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.
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July 4th, 2009 at 7:19 am
I have a Sony laptop FXA63. When turned on, the screen shows “Sony” logo and then a short blinking “-” at top of the screen and then nothing, screen dark. I opened it and noticed that fan comes on for and then stops, and the housing containing the fan heats up tremendously with fan not working. Can you advise on what to test next? Thanks.
June 29th, 2009 at 3:23 pm
Jawed,
If the laptop is absolutely dead even when you use a know good power adapter, most likely you have a problem with the motherboard.
Does the power LED flicker if you wiggle the power adapter plug inside the power socket? If it does, there could be a problem with the power jack. If not, most likely it’s bad motherboard.
June 29th, 2009 at 3:14 pm
mimmer,
The power board and power button board are two different things. I think in the comment 24 you asked about the power button board but called it power board.
I think you have a problem with the motherboard.
June 27th, 2009 at 7:28 pm
Laptop Tech, Hi,
it has a separate power button board and the quick buttons for email,internet etc. are also on that board
June 27th, 2009 at 5:40 am
Hi,
I have an Acer Aspire 5570z laptop. When i plug in my adapter, the laptop doesnt respond(does not charge battery, doesnt turn on, leds do not respond…etc). Ive tested my adapter with a multimeter and it shows the normal voltage,ie, the adapter is good. What can be wrong with the laptop? Plz help me.
June 24th, 2009 at 11:45 am
mimmer,
Does this laptop have a power board. Usually it’s integrated into the motherboard and your description sounds like a problem with the motherboard.
June 22nd, 2009 at 8:38 am
I have a HP pavilion ze4600 (ze4610us) WhenI plug it in the battery charge light is flashing. I push the power button and then both the blue power light and the yellow charging light are flashing on and off. That is all I get. I have disassembled and reassembled it 3 times tried it without memory battery,hdd etc. The only thing that changes anything is when I push the function buttons media keys over and over and pretty quickly it changes the flashing blue power lights flashes it will start flashing with how I am pushing these keys. Could the whole problem be in that power board?
June 12th, 2009 at 7:36 pm
Well. I fixed it today.
It was none of above but exactly same as below.
Good luck guys!
http://www.laptoprepair101.com/laptop/2006/07/05/laptop-turns-on-and-shuts-down/
June 10th, 2009 at 10:32 pm
I have Sony fxa63 and it started not to start several days ago.
When it finally starts, everything is fine.
If I restart, it will do so.
However, if I turn it off and try to on afterwards.. no no no..
I’ve read though some websites and found that it might due to the condenser on the motherboard. So, I unplug everything for 5-10min to discharge that condenser than carefully starts again. Till now this took my chance up.
Not so sure how long it will work and how to find/buy right condenser for it.
Anyone has any idea?
June 9th, 2009 at 6:18 am
Hi,
I have a Presario 2175us. The battery charge led comes on when the power adapter is connected, and when the power button is pushed, the power led comes on for a second then goes back out again and nothing happens. This is an intermittent problem, and it happens with more than one power adapter. I have taken the laptop apart and checked the soldering of the dc jack, but it looks fine. I was wondering if you might have an idea of what could be the problem. Thanks so much for your help.
June 8th, 2009 at 5:21 pm
I have a Toshiba laptop that is also given me stress The Led comes on and the computer does not come up and sometimes if you try to put it on it will come on but it will not booth, what could be wrong with it.
The power light and the wireless light stay on when the power button is pushed and the fan comes on. I have tried replacing the memory modules and stil the same problem. What else can i do? Also my data is not backed up because I was in the process of doing so.
June 2nd, 2009 at 8:44 pm
hi…
My computer dell xps m1210 does not start up
if push the button on, the led is on
but few second the led is off
and can not run
what the problem?
please help me
Thanks so much.
May 25th, 2009 at 4:33 pm
todd,
Nothing comes up on the screen or there is no activity (like LED light) at all?
May 21st, 2009 at 2:54 pm
I have a Toshiba Sat R15-S822. When the power plug is on I can see all the lights. But when I press the “power on” button nothing is coming up. Is it that my motherboard is dead? Thx…
May 19th, 2009 at 11:18 am
This note is to Charles Saunders. My Hp Dv6000 laptop did the same thing. It would overheat aLOT and then finally one day while I was sitting with it on a board on my lap while playing a game, it just went out. I let it cool down for a good couple of hours or more and went to turn it back on and nothing. I still have nothing today. Same thing as you, the lights would come on and the fan would run briefly and then off again and nothing else. I took it in to have a ‘tech’ look at it at a local Staples store and he felt that it was the motherboard damaged from overheating. He says it would basically cost me as much to buy a new laptop as to replace the mb in this one. I find that hard to believe. Now I sit and wonder if this really could be the problem or if it is the power supply as mentioned in a few other articles above. I don’t really want to spend the money on another mb if this really isn’t the problem and I find that HP is not to inclined to release parts for your laptop unless they install it. If someone could give us the answer to this problem, it would be greatly appreciated.
May 15th, 2009 at 11:03 am
I just want to give you some points here. I am an electronic technician for more than 30 years. I deal with all kind of electronic gadgets including computers and laptops. One thing I want to make a point here is about testing the output of the power supply or adapter. All adapters used for laptops are all switching power supply. A switching power supply output can not be tested unless they are under load. Means they must be connected to the laptop and the laptop must be ON then you can actually use your multi-meter to measure the voltages. However, do you realized that all the desktop computers used switching power supply with cooling fans attached to it? And why? Because all power supply creates a tremendous amount of HEAT !!! Now think about this, why in the world that the power adapters for laptop has a sealed enclosure and no ventilation system? This is the secret of the electronic designer. The more you use your laptop, the more you ruin (not knowingly) your adapter because of overheating. This in turn, slowly killing some of electronic parts of the motherboard. That’s why after one year, you will experience some problem with the laptop just because of the lack of ventilation of the power supply. The switching power supply inside the adapter is composed of a transformer, diodes, capacitors, resistors, transistor and voltage regulator. The last two components are the one resposible for discharging HEAT into the two metal heatsinks. If there is no ventillation inside the plastic enclosure, this two semi-conductors will suffer and the mother board will be affected. To fix this, try to pry out open an adapter with utility knife. Be carefull not to cut too deep into the grove. Once you open it up, drill holes around it. Then put it back together using any kind of plastic glue. These holes will help to dissipate the heat inside the enclosure and will reduce definitely any electronic problems of the laptop. But don’t forget to do some maintenance on the exhaust system of the laptop. The heat sink of the laptop must be clean of dust/lint atleast once a year. Only few people knows about this.
May 14th, 2009 at 6:28 am
Hi,on my laptop hp dv9005us, i have a light in power jack but don`t have any light on front panel,no light like charging, when i try to turn it on i have no response.
i teste the power jack and got 19.2V but i could`nt find with fuse is…… or if have one.
May 13th, 2009 at 1:27 pm
Hi.
My computer does not turn on as well.
I tested the jack and got 19V.
I tested the fuse, but 0V.
The Power LED of the laptop is ON.
Is the problem with the fuse, even the power LED is on?
I appreciate any help.
Thanks so much.
May 13th, 2009 at 1:22 pm
Hi. You said that the problem can be in the jack or the fuse. In either these cases, does the Power LED is ON? Thanks.
May 12th, 2009 at 4:18 pm
I have a Hp Laptop that will not turn on. I got it brand new and after a year it just went dead on me one night after leaving it on the bed running,. Im thinking that maybe it overheated and turned off because it did that before but this time its not turning back on. When i press the power button the led’s will turn on and the fan would spin but then it goes right back off. What could be the problem and how can i fix this ?
May 5th, 2009 at 9:59 pm
Amber,
It’s hard to tell if your jack is broken without looking at it.
1. This problem could be related to the power cable connected to the adapter plug. Maybe there is a short inside the cable and when you move the plug, you actually shorting wires inside the cable. Before you take apart the laptop, test the power adapter with a multimeter. Make sure the adapter outputs correct voltage even when you move the cable.
2. Is your jack soldered to the motherboard? In most cases you don’t have to replace the jack. You can fix the problem by resoldering the jack back to the motherboard.
May 3rd, 2009 at 8:38 pm
So, I happen to know the problem with my laptop. Somehow, the DC-in jack is loose and will only register the adapter if it’s pushed in a certain way. Does this mean the jack is completely broken, or can I fix this myself somehow? I don’t want to fool around with it unless I know I can fix it.
Thanks!
April 22nd, 2009 at 12:23 pm
Louise,
1. Turn off the laptop, unplug the adapter, remove the battery. Wait for a few minutes. Plug in the AC adapter and try turning it on.
2. I assume you tried replacing RAM with a known good module, so it’s not the RAM problem. Try removing DVD drive, hard drive, other devices you can access and start the laptop without them. If you still experience the same problem, apparently you have a bad motherboard or video card. I don’t know if in your laptop the video card is a discrete module or it’s integrated into the motherboard.
April 21st, 2009 at 10:28 pm
Hi, i have a Hi-Grade laptop with 2GB RAM. Recently it has been freezing completly and ctrl+alt+del wont work. So I’ve turned it off via the power button. But now it wont tun on at all. The power light and the wireless light stay on when the power button is pushed and the fan comes on. I have tried replacing the memory modules and stil the same problem. What else can i do? Also my data is not backed up because I was in the process of doing so.
April 21st, 2009 at 12:49 pm
Kaliy Tech,
Unfortunately I don’t have any tutorial on this topic (yet). First of all, you’ll have to find the fuse. It’s usually located close to the power jack. After that you test the fuse with a multimeter and if it’s open, replacing the fuse might help.
April 20th, 2009 at 10:03 pm
Hi.. do you have more information on how to replace the fuse on a motherboard ? I wasn’t even aware there was such a thing
Have a laptop in with no power whatsoever.. no lights.. no sounds..nothing. battery tests at 100% when pushed.. but doesn’t power at all. Thank you.
April 12th, 2009 at 8:52 pm
ken,
Could be just a failed power supply. Can you test your AC adapter with a voltmeter?
April 10th, 2009 at 6:38 pm
I have a gateway mx6214 laptop, i was plugged in using it one night and all of a sudden the charging to the unit stopped, it kept working but would no longer recognize the charger.Would a bad motherboard function properly like this or should i have the jack checked? Thanks in advance
February 24th, 2009 at 9:59 pm
Hector Cardenas,
It’s really hard to tell what’s going on with your laptop without testing it.
Does it turn on at all? Do you see any LED light flashing when you press on the power button or plug in the AC adapter? Do you see any sight of life at all?
February 18th, 2009 at 7:41 pm
I PURCHASED A DC HARNESS JACK FOR A PCG K45 SONY VAIO LAPTOP.ALSO ADDED A NEW BATTERY.PLUG IN FAN SPIN FOR 5 SECONDS MAYBE 10 AND THEN DIED.NOW NOTHING HAPPENS.ANY SUGGESTIONS?