In this post I will summarize most common laptop hardware related problems ever mentioned on this site.
I will not be digging into the operating system related problems, only laptop hardware issues.
I’ll provide most common laptop failure descriptions and give some suggestions how to troubleshoot or repair the problem.
Problem 1.
Laptop doesn’t turn on at all.
Problem description: 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:
- AC adapter failed and the battery discharged completely. First of all, test the AC adapter. If it’s dead, replace the adapter.
- DC jack separated from the motherboard (or DC jack broken) and the laptop doesn’t get any power from the AC adapter. In this case the DC jack has to be replaced.
- Laptop motherboard failed. If that’s the case, most likely the laptop not worth fixing.
Here are some tips for testing laptop AC adapter and DC jack connector.
Also, make sure to read step-by-step instructions for troubleshooting dead laptops.
Problem 2.
Laptop turns on but screen is blank.
Problem description: The laptop turns on, LED lights on the laptop turn on, 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, not even a very dim image.
Possible problem:
- This problem could be related to the memory failure. It’s possible one of the memory modules failed and the laptop doesn’t turn on because of that. 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 memory module installed. You can try replacing memory modules with new modules.
- If reseating/replacing memory modules 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 barebone laptop troubleshooting.
Problem 3.
Laptop turns on and off repeatedly.
Problem description:
The laptop turn on without showing any image on the screen. After a few seconds the laptop turns off by itself. Then it turns on and off again. It continue turning on and off repeatedly until you power off the laptop completely.
Possible problem:
Most likely it happens because of some kind of motherboard failure. You can try reseating/replacing memory as I described in the Problem 2. If it doesn’t help, I would say this is motherboard related failure.
In most cases it’s not worth replacing the motherboard, better to buy a new laptop.
Problem 4.
Laptop makes noise while running.
Problem description:
The laptop turns on and everything works fine, except it makes some constant weird grinding or rattling noises. Some laptops make noises all the time, other laptops have them intermittently.
Possible problem:
In most cases this noise is coming from the cooling fan or laptop hard drive. You can turn on the laptop, wait until it starts making noise and after that listen closely on the bottom of the laptop. If the laptop starts making noise when the cooling fan starts running, most likely you have a failing fan. Replace the cooling fan.
If the laptop makes noise even when the fan not spinning, probably it’s coming from the hard drive. Back up all personal data from the hard drive as soon as possible, it can fail any moment. Replace the hard drive.
Here’s another technique to figure out if the noise coming from the fan or hard drive. Remove the hard drive from the laptop and stat the laptop. Wait until it warms up and the fan starts spinning. If the laptop still makes same noise even when the hard drive removed, most likely it’s bad fan.
Problem 5.
Laptop shuts down or freezes while in use.
Problem description:
The laptop turns on and runs properly but after a while it freezes or shuts down without any warning. When it happens, the laptop feels hot on the bottom. Also, the cooling fan works harder than usual.
Possible problem:
Most likely this is heat related issue. It happens because the cooling module gets clogged with dust and the laptop cannot “breath” properly. The laptop shuts down or freezes because the processor (CPU) overheats. Cleaning the cooling fan and heatsink should fix the problem.
Here’s how you fix laptop heat related problems.
Problem 6.
Laptop battery not charging properly.
Problem description:
The laptop battery stopped charging properly. It’s not charging at all or charges only after you adjust the position of AC adapter plug inside the power connector on the laptop.
Possible problem:
- Failed battery. If the battery stopped charging completely try reconnecting the battery first. If it doesn’t help, remove the battery and try running the laptop just from AC adapter. If the laptop runs fine from AC adapter but doesn’t charge the battery at all, most likely it’s either bad battery or motherboard problem. Try replacing the battery first.
- Loose DC power connector. If the battery charges only after you adjust the position of AC adapter tip inside the connector, this is DC jack related problem.
Here are some tips for troubleshooting battery charging problems.
Problem 7.
Screen light doesn’t work or fails while the laptop running.
Problem description:
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 but you still can see a very faint image on the screen. In all cases the laptop video appears to be fine on the external monitor or TV.
Possible problem:
Most likely it’s either the screen inverter or screen backlight lamp (CCFL) failure. Both fail very similarly causing the screen light to go off. In order to trobuleshoot this kind of failure effectively, you’ll need some spare parts: either new working inverter or known good backlight lamp.
The following article explains how to troubleshoot laptop backlight failure.
Problem 8.
Laptop has strange or garbled image on the screen.
Problem description:
The laptop turns on properly but shows bad, wrong or garbled image on the screen.
Possible problem:
- Graphics card failure. First of all, test your laptop with image output on the external monitor. If you see the same problem on the external screen, most likely this is graphics card related failure.
- If the problem appears only on the laptop screen, it could be related to one of the following: poor connection between the video cable and motherboard or LCD screen or failed video cable or failed LCD screen.
This article shows some examples of failed laptop video and explains how to narrow down the problem.
Also, read this article explain why a laptop shown strange colors on the screen.
Problem 9.
Some laptop keyboard keys stopped working.
Problem description:
The laptop turns on and runs properly but some keyboard keys do not work at all or type wrong characters.
Possible problem:
Most likely this the keyboard failed. Laptop keyboards are not repairable. If some keys stopped working, you’ll have to replace the keyboard.
Problem 10.
Missing or broken keys on laptop keyboard.
Problem description:
A key got separated from the laptop keyboard.
Problem solution:
If a key got separated from the keyboard, it’s still possible to fix it without replacing the entire keyboard.
Hopefully you didn’t damage the key hinges.
If you have many keys missing, probably it makes sense to replace the whole keyboard.
The following article explains how to attach a key back to the keyboard.
Problem 11.
Laptop makes repetitive beep sound on startup.
Problem description:
You turn on the laptop but there is no video on the screen. Instead, the laptop makes repetitive beeping sound. You can “fix” the problem if you press on the keyboard keys.
Problem solution:
Most likely it happens because there is a stuck key on the keyboard. In this case you’ll have to replace the keyboard.
Problem 12.
Liquid spilled on laptop.
Problem description:
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 the laptop will work again after you clean the damage.
This post explains how to deal with laptop liquid spills.
If you find this article useful, please consider making a donation to the author. Thank you!
December 8th, 2011 at 5:24 pm
My problem is similar to Problem 5 but here’s the difference: the laptop turns down ONLY when I’m playing games. When I use Firefox it stays on all day long. Is it also overheating?
December 8th, 2011 at 6:22 pm
@ Alex,
Definitely this sounds like heat related issue. When you run games, the CPU is loaded all the time and runs hot all the time. Probably the heatsink is clogged partially and CPU overheats when you running games. Try cleaning the heatsink. It should help.
December 9th, 2011 at 9:19 am
On my notebook screen turns very dark. I tried new inverter but it didn’t do it. I am thinking about replacing the CCFL. Is it easy? Should I just buy a new screen?
Thanks.
December 9th, 2011 at 10:10 am
chris,
Replacing the CCFL is not easy. It’s mounted deep inside the laptop screen and the entire screen has to be disassembled.
There is a good chance to damage the screen while replacing the CCFL.
I would probably suggest replacing the screen.
But if you have nothing to lose, you can try replacing the lamp. I explained this process here.
http://www.laptoprepair101.com.....ccfl-lamp/
December 9th, 2011 at 10:52 am
Can you help?
I have a HP Pavilion g6 laptop. 2,w,s,x keys stopped working. I want to replace the keyboard but I don’t know how.
December 9th, 2011 at 11:16 am
@ Tim_1972,
This definitely sounds like a problem with the keyboard.
You can use this guide for replacing the keyboard on HP Pavilion g6 laptop.
http://www.insidemylaptop.com/.....g6-laptop/
1. Remove the battery.
2. Remove one screw shown in the step 7.
3. Remove the keyboard as it shown in steps 8-13.
Good luck!
December 9th, 2011 at 3:19 pm
In response to Alex. Yes, in my experience I can’t stress enough how many heat issues (as well as other issues) can be solved by blowing out the dust and dirt and cleaning the cpu heatsink fans and videocard heatsink and fan if there is one. There are also laptop cooling pads that you can use during the game if you really had to! I also would do malware and virus checks and scans to make sure there isn’t something unnecessarily running and using more CPU in the background than is necessary. Hope you have resolved your issues.
December 14th, 2011 at 9:28 pm
I have problem cnt u help me…i have lenovo t61 icant swicth on if i remove the battery and i turn on,the battery incator will light and blink and no response…thanks!
December 15th, 2011 at 10:39 am
@ Migzky,
First, I would test the laptop with another known good AC adapter. It’s possible your adapter failed.
December 17th, 2011 at 10:59 am
I have dell 1440 laptop(CDrom is not working),due to some mistake, the windows crashed and everytime i power on it, this message appears “Boot Manager is missing, click ctrl+alt+del to exit” ,Is this a hardware problem? how could i install windows 7 back easily?
December 17th, 2011 at 3:42 pm
Hello, i have an laptop toshiba that when i turn on with battery work every think ok… when i plug the ac cable, after a few seconds, its stops…breaks. I try without battery mas still same problem…
December 18th, 2011 at 12:38 pm
please I want you to email me. what are the component that someone can heat on a laptop board and also my laptop was hanging on booting to window I now check the memory, harddisk, processor is till not working I now give it another engineer he now said that his going to work on the board and later the laptop become operational. pls what are the likely things he may do on that board. I beg u in the name of God pls email me back.
December 26th, 2011 at 12:47 pm
@ Rupinder Singh,
It’s hard to tell if this is hardware or software related issue. Could be just corrupted Windows OS. Could be hard drive failure.
First, I would test the hard drive. Run internal Dell diagnostic utility and see if the hard drive passes test.
If the hard drive is OK, you’ll have to find a CD-Rom. You cant try fixing the existing Windows OS installation by booting from Windows 7 CD and running OS repair.
December 26th, 2011 at 1:07 pm
Luis,
How it stops working? Just shuts off?
Does the bottom of the laptop feel hot?
December 26th, 2011 at 1:25 pm
@ Wahab Imran,
Maybe the failed graphics card?
Take a look at this post: http://www.laptoprepair101.com.....hics-chip/
Is it what you are asking about?
December 28th, 2011 at 3:27 am
Hi does an ac adapter have to give a steady voltage for it to work correctly as I have an adapter that is reading an initial 19v but then drops back to 0 again without disconnecting anything.
However I’m guessing the adapter itself is ok as the machine actually turns on it you hold the adapter plug in tight and sometimes also in a certain direction but its so sensitive it only stays on for a short time. Do you think its likely to be a mobo short or a problem with the DC jack? The DC jack has no loose connections on the board as far as I can see.
Thanks
Brian
December 28th, 2011 at 10:43 am
@ Brian,
This is not normal. The AC adapter has to provide a steady voltage.
This could be one of the following:
1. The AC adapter cable has a short inside. When you move the adapter plug or adapter cable you short cables and it stops providing power to the laptop.
2. The DC jack separated from the motherboard and has to be resoldered or replaced.
Here’s what I would do:
1. Test voltage on the AC adapter tip. While testing the voltage, wiggle the power cable. If power cuts off, this is defective AC adapter. Replace it.
2. If the AC adapter provides steady voltage even when you wiggle the cable, probably the AC adapter is bad and you have a problem with the DC jack. Try resoldering the DC jack.
It’s possible the solder joint has a micro crack which you cannot see. It’s a common DC jack failure.
December 28th, 2011 at 11:31 pm
I have read your posts and others trying to fix my problem w/presario v6305nr turns on blk screen & lights blink fan goes on & off and the cd drives runs and repeats itself over & over lights shuts off and then starts all over again.Any ideas. This notebook has been sitting around for a 2yrs,waiting for one day to shed some light, I just bought a recovery disc from hp for 25.00 and it worked for about 2 weeks then it started back up again, i never opened it up. i would greatly appreciate your response and known expertease on this nightmare to end Sincerly Alex Rhoades Las Vegas. I am a well known dj W/lights & sound, but not so with your field. i think you can give me some direction on what path to take.
December 29th, 2011 at 12:33 pm
Dj Alex,
First of all, try minimizing the laptop as much as you can. Remove the battery, hard drive, DVD drive, etc… Try turning on again and see if you can get the image.
Read this post on troubleshooting dead laptops: http://www.laptoprepair101.com.....e-problem/
If there is no image, try reseating memory modules. Try removing them one by one. This could be memory related problem. If the laptop fails with either module installed, probably it’s not memory.
From your description I suspect the motherboard failure. Maybe it’s one of those HP/Compaq laptops with well known NVIDIA graphics chip failure.
You can try one of the following tricks:
http://www.laptoprepair101.com.....p-laptops/
or
http://www.laptoprepair101.com.....hics-chip/
I published Compaq Presario v6000 disassembly instructions here:
http://www.insidemylaptop.com/.....00-laptop/
Hope it helps.
January 17th, 2012 at 5:32 am
Hi there, nice article! I am trying to repair a HP DV4000 on which keyboard gets crazy after some time.. i thought it was the keyboard so i removed and put external USB.. the same happens!! Random keys, alt is stucking and crazy things.. thought about virus and boot from Hiren’s with keyboard test, the same happens!! I replaced the multicontroller chip PC97551 which seems to be in charge for almost everything including keyboard scan, but still does the SAME!!! Any ideas? No corrosion or any liquid inside the laptop!…
Thanks in advance!
January 19th, 2012 at 11:48 am
Dear Sir,
I’m a Hardware Eng. but recently we have received Sony vio note book, the note book problem is when i connect power cable than auto power on & instant power off stay time 5-10 sec. but I’m not finding any damage & hot parts, yet, i was soldering whole Motherboard, but result 0000. So in this situation what can i do? please help me.
Problem 2: hp pavilion dv 3000, when i switching power than instant off stay time 2-5 sec. normally just i was slightly heated. but i can’t found any shock, & don’t hot motherboard, please give me solution early as possible with pic. (if possible)
Thank You*
Md. Kabir Hossain Kiron
CEO
Electro Care
Dhaka Bangladesh
January 20th, 2012 at 6:59 am
i have an hp laptop, problem is that all ports on the machine are disabled meaning they are not functional and you cannot get anything into the machine or out of the machine.when you check the settings it says all ports are disabled and when you enable them and try to use a stick or flash it would have disabled already by itself.what could be the problem and how do you fix it.
January 20th, 2012 at 11:42 pm
@ George,
Sounds like the motherboard related failure. Sorry cannot help here. I don’t fix motherboards on the component level.
January 20th, 2012 at 11:54 pm
@ Md. Kabir Hossain,
You can try this method for troubleshooting dead laptops.
http://www.laptoprepair101.com.....e-problem/
January 21st, 2012 at 12:04 am
@ blessing,
This is a very weird problem. I’ve never seen something like that.
Does it say that all ports are disabled in the BIOS setup menu? Is it an error message in Windows?
January 24th, 2012 at 2:27 pm
Used a Fedora DVD-ROM for A CET class..Didnt install it but now windows is not booting….ive tried everything from repair screen to last known settings but no luck…diags show error 2000-0146…its a dell inspirion N5030
January 24th, 2012 at 3:55 pm
@ Gary,
It looks like error 2000-0146 could be hard drive related.
After some research I found this thread on Dell support website.
January 25th, 2012 at 4:36 pm
Help! Okay the LCD screen on my laptop was broken, cracked in the corner after someone closed it with a pen on the keyboard..
I decided to replace the screen myself.. I took it apart got the serial number and ordered the replacement screen. Installed the new screen and nothing shows up except colored portions and lines. Figured it was a defective screen and sent it back for a replacement.
Got the replacement screen and the same thing happens!
Am I doing something wrong? Or is it that I just keep getting defective screens?
Thanks..
January 29th, 2012 at 7:18 am
Hi..
I dont have a problem with my screen and keyboard..but the screws that connect this two parts..are coming out..and that connection between the two is broken,,i cant fold my laptop..
please help me with this..
January 29th, 2012 at 10:21 pm
Pls help!!! How to override bios p/word of toshiba satellite 100A laptop. Rgds. Edy.
January 31st, 2012 at 2:22 am
hello…my acer aspire 5550 wont power on. the power button automatically lights on without pressing if the power cord is connected to the outlet. i remove the battery but no luck. please help me…..thanks
February 2nd, 2012 at 8:23 am
@ Nikkita,
Maybe your new screens are not compatible.
What happens if you install the cracked screen back into the laptop? Can you get image on the cracked screen?
If your old screen shows image but new screens have only vertical lines, this is some kind of compatibility issue.
Make sure your new screen has same resolution as the original one.
February 2nd, 2012 at 9:00 am
@ Tejaswi,
Sounds like broken hinges. The only way to fix it is replacing the hinges I guess. What is your laptop model?
February 2nd, 2012 at 9:12 am
@ Edy,
Did you mean Toshiba Satellite A100 laptop?
There should be two pads on the motherboard under the memory module. You’ll have to short those pads with a screwdriver for a few second.
Could be similar to Satellite A135. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eo1gg1EZV-o
The guy is cutting a piece of wire to short those pads. It’s not necessary. Just use a small flathead screwdriver.
The pads might look like that: http://i125.photobucket.com/al.....BIOS_C.jpg
In some Satellite A100 laptops the pads could be located under the keyboard. Take a look at this guide: http://techniciansguides.blogs.....sword.html
February 2nd, 2012 at 12:45 pm
@ lino,
Remove as many parts as you can. Battery, hard drive, memory. Disconnect the keyboard if you can.
Now plug in the AC adapter again. If the problem still there and power button lights up by itself, probably this is motherboard failure.
You can try this troubleshooting technique: http://www.laptoprepair101.com.....e-problem/
February 3rd, 2012 at 1:27 am
Mine is Dell Inspiron 1525.
@ Tejaswi,
I dont have a problem with my screen and keyboard..but the screws that connect this two parts..are coming out..and that connection between the two is broken,,i cant fold my laptop..
Sounds like broken hinges. The only way to fix it is replacing the hinges I guess. What is your laptop model?
February 29th, 2012 at 11:12 am
My toshiba satellite laptop crashed when connected to ac outlet and used at the same time.Have to charge the battery and unplug it so that I may use it normally.Could you please help.
Thank you.
March 1st, 2012 at 3:03 am
So I dropped my Asus laptop and now when I turn it on it tells me to Reboot our put in a media reboot and there is a clicking sound. But I don’t know how/have either. I’m going to try and contact the manufacturer. is that the best thing to do?
March 2nd, 2012 at 5:19 pm
Thank You so much.. I’ve learned a Lot for this Site. it is very Helpful. Keep it Up Guys.
March 12th, 2012 at 7:43 am
All files turned to adobe while working on net. Sony Vaio Lap top and OS Windows-7 home basic.
Thanks
March 13th, 2012 at 7:23 am
Pls, my toshiba laptop goes blank whenever the hardisk is instaled but come on with figures & numbers when the hardisk is removed. What do l do?
March 15th, 2012 at 1:24 pm
@ Chandra,
Probably file association is wrong. Try reseating it back to default.
March 15th, 2012 at 1:41 pm
@ Aknidenor james,
I cannot understand your question. What figures and numbers? Please provide a better description.
March 18th, 2012 at 6:10 pm
thank you. really helped me. keep up the good work.bye.
March 24th, 2012 at 2:34 pm
Hi
I have replaced the keyboard in my Sony Vaio laptop but i am still getting the same problems as before.
i am getting the wrong symbol for different keys and was wondering if you could give me some idea what the cause could be.
Thanks Sid
April 7th, 2012 at 6:27 am
please tell me the secrets to checkup the power supplys in laptop main board
thanks and regards your suggessions are wortful on effctive work
April 13th, 2012 at 5:42 am
my asus 1001pxd shows “primary hard disk error”what is the solution of it?
April 17th, 2012 at 10:52 pm
3 moth before i bye a new sony vio laptop having model no-VPCEG35EN.
But now its stat hanging for long periods of time.
Please tell me what should i do?
April 20th, 2012 at 3:06 pm
I installed a wifi card internally, then my Dell laptop would not power on??? What did I do wrong, do you think I fried it?
April 20th, 2012 at 5:56 pm
@ Laurie,
What happens if you remove the wireless card and start the laptop?
April 24th, 2012 at 8:01 am
I have a problem with my laptop Sony Vaio VGN CR353 series..
After my mom fill some water on top of it my laptop won’t start normally with nothing respond at all from the led, the fan and etc…
i found this great website and i follow all the basic repair and after i clening up the motherboard with alcohol and tootbrush like you said
and finally i’ve progress my laptop begin to show some reaction..
If you don’t mind please look up my short video that shows the recent condition og my laptop in http://youtu.be/Wi5x3UXvdkg
hopefully you can give me any clue from your experience in laptop repairing.. maybe you’ve already faces the same problem
Big apologize for my bad english
Big thanks for any responds
keep up the good work *two thumbs up
May 6th, 2012 at 11:18 pm
my acer laptop mouse is not working kindly guide me
May 9th, 2012 at 12:10 am
not sure if you installed the hard drive in a correct manner. Just to be sure about it, you can access the bios (normally F2 or f10 key while restarting) by hitting the bios key during Power on Self Test. If the hard drive is not showing in the list of drives, you probably have either connected the wires wrong or may be your HD is dead. Besides, you can also look for the green light near the keyboard that has the pic of a HD. If that is not lit or not flickering, there is something wrong either with Hd or the way it is connected.
May 21st, 2012 at 7:46 am
thanks
really helpful
sanjayvyas
May 25th, 2012 at 6:51 am
Hi.
I have a HP Pavilion dv7 laptop, I know that the battery has died in it. It was going bad for some time and now it’s dead. My issue is this. The Wifi won’t connect to my router although it see it and has a full signal. I sent it in for repair as it has a warranty on it, and they sent it back saying the dead battery was the cause.
Is this true, can a dead battery cause your wifi to do this even though you are plugged into the outlet?
Thanks, Dean. (PS OP feel free to email me if you want / can)
July 6th, 2012 at 7:12 pm
very helpfull artcles….
thank you so much
July 8th, 2012 at 9:37 pm
Excellent description.
My problems is similar to what is shown above. The back light of my laptop screen goes off after few seconds while booting. Even though I can see the screen and give login password. I can see the desktop icons and work but have to have a closer look at screen or use other light like flash or torch. In two cases light comes back also. First, when I close and open the lid again and secondly, when the mouse pad is touched after the display of off as per time set (thus the lids is not moved in this case). In every case the light remains for not more that 4-5 seconds.
Please suggest what can be the problem and if possible the cost involved.
Thanks for the time and considering to reply.
July 9th, 2012 at 9:57 am
Hello,
My Dell laptop just died on me an hour ago and it’s totally dead,no lights come on either,its just dead!
I check the ac adapter and that is working fine on my other dell but this one is dead. I have most of my design work on my pc as im a graphic designer and i created my portfolio on this pc 2 years ago and now what do i do?
Please help. Any other ideas.
Thanks
Jacus
July 9th, 2012 at 12:03 pm
@ Jacus aucamp,
If the AC adapter works with another laptop, probably it’s not the adapter failure.
Most likely it’s either bad DC jack or failed motherboard.
In order to backup data from the laptop you can do the following. Remove the hard drive from the laptop and install it into an external USB enclosure. Connect the enclosure to any other working PC and get your files.
Here’s the guide: http://www.insidemylaptop.com/.....en-laptop/
By the way, if you have a SATA hard drive you can connect it directly to the PC. Most laptop SATA hard drives has same type of connector ad desktop hard drives.
July 10th, 2012 at 11:46 am
i’ve got a question:
my laptop hangs sometimes and it won’t shut even if the battery is removed. What could possibly be the cause n what’s the solution to this? please help.
July 15th, 2012 at 8:20 pm
Hi!
While I was keyboarding on my Acer today, I noticed that one of the keys doesn’t give me the right symbol when I use the shift key. It repeatedly gives me the same incorrect one. Any ideas about what I may have accidentally touched? Thanks
July 20th, 2012 at 2:10 am
hi..good day i have problem with my hp presario cq20 laptop. at first when i hit the power button it will light and it will turn off before the start up booting finish. and if i power it on again and press f8 it will open in safe mode even for hours….i dont know why if in normal mode not goes thru..i format it but it doesnt work at all please help me….thanks.
July 20th, 2012 at 1:27 pm
@ rey cjrj,
I would run the hard drive and memory test first. Enter the BIOS setup menu. It’s likely that you HP has utilities for testing the hard drive and memory embedded into the BIOS.
July 20th, 2012 at 1:38 pm
@ Shirley Brown,
What key you are asking about?
Maybe NumLock enabled?
July 20th, 2012 at 11:07 pm
I have a Toshiba Satellite M305-S4910 with 3.9 amperage output. Recenetly I had to purchase a new AC adapter 120W with 6.32 amperage. I wanna know if this big difference in AC amperage will hurt my laptop or not.
Thanks for any advice.
July 21st, 2012 at 9:27 am
My Packard Bell Easynot L4 fell and the DC Jack broke.
I replaced this, but now when powered up the power light comes on aswell as the fan. The screen is black, but I dont think it is going any further as the hard drive light doesnt come on/flash.
I just read above to try an external monitor. Other than that is it curtains for the laptop ?
July 23rd, 2012 at 4:01 am
I have a hp laptop. when I push the power button it shows a brief power on then it goes off. Same thing happens every time I push the power botton on.
July 23rd, 2012 at 12:12 pm
@ Shashi,
I would test the AC adapter. It’s possible the AC adapter failed and the battery doesn’t have enough time to start the laptop.
Test the laptop with another AC adapter.
July 23rd, 2012 at 12:17 pm
@ Jaewon,
Did you check the memory modules? Maybe one of the modules not seated correctly. Try reseating memory modules. Also, test the laptop with only one module installed.
Did you try turning it on with the hard drive removed?
July 23rd, 2012 at 12:24 pm
Mike,
If your new AC adapter has THE SAME voltage but higher amperage, it’s OK to use. It will not damage the laptop.
July 25th, 2012 at 2:35 am
Thanks for reply of my previous mail (No.67 and 68). Yes I had tested my laptop with another AC adaptor. But it did not solve my problem.
July 25th, 2012 at 10:56 am
@ Shashi,
This could be one of the following:
1. DC jack failed. You can try replacing it with a new one.
2. If replacing the DC jack doesn’t help, most likely this is motherboard failure. Probably in this case the laptop not worth fixing (depends on the model).
August 2nd, 2012 at 7:38 am
I had problem 5 happen at first with my toshiba laptop where it randomly froze.I tried to restart it, but now I’m encountering problem 2. Some times it turns back on, but it will just crash again. What do I do?
August 6th, 2012 at 11:55 pm
On booting my Toshiba Laptop Satellite C6601QF operating Windows 7 Home Basic, it displays the following message:
Windows has encountered a problem communicating with a device connected to your computer. This error can be caused by unplugging a removable storage device such as external USB drive while the device is in use, or by faulty hardware such as a hard drive or CD-ROM drive that is failing. Make sure any removable storage is properly connected and then restart your computer.
If you continue to receive this error, contact the hardware manufacturer.
Status: 0xc00000e9
Info: An unexpected I/O error has occurred.
—- end of message.
I REALLY NEED EVERYTHING ON THIS LAPTOP BADLY. PLEASE HELP ME OUT.
MANY THANKS.
JAY.
August 7th, 2012 at 2:21 am
hi,
i am lokesh from india in my leaptop cd got stucked in Cd rom how can i ejact the cd
August 7th, 2012 at 3:12 am
while i watching movie on my lenovo laptop it stuck no. of times so i take out battery after that when i restart system is not responding .so ,i try booting but again it stop at setup. so, please suggest me any solution.
August 9th, 2012 at 10:22 am
When I connect the AC adapter to charge my HP Compaq laptop, the charging light illuminates on the laptop but the battery doesn’t charge up. Also, on using the AC adapter, the laptop becomes slow. I have recently replaced my battery so guess there is no issue with that. Should I be replacing my AC adapter? Please advise.
August 10th, 2012 at 10:18 am
Hi when I turn on laptop just power lid on. no fan starts, no logo, no hdd lid. blank screen whats the problem?
August 11th, 2012 at 9:10 am
On booting a Toshiba Laptop Satellite A60-S166 operating Windows XP, it displays the following message:
No bootable CD in ATAPI CD ROM
INTEL UNDI,PXE-2.0(build 082)
For REALTEK RTL 8139(X)/8130/810X PCI FAST ETHERNET CONTROLLER V2.13(020326)
PXE-E61= Media test failure, check cable.
PXE-MOF: Exiting PXEE Rom.
Press any key when ready.
If I press F1 the screen shows:
IN TOUCH WITH TOMORROW TOSHIBA
Please, can you help me,
August 16th, 2012 at 2:29 am
i have smsung rv509 laptop on pressing power button the mother board screen displays but the it keeps showing a black screen with cursor blinking on top corner
i installed the os 3 to 4 times every time os is instaled properly but after installation the laptop comes in same condition of black screen with cursor
pls help
August 22nd, 2012 at 5:34 pm
@ prashant,
Try reconnecting the hard drive. Maybe it’s bad connection between the hard drive and motherboard. Also, it’s possible the hard drive is failing.
August 22nd, 2012 at 5:43 pm
@ Antonio,
It’s possible the laptop will not boot because it doesn’t see the hard drive.
Enter the BIOS setup menu and check if the hard drive is detected.
Try reconnecting the hard drive.
Connect hard drive to another working PC and check out if it spins.
This could be hard drive failure.
August 22nd, 2012 at 5:45 pm
@ Tariq,
Possible memory failure. Access memory modules and remove them one by one. Test the laptop with only one module installed.
August 22nd, 2012 at 5:46 pm
@ Raji,
It’s hard to tell what is wrong. Yes, there is a chance of bad AC adapter.
I would test the laptop with another AC adapter. If the problem still there, probably this is motherboard related failure.
August 22nd, 2012 at 6:07 pm
@ shivajee,
This could be memory failure. Try removing memory modules one by one and test the laptop with each module separately.
August 23rd, 2012 at 10:09 am
@ lokesh,
Try this method: http://www.insidemylaptop.com/.....ng-laptop/
August 24th, 2012 at 4:27 am
my laptops screen suddenly turns to one color like sometimes it turns to purple/green/red and it wouldn’t let me do anything. it just freezes to a color and it makes weird noises like how a tv will with a black and white flashing screen except my laptop just turns to a color. and this just happens randomly
August 24th, 2012 at 4:29 am
my laptops screen suddenly turns to one color like sometimes it turns to purple/green/red and it wouldn’t let me do anything. it just freezes to a color and it makes weird noises like how a tv will with a black and white flashing screen except my laptop just turns to a color. and this just happens randomly. and i cant do anything until i shut it off from the power button.
August 29th, 2012 at 4:01 pm
My inspiron 1545 about 2.5 years old is not turning on when connected with ac supply with and without battery and there is no sign of led lid indicators, its like completly dead. Only charger shows green light.
About 3 months earlier windows was showing “consider replacing your battery “but i didnt changed the battery and used the laptop for 2 months and now its dead. Now i Dont know whether only the battery is the problem or the charger or the motherboard or something else.
September 4th, 2012 at 10:08 pm
My Toshiba Satellite A205-S5880 laptop turns off frequently in normal mode but it works fine in safe mode.
please help…
September 16th, 2012 at 9:19 am
Hey have a problem with videos on my laptop. It use to be able to play 360p and up now it wont. I know its not a hardware problem but could use the help. Thanks.
September 19th, 2012 at 12:24 pm
Hi!! My laptop is not starting when I starting it on!!!Can you tell me where can I fix it???Especially in NY and NJ?? And suggetions would definitely help!!!Thanks!!!
September 20th, 2012 at 8:55 am
I Dell Inspiron M5030, I replaced the screen but now the hard drive in the Bios is reading 0 GB. Any help ?
September 26th, 2012 at 9:33 am
in my laptop the screen show NTLDR manque in white and the screen in black pleaaaaaaase help
October 8th, 2012 at 4:24 am
your articles are very useful and we do appreciate alot. i have a problem with my dell screen. when trying to adjust the colour it shows locked symbol asking for password. please help.
October 14th, 2012 at 8:43 am
@ David,
Make sure to login as an administrator. Probably you have a few user accounts on your laptop and your account doesn’t have administrative rights.
October 18th, 2012 at 12:59 am
Thanks for exhausting list of advices, it helped to locate and fix the issue with our office HP laptop.
Good job!
October 21st, 2012 at 12:42 am
i have this issue on my laptop, it works fine when run in battery but it will stop working or sometimes hangs up when ac power was attached to to the dc jack..(toshiba satellite L300)
anybody can share his/her knowledge will be a great help..
October 27th, 2012 at 11:52 am
Hey i haved problem with my HP laptop.
I know the battery is bad so i only use external power, its fine until when i turn it on its not working.. NO POWER, NO LIGHT, except the WHITE LED INDICATER beside DC JACK but it turns off after a while..
is it possible to be motherboard failure or just DC JACK problem?
please help
October 28th, 2012 at 1:38 am
colling fan not working
November 23rd, 2012 at 8:39 pm
hi!
i have a hp laptop,actually whenever i was startig a laptop,i get the display only till it will execute booting function, after that it will turn off automatically.plz help what the problem is going on?
November 26th, 2012 at 3:59 am
superbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb
December 6th, 2012 at 2:56 am
Hi, I have a Toshiba A200, at the very bottom of the LCD, it is like a ribbon with disorder horizontal white lines so that I can’t see anything on that area the rest of the LCD screen is okay. I connect it to an external monitor and the entire screen is fine. So what can be the problem?
Thank you.
December 8th, 2012 at 12:50 pm
@ Pedram,
Most likely this is defective LCD screen. I think you’ll have to replace the screen.
This Toshiba Satellite A215 screen replacement guide should be close enough for your model.
December 25th, 2012 at 11:11 pm
I have Toshiba laptop it doesnt turn on when i plug the adaptor only the AC power and battery LED is turned on. what will be possible reasons
December 28th, 2012 at 8:40 am
Toshiba Satellite A300
When turning on Display comes and Turn off Automatically
December 29th, 2012 at 2:00 am
i have this issue on my laptop, it works fine when run in battery but it will stop working or sometimes hangs up when ac power was attached to to the dc jack..(toshiba satellite L300)
January 4th, 2013 at 9:14 pm
I have a Sony Viao Laptop that was dropped and now it boots to a black screen that says Operating System not found. My first guess was that the hard drive was bad/corrupted and after research and running some scans I was right. MY question is how do I know that is all that is wrong? I don’t want to buy a new HDD then find out that other components were damaged. I was thinking of using a HDD from another laptop and putting it in the laptop that was dropped but I guess I want to know how to diagnose other components. What tools/software scans do you recommend? Also with the failed HDD do you think if I bought and IDE connector/adaptor I could connect this to a desktop and possibly recover the data or ever get the HDD to work again? Is there an USB IDE connector to hook up an hdd?
January 14th, 2013 at 4:54 am
sir
iwant know that aser aspire one model ZG5 no display
January 28th, 2013 at 12:21 am
Hello everyone!
i have LG R410 i notice that some is are not working like C, Y, and Q but but when i press it sequence it will works but then after a second it will not work again any suggestion how to fix this???
February 4th, 2013 at 4:41 am
@ Ferds,
Sounds like failing keyboard.
You can try reseating the keyboard cable on the motherboard. If this doesn’t help, try replacing the keyboard.
February 4th, 2013 at 5:42 am
@ Christopher Coleman,
You can download Ubuntu OS and burn it on a DVD. After that boot your laptop from this disc and test in the Ubuntu environment. If everything works fine in Ubuntu OS, probably only the hard drive is bad.
You’ll have to reinstall OS on the new drive in order to use it. Most likely the OS from another computer will not run properly in your laptop.
It depends on the hard drive failure. In some cases it’s possible.
You’ll have to scan for data using a data recovery software. Something like GetDataBack (for NTFS or FAT file system) or R-Studio.
You can purchase an external USB enclosure for IDE hard drives. Here’s an example: http://www.laptoprepair101.com.....enclosure/
February 4th, 2013 at 5:54 am
@ hemant,
Did you test the laptop with another AC adapter?
February 4th, 2013 at 5:59 am
@ CyberShot,
Does the laptop still work after the display turns off?
Take a very close look on the screen. Do you see a very faint image on the screen?
If the laptop still works and you can see a very faint image on the screen this could be failed inverter board or failed LCD screen (actually failed backlight lamp inside the screen). I would try replacing the inverter board first.
You can use this display disassembly guide for Toshiba Satellite A300/A305 laptops.
February 4th, 2013 at 6:08 am
@ yerga,
Could be failed memory.
February 10th, 2013 at 12:00 pm
When I plug the AC adaptor a faint click noise sounds but no light is turned on. When I connect battery and push turn on button similar faint noises sound but no lights either. The laptop actually turned off suddenly while writing an email.
February 19th, 2013 at 6:06 am
someone please help me…..my laptop turn off by itself when i was playing games(games with high graphics)..when i play an old games it work just fine…even when i watch movies or play facebook….it only turn off when i play new games…please help me…
February 24th, 2013 at 7:18 pm
sir,
when i give power to my toshiba satellite a100 laptop through ac adpter it turns off on that time only ac power and battery led are on . i have checked my ac adepter through multimeter,it has no problem.
February 25th, 2013 at 6:39 pm
I have a Lenovo G580 which when booted displays a dark blank screen however, when I connect it to an external monitor it will display everything fine on the external monitor. The built in display doesn’t want to display anything.
March 28th, 2013 at 12:37 am
I have HP G42-456TU Notebook PC
Serial Number: CNF045BB4G
Product Number: XV919PA
Whenever I unplugged my charger laptop start working slow. when charger is in plug its working normal. Give me hints/support how to fix it.
April 1st, 2013 at 5:46 pm
@ Jayesh,
Maybe you have some power settings enabled? On some laptops you can reduce the CPU speed when it runs off the battery. It makes the laptop slower while running from the battery but improves battery life.
April 2nd, 2013 at 9:39 pm
May I know what is the problem of laptop with blank screen and the hard disk is not running (no beep sound) during start up? Thanks.
April 4th, 2013 at 2:44 pm
@ nil,
Does the laptop turn on at all? Can you see any lights?
April 6th, 2013 at 10:35 am
my screen dosent turn on but the power button and locks lights turn on and the fan is not running as well please help windows 7 sony vaio laptop
April 14th, 2013 at 4:46 am
when i turn on my laptop the screen turns on for a second completely normal showing everything clearly but then it goes off. when i press the lid button(which turns off the screen) and then release it the screen lights up for a second and then goes off. whats the reason?
April 26th, 2013 at 5:15 pm
Thanx for the article…..
But I had a new problem…..
the problem is that when i close the lid one of the junction(there are two junction joining keyboard and lid) is coming out making some weired noise i don’t know how to fix it permanently it is totally a hardware problem
May 12th, 2013 at 7:59 am
Hi can I ask I had to replace a power button unit on a hp q70 put new unit in no prob but still won’t work could it have got the motherboard.thanks
May 19th, 2013 at 11:22 am
@ liam,
Why do you think it was a power button related problem?
What happens when you push on the power button? Any lights on the laptop?