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What the ? Laptop

Minkey

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I switched on my laptop this morning and it made its usual whirring start up noise and then nothing and I have been looking at a blank screen ever since, does this mean it had died? It has been on charge but has made no difference?

Any suggestions on a fix or do I need a new laptop?
 

andyBeaker

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I switched on my laptop this morning and it made its usual whirring start up noise and then nothing and I have been looking at a blank screen ever since, does this mean it had died? It has been on charge but has made no difference?

Any suggestions on a fix or do I need a new laptop?
I may have the terminology wrong (it's a long, long time since I have done it!) but you can try starting it in 'safe mode' - essentially Windows only runs the essentials. Again from memory you do this by holding f5 down while starting - but it is probably different on different brand laptops - try a google search to find the key for your laptop. You should be offered the option of a 'repair' selection at some point.

However, as a first step I would take the battery out of the laptop and leave it to,screw for a while then try again.

They move in mysterious ways......
 

Stevebrooke

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It depends on the age of the device but my guess is your HDD has gone breasts to the top. I’ve had a couple fail after about 4 to 5 years.
 

Cougar377

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How old is the laptop Minkey and what make/model..?
 

Squag1

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I had a hard drive go bad but computer tech managed to retrieve files I wanted.
 

andyBeaker

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I had a hard drive go bad but computer tech managed to retrieve files I wanted.
I had a laptop I die on me totally - got a caddy for the hard drive off eBay and it worked fine when plugged into a USB on another laptop. Very easy to do, costs a few quid....but only if the hard drive is working,
 

andyBeaker

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my laptop is a HP and is 8 years old
If it were mine I would try and start it while holding f5 down - pretty sure that worked on my HP Pavilion. If it isn't f5 you won't do any damage.
 

Pow-Lo

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I’m not brilliant with Windows machines. However, what I will say is that whatever you do, do not, DO NOT, under any circumstances take it to PC World. If you decide to bite the bullet and have someone look at it, ask one of your mates or check your local rag for a decent independent. PC W will bugger it beyond recognition and prolly give you back a burnt out toaster. Idiots.
 

andyBeaker

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my laptop is a HP and is 8 years old
Let us know how you get on Minkey.

If you are still drawing a blank we need to figure out if it is a hardware or software problem.

It might be as simple as a screen failure - an easy diy fix for not many pennies.
 

derek kelly

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Let us know how you get on Minkey.

If you are still drawing a blank we need to figure out if it is a hardware or software problem.

It might be as simple as a screen failure - an easy diy fix for not many pennies.
The screen failed on Bev’s previous laptop, took it to a recommended repair shop, he quoted £150 if it was what he thought it was, I have no idea what he thought it was as I opted to buy her a new laptop for £250.
 

Cougar377

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my laptop is a HP and is 8 years old

8 years is good going for a laptop. Chances are it's going to cost you the thick end of a new one to repair.


Assuming that you've tried it with and without mains power and it doesn't boot either way, then here's the most likely reasons for it's demise:

Battery is dead - Some laptops can be booted up on mains only, so if you're not getting power to the laptop from mains then unplug it, remove the battery and connect it to mains again. If it boots then the battery is kaput.

Hard drive is dead - if the laptops power light comes on when it's connected to mains, but the hard drive doesn't spin up, then the hard drive is probably shot. It can be difficult to tell whether it's the cooling fan or the hard drive that's vibrating - a fan will make a consistent noise/vibration, whereas the spin vibration from a hard drive varies (especially at the very start of bootup). A suspect hard drive will cut off very suddenly almost immediately that it starts to spin up - sometimes all you hear is a clicking sound.

Dead screen - Some older laptops won't boot if they can't display anything to the screen. There are two things that could cause this - graphics chipset is buggered, or the screen is shot. The best way to test this is to plug in a monitor (assuming that you or someone you know has one handy). If nothing displays then the chipset may be shot. This would mean a new motherboard.

Motherboard is dead - if the laptop power light doesn't come on when it's connected to mains then the motherboard could be shot.

Memory has become dislodged - bit of a rare one, but it's possible that one or more memory sticks has become dislodged from it's clip. They are usually found on the underside of the laptop and behind a small cover held in place by a couple of screws (some laptops don't have this cover though and you would have to take it apart). The memory sticks slide into long thin sockets and are clipped in at either end by springy bits of metal that fit into small grooves. If you're even contemplating doing this yourself then make sure that you have the laptop plugged into the mains AND the wall socket switch is defintely switched OFF (this acts as an earth so that you don't accidently zap the memory sticks with static).


Apart from the battery, the rest are going to be pricey to fix if you take it to a shop . i.e. 50% and upwards of the price of a new mid-range laptop.

As Pow-lo said earlier - wherever you go, steer clear of PC World. I wouldn't trust them to sit the right way on a bog seat.
 

andyBeaker

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If the screen is bajaxed I got a replacement off eBay for not very much - seem to recall itwas about £15 - and it really is simple to replace. Youtube is your friend.

If......
 

Cougar377

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If the screen is bajaxed I got a replacement off eBay for not very much - seem to recall itwas about £15 - and it really is simple to replace. Youtube is your friend.

If......

Beware. Lots of cheap, nasty Chinese knock-offs on Ebay.
 

Cougar377

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Mine was a cheap nasty knock off and it has lasted longer than the original did!,

Not so long ago you could get decent replacement screens for all sorts of kit, not just laptops. These days Ebay is unfortunately flooded with cheap and badly manufactured screens.
 

noobie

Clueless in most things
did you have a password sign in set up or was it just a power on and it fired up?

I ask as if it was the latter, you should be able to use a double ended usb lead from another to yours, and then use the other one to recover anything you need onto the other one. This normally works if it is just a screen issue.
 

Jaws

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my laptop is a HP and is 8 years old
Remove any power to it and make sue it is turned off
Plug the power cable in.
Turn on, and immediately press and hold F10
Let us know what happens
 

Minkey

Ok it was me
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Remove any power to it and make sue it is turned off
Plug the power cable in.
Turn on, and immediately press and hold F10
Let us know what happens
Remove any power to it and make sue it is turned off
Plug the power cable in.
Turn on, and immediately press and hold F10
Let us know what happens

nothing happened
 

Minkey

Ok it was me
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Thanks for all the advice I did manage some how to get it going took everything I could off it shut it down and it has gone back to a blank screen. as I'm not as tech savvy as some of the people on here I think it will have to be a new one
 
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