Did you press the power button on your laptop and it doesn’t turn on? Did you try holding the button? Did you try again? You did, and your HP Laptop still didn’t turn on. Alright, don’t worry, I will help fix it.
There are a few frustrating tech hiccups than could be the cause when your laptop won’t turn on. However, you don’t have to think that your laptop has met an untimely death, as I will show you 6 ways to assess what’s wrong and possibly fix it.
If your laptop won’t power up, the cause could be a faulty power supply, failed hardware, or a malfunctioning screen. In the majority of cases, you may be able to resolve the problem yourself by ordering replacement parts or you can adjust your laptop’s configuration.
However, if your laptop is older, or if the problem is an expensive hardware issue, it could be the best time to buy a new laptop.
1. Check the power supply and battery
If the HP laptop won’t turn on even when plugged it is in. You can start by checking the power supply, as there are quite a few issues you could have with the power supply.
For example, the problem can simply be having the wrong charging cord which means you aren’t getting the proper voltage. Or it could be that the power supply has failed.
To test if the power supply is the issue, first, completely remove the laptop battery.
Then, plug the laptop into a functioning outlet.
Now, confirm the outlet is functioning properly by plugging another device into it. If your laptop works, the issue is not the outlet.
If you can power on the laptop without the battery installed, the issue is not the power supply, it lies in your battery.
You will mostly need to buy a new one, however, whilst you scour the market to buy one, you can use AC power only.
Don’t worry it is perfectly fine to use your laptop without the battery installed, all it means is that you will always have to be plugged into an outlet to be able to use it.
CMOS battery
Another possible solution to test is to replace the CMOS battery which stores the BIOS settings in the motherboard. This can especially be the root of the problem if you are running an older laptop that is off a lot or used with the main battery removed. Thankfully, a new CMOS battery is very budget-friendly to replace.
Note – Make sure the cables are properly connected. Yes, you might say this is obvious, however, most issues with a laptop that won’t turn on stem from a power supply issue. So, a loose or unplugged power cable means your computer is not getting the power it needs.
2. Screen issues?
If the power supply is working, then sadly you have to troubleshoot further.
First, you need to disconnect all of the nonessential external display devices, for example, projectors as well as monitors to make sure they are not interfering with the startup processes of the laptop.
If the power button is lit and you can hear the fans, however, there is no image being displayed. Then, turn out the lights to see if there is an image being displayed faintly.
If you can see a very faint image once your turn off the lights, it signifies that the screen’s inverter has failed and you will have to replace it.
If not, your brightness button might be broken.
If the laptop does start but there is no image, then the LCD panel could be broken. If your laptop is an older model, it might make more sense to simply replace the laptop.
3. Remove all devices connected to the Laptop
If you have left a memory card, DVD, or USB drive in the laptop, it could be a reason why the laptop doesn’t power on. The laptop might be getting “stuck” because the BIOS may be trying to boot from a removable storage device. So, remove all USB drives as well as other devices and try to boot up your computer.
4. Rescue disc for the rescue
A rescue disc gives you the ability to boot your computer and fix any issues you might be having with a Windows operating system. If a virus happens to be the culprit behind your laptop’s problems, the rescue disc will find it via scanning tools, this will help you remove the offending malware
5. Safe mode
If your HP laptop won’t turn on you can mostly still be able to get your laptop working in safe mode. Safe mode allows you to uninstall new programs or drivers that could be affecting the laptop, it allows you to create a new user account if the original account is corrupted.
6. Check the hardware
The last step in this diagnosing power issues article is to check your hardware. If you have recently installed hardware such as a new RAM kit, that could be the cause of the boot issues. Try to remove and reinstall your new hardware, then try to boot again.
Unfortunately, sometimes the hardware in your laptop, for example, your hard drive simply fails, and this is not an easy fix. How to find out if your hard drive has failed? If you hear a clicking noise or the drive spinning but then powers down, is a telltale sign. In most cases, this means you have to replace your hard drive, no workarounds for this.
An external hard drive helps you to back up any files you may need.
So, what’s the conclusion of the diagnosis? Repair or Replace your HP Laptop?
You might think “Why won’t my laptop turn on?” is intimidating to figure out the problem.
If you find that your laptop won’t turn on, don’t panic, it is more likely to be a power supply issue that you can troubleshoot and fix. Say it happens to be a more complicated issue, there are still budget-friendly ways to test and assess the problem.
If all else fails, a new laptop might be the answer you’re searching for.
