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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December 11th, 2007 at 7:32 pm
Hi
I have a Toshiba A85, and my problem is as follows.
Sometimes when I start it, an area somehwere near the cooling fan makes a loud roaring noise, but it doesn’t happen always.
Also, just today, I started it up as always, no roaring or ticking noises, I typed in my password as usual, and then my background showed up, but after that it stopped loading, the computer didn’t freeze, I could still move the mouse and open the Ctrl+Alt+Del window, but it doesn’t do anything after that, I restarted the computer several times, I even tried getting on another profile of the laptop and the same thing happens.
Please and thanks for your help
December 11th, 2007 at 2:54 pm
i have a gateway that my uncle gave to me for free because he was upgrading and the batter was weak but it worked and i used the laptop once in a blue moon and now the led on the laptop and the ac adapter does not light and the battery is not charging any suggestions? email me at lil_egy_kid@yahoo.com
December 4th, 2007 at 3:32 am
I have a Compaq Presario V5000 with the exact same problem that Benny describes in Post 58. The only LED that lights is the one in the front that indicates the battery is charging. AC adapter & battery appear fine. I had a tech at work look at it, and he seems to think that is is something wrong (Possibly a blown resistor) on the LED Board PN: 417024-001. Did Benny find out the source of his problem?
November 30th, 2007 at 10:57 pm
Ved036,
Looks like the repair shop didn’t do a good job. In your case I would send it back to them and ask to fix the problem.
November 30th, 2007 at 10:54 pm
Oscar,
Most likely this is software relate issue. Try reimaging the hard drive using recovery discs. This process will erase everything from the hard drive and load everything back to factory defaults.
November 30th, 2007 at 2:29 am
My LapTop is Compaq. Suddenly its LCD stopped funtioning. It was repaired from farway.
When it came back, it was found that its powerswitch was not working correctly. The audio buttons etc. were not corectly placed. That is the bottom part seemed to vacant.
I needed to go on pressing the Powerbutton for a long time to start the laptop.
What could be the problem?
November 28th, 2007 at 7:10 pm
What migth be the problem if the computers doesn’t load windows, just you can see the screen as windows log loading but windos never load completly, I tried in safe mode but it just load until mup. sys ans stand forever on this step. I extract the hard drive save my information and I scanned in order to find or repair problems but it still continues…. thank you very much
November 27th, 2007 at 11:35 pm
Deon Bosch,
Maybe the laptop shutsdown because it overheats. Take a look inside the heatsink, is it clogged with dust? Clean the heatsink with compressed air and try reinstalling Windows again.
Also, run Memtest86+ utility to test the RAM module. If the memory fails test, replace it.
November 27th, 2007 at 5:18 am
Hi there
I have a Aspire 1520 laptop. It boots up normally into windows, but as soon as I try reinstalling windows, when it comes to the doss part, it automatically shuts itself down when it is copying the system files?
November 25th, 2007 at 6:49 pm
benny,
I think you are right. Sounds like a problem with the motherboard. Also, there is a chance that the motherboard itself is OK but you have a problem with the power jack.
In both cases, it’s necessary to open up the laptop and take a closer look at the motherboard. Check the power jack first. Connect the AC adapter and using a voltmeter check if power comes to the motherboard. If the motherboard receive power from the AC adapter, but it’s dead, you’ll have to replace the motherboard. You’ll find step-by-step disassembly instruction in the maintenance and service guide (4.18MB pdf file).