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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April 27th, 2009 at 8:34 pm
Lukas,
Did you have a chance to test your laptop with an external monitor?
If the same happens with the external video (intermittent video), you problem could be related to the memory. Do you have two modules installed? Remove them one by one and test the laptop with each one separately. This way you can find a faulty memory module.
If the external video works all the time but the internal screen works only intermittently, take a closer look at the screen when it fails. Is it really black? Can you see a dim image on the screen?
April 27th, 2009 at 11:48 am
Hello, I Have HP laptop Pavilion 9094, few weeks ago my problem started, I mean when I press turn on button my laptop sometimes boot sometimes not, I remove battery – nothing, I cleared CMOS – nothing, Leds after turn on blink, hard disk works, fans work, but my screen is black, after few restarts it works correct, What is the porblem
Cheers mate
April 26th, 2009 at 9:38 pm
hi
I have a vaio laptop it’s about two years old but I haven’t used it
in almost a year. now I’m trying to turn it on and there is yellow flashing
light when it’s plugged inbor on battery. when I press power the normal
green and blue lights go on and the hard drive starts spinning but only
for about two seconds tops then just shuts down. there I’d nothing on
the screen, my charger had been tested, I’ve tried removing the battery
and that for a few minutes and it doesn’t work. if you could tell me
what you think is wrong that would be great
thanks a lot
April 20th, 2009 at 3:45 am
I HAVE LAPTOP CALLED DELL C600 BUT THE PROBLEM IS THAT AM TRIYING TO SWITCH ON BUT IT SHOWS NO RESULTS BUT LAST TIME IT WAS WORKING WELL IT SHOWS ME ONLY GREEN LIGHT FOR CHARNGING.
April 15th, 2009 at 8:56 am
emily,
That could be memory or hard drive related problem.
Do you know if your laptop has two memory modules installed? Can you easily access them? Try removing modules one by one and test the laptop with each module separately. If it works fine with one module but not with the other one, most likely the second memory module is bad and has to be replaced. If you have only one module installed try replacing it with another known good memory.
Listen for the hard drive sounds on start up. Does it make any repetitive clicking or grinding noise? If it does, it’s possible the hard drive is failing and has to be replaced. Find out which hard drive brand you have installed, download the hard drive testing utility from the manufacturer’s site and test the drive. If it fails the test, replace the drive.
April 12th, 2009 at 4:12 pm
i have a fujitsu laptop L1010 which will not start up and sometimes it starts up and when it gets to the desktop page it hangs. i’ve tried starting it up in safe mode but it still hangs at the desktop page. what should i do??
April 12th, 2009 at 1:09 pm
AC,
First of all, this problem could be related to overheating. Take a look inside the cooling module and if it’s clogged with dust, try cleaning it with compressed air. Buy a can of compressed air and spray it inside the heat sink/fan assembly. Try running the restore again. Does it work now?
April 11th, 2009 at 6:46 pm
Hi. Found this site doing a google search and found the exact information I needed to restart my wifes laptop. I was doing a complete recovery when right in the middle of it, it just powered down like I held the power button. Restarted and tried recovery again and it did the same thing. Third time and it stayed black. Your tip on removing the battery and ac power, then holding the power button for thirty seconds, waiting a couple of minutes…that did the trick.
April 9th, 2009 at 7:39 am
dave,
First of all, check the memory. Do you have two memory modules installed into your laptop? Try removing them one by one. Test the laptop with each memory modules separately.
If the laptop fails with one module but work with the second one, the first module is defective and has to be replaced.
If the laptop fails with either memory module, most likely your problem is related to the motherboard or video card. In most laptops the video card is integrated into the motherboard. If it fails, you have to replace the motherboard.
April 5th, 2009 at 12:34 am
I have a hp laptop when you swich on it gives 1 long bleep then 2 short bleeps and will not boot up