My Dell Latitude laptop will not power on. It was slow for a few days and I was able to get Windows to load once and found that the battery is at 96%, so that is not the problem. Now I cannot even get it to load windows. The green light flashes for a few seconds then goes out.The fan doesn’t come on and Windows never loads; it just goes off. I think I may have a virus, and want to reload Windows, but can’t even get it to power up or bring up the reboot menu. What can I do?

1. Try starting your laptop without the hard drive. The hard drive can be easily removed from the bottom. If the laptop tuns on and loads BIOS screen, most likely have a failed hard drive.

2. If removing the hard drive doesn’t help, remove all other parts you can access except memory modules. Remove the battery, DVD drive, wireless card. In short, minimize the system as much as you can. After that try turning it on from the AC adapter. If the laptop gets power from the adapter (light turns on) but will not power up, this could be motherboard or memory failure.

3. Try removing memory modules one by one. Try tuning it on with only one memory module installed. Try different slots. If the laptop fails with each module, most likely this is motherboard related failure.

You can backup personal files from the hard drive using an external USB enclosure.

My Acer Aspire Notebook turns off all by itself just after turning on, or after Windows shows up. I can hear a click from inside, than it’s off.

First of all, turn on the notebook and listen for the cooling fan. Does it spin at all? Usually you can see the cooling fan though the air intake grill on the bottom of the notebook. If the fan doesn’t spin, it’s possible you have a failed fan and the notebook turns off because of overheating. If that’s the case, the cooling fan has to be replaced.

If the cooling fan works properly,listen for the hard drive sounds. It’s possible you have a failing hard drive. If the hard drive makes clicking noise, it’s bad and has to be replaced.

If the hard drive is failing, you still can try recovering data using an external USB enclosure.

My Compaq Presario was working fine then all of a sudden last week,it started to switch off unexpectedly, sometimes when i turn it back on it switches back off after it loads windows.

I think this is heat related problem. The laptop switches off unexpectedly because it overheats. It’s a very common problem with many different laptop brands.

Usually you can fix the problem is you clean the cooling module – cooling fan and heat sink. Most likely the cooling module is clogged with dust.

For cleaning the laptop cooling module I usually use an air compressor. Spray air inside the fan until all dust is gone. This will remove most dust from the cooling module and should cure the problem.

Also, make sure the cooling fan spins when the laptop works. There is a chance that your laptop switches off because the cooling fan has failed.

I have HP laptop and it keeps crashing for no apparent reason. The fan always get going loud and fast then it crashes just siting on a desk. I figure it has to do with over heating but it doesn’t seem to be hot on the bottom. it will not restart without letting it sit for a while.

Your description does sound like a heat related problem. Most likely the laptop crashes because the heat sink is clogged with dust and the CPU overheats.

Most likely you can fix the problem if you clean the heat sink. On some HP laptops you can access the heat sink though a door on the bottom. On other models you have to remove the keyboard.

Find a way to access the heat sink and clean it with canned air or air compressor. I think cleaning the laptop will cure your problem.

It looks like my laptop getting power and charging the battery but when I go to turn it on the power light goes on for about 3 seconds the the unit turns back off again. Any ideas???
It’s a Toshiba Satellite P300.

It’s possible that there is a problem with the AC power adapter. Maybe the adapter is not working properly under load. Test the laptop with another known good adapter.

If the laptop still fails even with another AC adapter, most likely this is the motherboard failure. You’ll have to replace the motherboard.

My laptop will not start up completely. I can push the power on button, and right before the logo is supposed to appear it will restart itself, and will continue on this loop. I have held down the power button in the middle to shut it off completely and let it sit for awhile and tried again, with the same results. I have also left the computer run this loop all night with no success. I have noticed the fan will come on really high at the start of the process and then slow down before it restarts itself. The fan is working and the computer is not hot. The computer is always hooked up to the A/C adapter and very rarely do i rely on the battery. any suggestions?

This problem could be related to the memory. It’s possible that one of the memory modules is bad.

If you have two memory modules installed in your laptop, remove them one by one and test the laptop with each module separately. It should start properly when the bad module is removed. If the laptop still restart itself with each module installed separately, most likely this is not memory related problem. It’s very unlikely that both memory modules failed at the same time.

Try starting the laptop without the hard drive. A failed hard drive also can cause this failure. Can you boot to the logo screen when the hard drive is removed? If not, most likely the problem is not related to the hard drive.

If nothing helps, most likely there is a problem with the motherboard and it has to be replaced.

My laptop keeps shutting down on its own but its only when I leave it alone for a little while like I will go eat dinner then about an hour later it will shut down. I don’t think this is a overheating problem because it would be shutting down when I am on the laptop. This only happens if i leave the laptop for an extended period of time.

Check settings in the laptop power management utility. I think the laptop is set to go into sleep mode or hibernation after not being used for some time. Change settings from go to sleep/hibernation mode to do nothing.

My laptop keeps restarting and will not let me go to safe mode or anything. It keeps restarting. Has any one had this before? Know what to do? My memory is inserted properly.

Try replacing memory with a known good stick. Maybe your memory module is bad.

If you have two memory modules installed in the laptop, try removing them one by one. If the laptop still keeps restarting with each module installed separately, I guess it’s not related to the memory failure.

Find a voltmeter and test the AC power adapter, make sure the adapter outputs correct voltage.

Try minimizing the system as much as you can. Remove battery, hard drive, DVD drive, etc… If the problem still exists, most likely this is the motherboard failure.

My 5 years old Sony Vaio laptop worked fine last night, and I shut it down (vs. hibernating) when I was done. Today, it will not power up at all – no response when I hit the power button, no lights when connected to power. I’ve tried pressing power button for extended time, remove/reinsert battery, switching batteries, switching power cords – no result.

Suspect problem with the motherboard, or with the connection between the dc jack and the motherboard. Any advice on diagnostic &/or repair would be appreciated.

I don’t think that your problem is related to the DC power jack. Power jacks do not fail like that. Usually power jacks fail over an extended period of time and connection between the power adapter and jack gets worse day after day, but they do not die overnight.

First of all, check the AC power adapter. Test your adapter with a voltmeter and make sure it outputs correct voltage. Replace it with a new one if it’s dead.

If the power adapter works properly, most likely your motherboard has died.

My Dell computer isn’t working properly. The battery symbol on the bottom claims that its plugged in but not charging. Unfortunately, whenever I pull the charger out, my laptop immediately shuts down.

Most likely your problem is related to the battery. Apparently the battery is not working properly and cannot power the laptop when the charger is unplugged. The first thing to do is testing the laptop with another known good battery, if you can find any.
If the laptop works fine with another working battery, your battery is bad and you need a new one. If you still experience the same problem even with a new battery, most likely there is a problem with the motherboard.