In this post I will summarize most common laptop hardware related problems and give some suggestions how to troubleshoot or repair them. Computer doesn’t turn on at all. 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. – The AC adapter failed and the battery has no charge left. In this case test the AC adapter with a voltmeter. If it’s dead, replace it with a new one. – DC jack failed and the motherboard doesn’t receive any power from the adapter. In this case the DC jack has to be replaced.The motherboard has to be replaced, if it’s not too expensive. Otherwise get ready to buy a new computer. Here are some tips for testing AC adapter and DC jack. Also, make sure to read step-by-step instructions for troubleshooting dead laptops. The laptop turns on, power LED lights up, 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. – This can be memory failure. It’s possible one of the memory modules failed. 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 module installed. You can try replacing memory modules. – If reseating/replacing memory 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 bare bone system troubleshooting. Laptop turns on and off repeatedly. The laptop turn on without showing any image on the screen. After a few seconds it turns off by itself. Then it turns on and off again. Most likely this is motherboard failure. You can try reseating/replacing memory as I described in the Problem 2.

If it doesn’t help, probably the motherboard failed. Laptop makes noise while running. The laptop turns on and everything works fine, except it makes some constant weird grinding or rattling noise. In most cases this noise is coming from the cooling fan or hard drive. best leather cleaner and conditioner for tackTake a closer look at the cooling fan.best way to clean vinyl awnings If the fan doesn’t spin but the the laptop makes noise, probably it’s coming from the hard drive. air duct cleaning service njBack up all personal data as soon as possible and replace the hard drive.best leather care for tack

Also, you can remove the hard drive and stat the laptop. If the laptop still makes noise, most likely it’s bad fan. Laptop shuts down or freezes. The laptop runs properly but after a while it freezes or shuts down without any warning. clean fan hp pavilionWhen it happens, the bottom feels hot. best way to clean rosewood furnitureAlso, the cooling fan runs louder than usual. Most likely this is heat related issue. It happens because the fan heat sink is clogged with dust and the processor not cooling down properly. Cleaning the fan and heat sink from dust should fix it. Here’s how you fix heat related problems. Battery not charging properly. The battery stopped charging properly. It doesn’t charge at all or charges only after you adjust the position of AC adapter plug inside the power connector.

If it doesn’t charge completely try reconnecting the battery first. Also, try running the laptop just from AC adapter with battery removed. If it runs fine from AC adapter, most likely it’s either bad battery or failed motherboard. Try replacing the battery first. – Failed DC power connector. If the battery charges only after you adjust the position of AC adapter tip inside the connector, most likely this the DC jack failed. Here are some tips for charging problems. 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 and all you can see is a very faint image. Most likely it’s either failed screen inverter or backlight lamp (CCFL) failure.  When either one fail, the backlight stops working. In order to troubleshoot this, you’ll need some spare parts: either new working inverter or known good backlight lamp. Read how to troubleshoot backlight failure.

Strange or garbled image on the screen. The laptop turns on properly but has a distorted or garbled image on the screen. – The graphics card failed. First of all, test your laptop with an external monitor or TV. If you see the same garbled image on the external screen, most likely the graphics card failed. – If the problem appears only on the laptop screen, this can be related to one of the following: poor connection between the video cable and motherboard or screen. Also can be failed video cable or screen. Here are examples of failed video and explanations how to narrow down the problem. Also read why display shows strange colors. Some keyboard keys stopped working. Some keyboard keys do not work at all or type wrong characters. Most likely the keyboard failed and they are not repairable. Read how to replace the keyboard. Keyboard has missing or broken keys. A key got separated from the laptop keyboard. If a key separated from the keyboard, it’s still possible to fix it.