Student-Contributed Wiki
An awesome team of students from our education program made this wiki.
The laptop will not respond or show any sign of powering up.
Turn the computer on and ensure that all parts are receiving power. Check that all cables are connected properly and are not frayed/damaged. Check that all ports/connectors are not damaged
The keys are resistant when pressed or do not feel natural when pressed down on.
There may be something stuck under the key. Use a compressed air duster to try to dislodge any physical material from under the key. If the air duster does not work, remove key and clean under it then snap the key back in place.
The keys may be physically pressed, but no action is taking place on the computer screen.
Check if the same issue occurs with an external keyboard. If that does not work, try the onscreen keyboard, then boot it in safe mode and try again. The issues may be due to a connected external keyboard/mouse that has been left on and in a position that has its keys being constantly pressed. Turn off your Bluetooth in the settings panel to see of this is the issue.
Computer will not turn on or crashes during the boot up.
If you hear 2 or 4 beeps when booting up your computer, this signifies an issue with the RAM. It may be insufficient and so you should install new/more RAM to resolve this.
The hard drive may be damaged from incorrectly shutting down the computer. To resolve this, you can use a windows DVD for the version you have and choose the “repair your computer” option and let it run by clicking “startup repair”.
There may be too much dust/build up on the air vents preventing cooling for the computer hardware. Use a compressed air duster to clear the blockage.
Apply a new strip of thermal paste over the original area.
The display is not turning on or there are issues with parts of the screen or color issues.
Use the LCD Built in Self-test (BIST) to determine whether this is an issue with the LCD. If the LCD is the problem, then have the LCD be replaced. The test will run a series of different colors and words on the screen. If the problem does not show up during the test, then the problem is not an issue with the LCD. To start the test, turn on/restart your computer. Press
The laptop is not functioning properly, and previous basic troubleshooting steps have not resolved the issue.
Use the built in Pre-Boot System Assessment (PSA) to identify the problem. To run PSA diagnostics press
to continue? (Recommended).” Will appear.
If you have memory issues, press
