into the available PC slot in your laptop and you are back in business.

If you computer doesn’t have a PC slot, you can use a USB Ethernet adapter instead.

2. USB ports failure.

Most laptops have a few USB ports available. If one of them stops working, usually it’s not a big deal because you still have two or three more working ports left.

But what if all of them stopped working at once? Let’s say the USB controller on the motherboard went bad and the laptop stopped recognizing any device plugged into any USB port. Again, I’m talking about hardware, not software failure. In order to fix this problem you’ll have to replace the motherboard.

Alternatively, you can use a PCMCIA USB card. You plug this card into the PC slot and get two or four USB ports instead. It depends on the type of your PCMCIA card.

3. Internal wireless (Wi-Fi) card failure.

What can you do if the internal wireless card failed?

You can replace the failed wireless card with another one or use a PCMCIA wireless card instead.

4. Internal flash memory card reader failure.

Most newer laptops come with a flash memory card reader. Usually the card reader is soldered directly to the motherboard and if it fails, you have to replace the whole motherboard.

Alternatively, you can use an external USB flash memory card reader. All you have to do is plug the card reader into the available USB port and it’s ready to go.

5. Internal CD/DVD drive failure.

You’ll find an internal CD/DVD optical drive in most computers. If the optical drive failed and stopped reading discs, it has to be replaced with a new one.

Instead of replacing the failed drive, you can use an external USB drive. Simply plug this drive into the USB port, let your computer detect the drive and it’s ready for you.

Also, you can use this optical drive with any other computer which is very convenient.

My old computer wasn’t Bluetooth ready, it didn’t have the internal connector and antenna for it. I decided to modify my USB dongle and move it inside the case.

I didn’t want to use my laptop with an adapter sticking out from the side.

First of all, I installed Bluetooth adapter software on my computer to make sure everything is working fine while it’s connected to the USB port.

For this modification you’ll need:
1. Laptop disassembly experience.
2. Soldering skills and tools.
3. Inexpensive USB Bluetooth adapter.

This modification is only for experienced users.  You can damage your computer. Proceed on your own risk!

This guide should works for most computers as long as you have enough space to mount the Bluetooth module inside the case.

First of all, I disassembled the case and found a place for the adapter.

In this guide I’m modifying a Toshiba Satellite A105.

My idea was simple. Remove the Bluetooth adapter circuit board and solder it directly to one of the USB ports.

NOTE: after this modification one of the USB ports will not work.

I found some thin wires laying around.
Make sure that wires are long enough for your project.

Disassembled the adapter and remove the circuit board.

Unsolder the USB connector.

The circuit board easily fits into the empty place inside the laptop.

I soldered four wires to the circuit board. I used terminals for the USB connector.

After that I soldered wires to the back of the USB port.

At the last step I installed the Bluetooth circuit board into the case and routed wires to the USB port.

I secured wires to the motherboard with electrical tape.

Finally, assembled the laptop and tested it. There is no on/off hardware switch for the Bluetooth module but I can turn it on and off through software.

Later I found that the reception range wasn’t as good as for external adapter but it was enough for me.

The laptop starts and works properly, but recognizes only one of the two memory modules installed. The laptop has two 256MB RAM modules installed, but registers only 256MB.

First of all, I removed the memory cover to find out if both memory modules are installed correctly. The laptop had two 256MB Kingston modules installed and they were seated properly.

When I started the laptop and entered the BIOS setup menu, I found that only one of the two memory modules is detected and the laptop registers only 256MB (262144KB) of RAM instead of 512MB (524288KB).
Just a side note. In the computer world 1MB=1024KB. That’s why 256MB=262144KB and 512MB=524288KB.

I tried reseating both memory modules but it didn’t help.
After that I tried installing both memory modules in both memory slots one by one and here’s what I found. The laptop worked absolutely fine when both memory modules were installed into the slot A, but failed to boot with both memory modules installed into the slot B.
Apparently, there is nothing wrong with the memory modules and the laptop has a faulty memory slot B. The memory slot is permanently soldered on the motherboard. If one of the slots fails you’ll have to replace the whole motherboard or use the laptop with only one working slot.
Buying a new motherboard for this older laptop wouldn’t make any sense because it’s too expensive, but the laptop is still in a good working condition except the faulty memory slot B, so I continued playing with that trying to find the solution.

I noticed that the laptop start normally with the memory module installed into the faulty slot if I slightly press on the module with my thumb. And this gave me an idea.

This guitar pick is going to fix my laptop.

I installed both RAM modules back into the slots and then placed the guitar pick over the module in the slot B as it shown on the picture.

I thought if I close the RAM door it will press on the guitar pick/memory module and it will have the same effect as pressing on the module with my thumb. And it worked!

Both memory modules were detected properly and the laptop registered all 512MB. After “the fix” I tested memory with Memtest86+ and the laptop passed the test.
I wouldn’t call it the best solution for fixing a faulty memory slot but in some cases it will work.

By the way, I didn’t charge the customer for this “repair”, he knows what is going on and how I “fixed” his problem.