If your laptop does not start at all or it starts but will not boot properly, it’s possible that you can fix the laptop at home without taking it to a repair center. Here are some troubleshooting tips for you. I’m not sure if I can cover all situation at once, so I will update this post as more examples come into my mind.
Situation 1.
The laptop appears to be dead. You plug the AC adapter but the LEDs (power light, hard drive light, battery charge light, etc…) do not light up and the laptop will not react at all if you press on the power button.
First of all in this situation check the AC adapter. You can test the output voltage with a voltmeter. If you cannot do that, find a known good AC adapter and use it for testing the laptop. It is possible the laptop appears to be dead because the AC adapter is bad (and the battery is discharged). If you know that the AC adapter is working properly and it outputs correct voltage but the laptop is still dead, most likely you have a power issue on the motherboard (or power board on some laptops) and it has to be replaced.
If you have to replace the AC adapter, make sure you use a correct one. The output voltage must be exactly the same as on the original adapter. The output amperage has to be the same as on the original adapter or higher, but not lower.
Situation 2.
When you plug the AC adapter the power LED and the battery charge LED light up. When you press on the power button the laptop powers up but will not start. There is no video on LCD or external monitor.
If the power LED lights up it indicates that the laptop is getting power from the AC adapter. Most likely there is nothing wrong with the adapter but just in case test it with a voltmeter to make sure the output voltage is correct.
Also try this. Unplug the AC adapter, remove the battery and wait for 1-2 minutes. After that plug the AC adapter ans try starting the laptop again. Sometimes this trick helps.
It also could be a memory related problem. Try reseating the memory module, just remove it from the slot on the motherboard and install it back. Try installing the memory module into the other slot (if it’s available). If you have two memory modules installed, try removing them one by one and start the laptop just with one memory module installed.
If the laptop starts fine with one memory module in both slots, but will not start with the second memory module in both slots, the second memory module is faulty. Replace the module.
If the laptop starts fine with both memory modules when they are installed in the slot A, but will not start with both memory modules installed in the slot B, the slot B is faulty and you’ll have to replace the motherboard or use only one memory slot.
Situation 3.
When you press on the power button, the laptop makes a series or short and long beeps and will not start up. There is no video on the screen.
In this situation test the memory module as I described in the situation2. Try installing a known good memory module. Most likely you are getting a beep error because of a faulty memory.
Situation 4.
You start the laptop. It sounds like the laptop is booting normally (hard drive LED is flashing) but there is no video on the screen
In this situation test the laptop with an external monitor. If the external screen works fine but there is no video on the laptop LCD, most likely there is a problem inside the laptop display assembly. Go to my previous post witch covers laptop video problems in more details.
Situation 5.
You start the laptop and it starts making repetitive clicking noise or grinding noise.
Most likely you hear this noise because of a faulty hard drive. You can remove the hard drive and start the laptop without it. If the noise is gone, the hard drive is your problem. Replace it.
If the laptop makes clicking or grinding noises and you still have video on the screen, you can run a hard drive test utility. I usually use Hitachi’s drive fitness test. This test is reliable and easy to use.
Situation 6.
The laptop boots into Windows ans works for a while, but after that it shuts down by itself without any reason or warning. You restart the laptop but the same problem appears again
Most likely it’s a heat related issue. Listen for the cooling fan, make sure it works.
Also this problem might appear because of a faulty memory module, try some tips from the situation 2.
The laptop still boots ans you still can see the screen, so you can run the memory test. I usually use Memtest86+. Run the memory test and if it fails, replace the faulty module.
Situation 6
The laptop starts normally but video on the screen has lines, some strange characters or other defects
It could indicate a problem with the laptop LCD screen, video cable, graphics card or motherboard. Here’s my previous post witch covers troubleshooting bad images on the screen in more details.
Related post: How to troubleshoot dead laptops.
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March 16th, 2010 at 11:20 am
I’ve been having a few problems with my laptop lately and I’m not sure what it is. It’s been starting to act up by not turning on immediately. After the laptop has been left off for a while, when you turn it on it won’t start up properly. The CD spins and the lights come on but it won’t boot and I can’t get to the bios screen. I though it was a hard drive error so formatted and re-installed windows, but the problem persists. After a while of turning it on and off again, it eventually turns on and runs perfectly.
March 11th, 2010 at 9:52 pm
MY HP PAVILION DV6605US NOTEBOOK WILL NOT START IN ANY WAY.THE POWER LED INDICATOR COMES IN FOR ABOUT 1MIN 15SEC THEN DISAPPEARS WHEN I PLUG THE AC CHARGER IN THE NOTEBOOK, I KNOW THAT THE BATTERY IS NOT GOOD SO ITS NOT THE BATTERY BECAUSE IT WOULD WORK OTHERWISE ,I HAVE TRIED ALMOST EVERY SUGGESTION THAT I HAVE SEEM SO FOR BUT THE ONE CONCLUSION I AM ABLE TO COME TO IS THAT THE MOTHERBOARD IS DEAD (R.I.P) THE LIGHT STAYS ON WHERE THE AC CHARGER CONNECTS TO THE NOTEBOOK BUT THE POWER SEEMS TO BE NOWHERE ELSE THE CHARGER IS OK BECAUSE IS CHECK THE VOLTAGE LEAVING IT THE THE NOTEBOOK AND THE VOLTAGE WAS CORRECT,. PLEASE HELP ME
March 9th, 2010 at 10:47 pm
my compaq laptop doesnt start. when the power is turned on the power button lit for some second and turn offs. there is no fault of adapter and the battery. hope to get the proper solution as soon as possible.
March 3rd, 2010 at 6:52 pm
Thank you so much very helpful website.
March 2nd, 2010 at 10:11 pm
Deshan,
There is no way I can tell what’s going on without taking a look inside the laptop. It’s possible that you damaged the motherboard.
You’ll have to remove the keyboard and take a look inside.
Take a look at this guide for removing the keyboard:
http://www.insidemylaptop.com/.....notebooks/
If you see any corrosion/damage on the motherboard, most likely it’s fried and has to be replaced.
March 2nd, 2010 at 10:08 pm
Dear Chris,
I have an HP nc8430 which had coffee spillled on it. The laptop starts up when you press the power button, turns the fan on and checks the DVD rom but does nothing more than that. It remains in this state unless the power button is pressed again. The screen does not come on. Please help!
February 27th, 2010 at 10:13 pm
Chris,
1. Try removing memory modules one by one. Test the laptop with each module separately.
By the way, I believe if you are using only one module in a Satellite X205, it has to be installed into the outer slot. If you use only one memory module in the slot located closer to the motherboard, the laptop will give you an error message.
2. If you have same problem with either memory module (installed into the outer slot), it’s either bad motherboard or failed video card. I cannot tell which one is bad.
February 27th, 2010 at 3:05 pm
I have a Toshiba X205-S7483 that has stopped working almost entirely. I closed the screen expecting the computer to go to sleep as it usually does; when I returned the next morning the cooling fans were runnnig, but there was no other sign of life. I had to power down the computer by holding the power button.
Now, I turn on the computer (AC or battery) and get the power indication, AC light, and battery light. The hard drive light illuminates for about 3 seconds and goes out, and that is it – no video, nothing. I then have to hold the power button to get it to turn off. Suggestions?
February 20th, 2010 at 7:43 am
Hi, I may have a funny case: my laptop can boot and I can log in. But then it does not fully come up.
However, I can run Task Manager. You know, Task Manager can run programs. I can run cmd, notepad, mspaint, but not mmc (Event Viewer), not restore utility.
I switched memories around. Seems they are OK. Is this a software problem or more like a hardware problem? Thanks.
February 13th, 2010 at 4:29 am
Kindly suggest Me i have the Notebook of Touchmate Model
i alway have to plug the power adaapter to my notebook where i travel this is becoming a big problem to me if else i dont connect the power adapter my laptop wont get on can any1 suggest me what is the route cause for my Laptop how to resolve it?