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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November 7th, 2011 at 1:55 am
My laptop makes an extremely loud noise (coming from the fan) as soon as I power it up. When I hold onto the power button for about 1-2 seconds, it turns on but there is no display.
However, if I hold on the power button continuously, the laptop turns on then then it shuts down a few seconds later. After trying this about 4-5 times, it finally worked, and the laptop displayed and booted up normally.
In all instances, the laptop continued to make a loud fan noise and the power light was always visible. I have tried cleaning the fan and the inside but to no avail.
November 5th, 2011 at 10:09 am
@ Basil,
Did you test your laptop with another AC adapter. It’s possible your original AC adapter is dead and new battery doesn’t have charge.
If the AC adapter is good but the laptop still doesn’t start, probably this is motherboard related failure.
November 5th, 2011 at 10:06 am
@ pal,
Not sure what your question is, but you should be able to remove the hard drive and memory and look for specs on those parts.
November 5th, 2011 at 9:54 am
My HP laptop wont start. It will power on for 1 sec and then power off itself. I got a new battery and a new heat sink but still it wont start. I also tried to start the laptop after draining all the battery and hold the power button for 30 secs then connected the ac plug. Yet it wont start. Can somebody help me figure out what’s wrong?
Also my Hp is now out of warranty period.
November 5th, 2011 at 3:07 am
How I will know the hard disk, RAM and mother board details when the laptop doesnot boot. Please advise
November 4th, 2011 at 7:17 am
@ Ashlee,
Have you tried both options? What happens if you choose the first option?
You can try the following. Turn on the laptop and press F8 before Windows OS starts loading. This will give you some options how to boot. Try Windows Repair. Also try Last Known Good Configuration.
Can you boot in Safe Mode? If you can try reverting Windows OS to the time when it was working properly using System Restore.
November 4th, 2011 at 7:07 am
@ Lybby,
First of all, I would test the hard drive. You can run Seatools utility from Seagate. It works well with many different laptop drives.
If the hard drive passes test, probably you have corrupted OS. If that’s the case, backup all personal data and reinstall OS.
November 4th, 2011 at 5:30 am
My laptop switches on but it keeps loading and won’t let me on to the home screen page.. The only options it gives is ”switches windows on normally” and ‘look for problems in windows’ what should I do ??
November 4th, 2011 at 4:20 am
I can log into my laptop however that is it. It won’t open anything – internet, excel, start menu…nothing! Any tips?
November 3rd, 2011 at 7:10 am
@ srikanth,
1. Run memory test. You can use Memtest86+ utility.
2. Run hard drive test. You can use Seatools utility from Seagate. Works well with many different hard drive brands.
If hard drive or memory fails, you’ll have to replace the failed part.
3. If hardware passes test, try reinstalling Windows XP.