In daily usage of a laptop, you might find a very common (or maybe disturbing too) issue in which your laptop doesn’t turn on. In different scenarios, there can be various reasons leading your laptop not to get turned on; that’s why we have brought you an article in which we will tell you about the multiple solutions to this problem as well as the reason through which this problem is occurring.
Below, we have mentioned all the possible reasons (with their solutions) causing this issue.
Check AC Adaptor (Power Cord/Charger)
The first thing to check is always your laptop charger or power supply cord. This type of problem can occur when your notebook is entirely dependent on the charger and stops working when disconnected. This problem is caused by a battery that is dead or faulty. But still, this problem is elementary to recognize. Just plug the AC adapter into the DC port (charging port); if the charging status LED doesn’t turn on, there might be a problem with your AC adapter. Just replace it with a new and compatible AC adapter. Using an incompatible adapter can cause more problems with your notebook. If the AC adapter works fine with the other laptop, the problem is in the charging port. In this case, you may need to replace the charging port or the entire motherboard depending on the notebook manufacturing design.
Unplug and Re-plug the Battery
Your notebook may be in a power state, preventing it from booting. You can solve this issue by disconnecting the power cable and removing the battery for five minutes. After that, connect them again and press the power button.
To learn how to remove the battery of different laptop models, you can head toward the teardown section and laptop repair section, where we have guided the way to remove battery modules.
Note: Before doing this step, it is worth mentioning that nowadays, many notebooks come with built-in batteries that don’t allow the user to remove the battery module. In this case, you can skip to the next section.
Remove Docking Station
Many notebook consumers use docking stations in their daily use. A faulty docking station may prevent your notebook from booting. In this case, the solution is again straightforward, detach the notebook from any docking station, plug the power adaptor directly into the laptop and then try to turn it on.
Replace the CMOS Battery
CMOS cell is a significant component of a notebook’s motherboard which stores the BIOS settings in the motherboard. If the cell becomes dead, it will also prevent the notebook from booting. This issue mostly happens in older notebooks (especially those notebooks which are used rarely or used with the main battery removed). Change the CMOS battery to solve the problem. Follow the instructions in the linked article (attach changing CMOS battery article) to know the method of changing the CMOS battery in the notebook. If you find it hard to change the CMOS battery, head to the nearest technician; changing of CMOS battery will cost you a few cents.
Drain Residual Electrical Charge from Notebook
In some scenarios, a residual electrical charge (or an electricity clog) can also prevent your laptop from the boot. In order to turn on the laptop, you need to drain any kind of laptop’s electricity. At first, disconnect the AC Adaptor and remove the battery module (if possible). Hold the power button for thirty seconds to drain the residual power from the notebook. Try to turn on the notebook by connecting the AC adaptor and without putting back the battery. If the notebook boots normally, then everything would be fine. Now, you can put back the battery and turn it on without any issue.
Note: Sometimes, you might need to press the power button for more than 30 seconds (around 1 or 2 minutes) to drain all current.
Remove all Devices
Any removable media, including a memory card, DVD/CDs, or USB drive, can cause your notebook to prevent booting. This happens because your laptop’s BIOS is trying to boot from that specific removable media device. All you need to do is remove all USB drives and the objects mentioned above and then try to turn on the notebook.
Remove Incompatible Hardware
The boot problem usually occurs at this stage due to a newly installed component like a new RAM stick or a new Hard Drive. If you have installed a new component in the past few days, it is recommended to put the old component back; if the laptop starts to boot normally, the problem is most probably with the newly installed component. In this case, try to check the new hardware with another laptop, and you might be able to know whether the problem is with the laptop or with the new hardware.
Display Issue
If any issue occurs with the display, the users might get confused in troubleshooting the real issue and think the laptop is off. If the problem is with the screen, other components like the keyboard’s backlit and cooling fans will still work, and you might be able to hear its noise. If you have connected any external monitor, try to disconnect it and check whether the display appears on the main laptop screen or not. If not, try some tricks like using the brightness key (on the keyboard) to increase the brightness.
It is also recommended to change your HDMI/VGA cable, video output port, and external monitor in order to verify which component is malfunctioning.
If the notebook’s display displays the picture improperly (like lines on display or faint image), the problem is most probably with the display’s panel, which is broken. Sometimes, the problem can also be with the display adaptor, leading to a blank display. In the case of LCD, it is better to take the notebook to a certified technician if changing components (like cable, port, and external monitor) isn’t helping.
Use a Rescue Disc or Boot into Safe Mode
In most cases, the Operating System gets corrupted due to a virus or some newly installed applications, causing it to prevent the boot process. In this scenario, there are two methods of solving this issue. At first, you can try to boot into safe mode. The process of entering safe mode can differ depending on which manufacturer’s laptop you use. The safe mode will allow you to uninstall new programs or drivers, causing boot problems. Not only that, but it will also let you make another user account if the original one has been corrupted.
In the second method, you can use a rescue disc which allows you to boot into the notebook’s OS and let you fix several issues which are affecting the OS. If the virus is the cause of the booting problem, the rescue disc will find it via its Anti-Virus feature and can remove it.
Beeping Sound (denoting Motherboard issue)
On booting, if the notebook produces any beeping sound, it denotes that the issue is in the motherboard. When the notebook motherboard’s components fail, they often make a series of beeps indicating a specific problem. You can follow our post (attach Beep Codes article) to check what issue is being denoted by your notebook’s motherboard. Different brands’ notebook has a different kind of beeping.
We are pretty sure that the solutions mentioned above will help you. But still, after trying all these solutions, if your notebook is not powering on or booting, it is recommended to take the notebook to your nearest technician because the problem is very severe and complex to solve.
