HomeLet’s say your laptop does not start at all. You plug in the power adapter and press on the power button, but the laptop will not react. It’s dead and the power or battery charge LED will not light up.
What could be wrong? Is it bad power jack or the motherboard is dead?
By the way, the power jack aka DC-IN jack is the power socket on the side or back of your laptop where you plug the AC/DC power adapter.
I’ll explain how to perform basic troubleshooting and find out what is wrong. This is only for experienced people, who know how to disassemble laptops.
First of all, test the AC/DC power adapter with a multimeter. It’s very likely that there is noting wrong with the laptop and your problem is related to the power adapter.
If the adapter tests fine and output correct voltage, disassemble the laptop and remove the top cover.
As you see on the first picture, in my laptop the power adapter plugs into the DC-IN power jack which is connected to the motherboard via a harness.
In some models the DC-IN power jack is soldered directly to the motherboard.
Plug in the power adapter and measure voltage at the point where the DC-IN jack or DC harness (like in my case) connected to the motherboard.
If you are reading the same voltage as on the AC adapter, it means the power jack or harness works properly and the problem is related to the motherboard.
If there is no voltage, most likely there is a problem with the jack or hardness and it has to be replaced.
By the way, in some case the problem could be related to the fuse which is usually located somewhere very close to the power jack/harness connector. You can test the fuse with a multimeter.
If the fuse is bad, the motherboard will appear to be dead even if there is nothing wrong with the power jack and AC/DC adapter. If that’s the case, replacing the bad fuse should fix the problem.
May 21st, 2013 at 7:03 am
@ Vante-a,
Try removing memory modules one by one. Test the laptop with only one module installed (try different slots with different modules). If this is memory related problem, the laptop will start when the failed module removed.
Also, this could be the power adapter issue. Not likely but possible. Maybe the adapter not working properly under load. If you can, test the laptop with another adapter.
If nothing helps, probably this is failed motherboard.
May 20th, 2013 at 8:10 am
My laptop does not boot but power button just glows for a minute and die!
April 12th, 2013 at 7:39 am
I have an Acer Aspire Notebook. I closed the lid without shutting it down properly because it was frozen on a website and I had to go. The next morning when I pushed the power button it lit up but there was no motor sound (after I disconnected the cooling platform motor that comes on when I turn on the computer) and nothing is on the screen. The power and battery lights are on. I tried taking out battery waiting awhile then putting it back in and rebooting to no avail. Is my motherboard shot or is there a fuse out? Thank you for your time as of course I am down to the wire and trying to finish my taxes on that darn notebook!!!!!
April 10th, 2013 at 10:21 am
Hello I’ve problem with my laptop it doesn’t start, and they told me that the power port on motherboard has burnt but the drive is fine.
So what can I do?
April 4th, 2013 at 1:03 pm
sir i have lenovo g450 …
few days ago my laptop get disconnected automatically nd battery was not charging just for 2 r 3 seconds then it again started charing .
then i removed my battery nd started using it without battery n its ws wroking fine .
but nw my lapotop do not get on .
but it is working on battery power . my charger is working properly .
but charger do not charge the battery .
please suggest me wht to do… ?? and what kind of possibilities r there ???
March 23rd, 2013 at 7:42 am
@ Macdonald,
I suspect there could be a problem with the DC power jack inside the laptop.
It’s necessary to disassemble the laptop and take a closer look at the DC jack for further diagnostics.
March 23rd, 2013 at 12:43 am
hello i have acer travelmate 2350 when i connect dc power there’s a spark & when i test the voltage it shows nothing but when i test power pack on its own there;s power
March 12th, 2013 at 2:06 am
Hello,
I am having Toshiba Satellite L650 laptop, few days back i.e in December the laptop started showing a message “There is some problem in the cooling system get back to the service”. As the warranty was over i went to the shop from where i purchased it and told the problem. they replied that there was some problem with the cooling chip and couldn’t do anything. after that the laptop refused to start and i returened to the Toshiba service centre. They replaced PMMC chip, Bios Chip and cooling fan. After that the laptop worked well for some 2 months. Now it is not booting. Whenever i am pressing the power button the fan and the lights blinks and start for some milli seconds and then dead. it happens regularly and the laptop is not booting at all.
Is there any problem with the motherboard or battery is damaged or ram slot has any problem or with the power system of the laptop?
February 22nd, 2013 at 10:06 am
by the way, let congratulate you, for this unique site “manual” hp laptop, thank you.
Now i have thsi issue, my HP CQ61, wonth power up, i test the ac, the jack, fuse and wire all good, i like to ask you, how do i test the POWER BUTTON, that little board, or can you let me know any trick to do on flat cable they connect the power button to main board, to see if the power button is daed or not?? please let know soon as you can please…reply..
Once again, my best regads to you lovely site (manual) Thanks! keep it up with good work
February 21st, 2013 at 2:15 pm
My Power -Switch is broken, how do i replace it?
Thank You for the help.