It takes a few minutes to boot my laptop to the desktop. I have to wait for a long time before I can run programs or open windows.

Possible cause:

1. Not enough memory installed.
2. Lots of software applications loading on startup.
3. Hard drive is failing.

Possible troubleshooting steps and repair solution:

First of all, take a look at the amount of memory installed into the laptop. It will take a long time to boot the laptop if  it doesn’t have enough memory. For running Windows XP I would suggest at least 512MB and for Windows Vista or Windows 7 at least 1GB in order to operate smoothly.

More applications you have loading on startup, more time it will take. If you not sure which application is causing the problem, you can back up all personal files and reinstall Windows from scratch. Most likely the laptop will run faster after a fresh install.

If the laptop is still slow, test the hard drive. It’s possible the hard drive is failing and has to be replaced. You can use hard drive diagnostic utilities found on Ultimate Boot CD (google UBCD). If the hard drive fails test, replace it with a new one and reinstall the operating system from the recovery disc or installation CD.

When the laptop is turned on, the screen remains completely black/blank and the cooling fan starts running at full speed. The fan runs at unusually high RPM until you power down the laptop.

Possible cause:

Motherboard failure.

Possible troubleshooting steps and repair solution:

Most likley this problem is related to the motherboard failure and the motherboard has to be replaced.

The laptop starts with a blue screen error after it was dropped.
The laptop turns on as normal, starts loading Windows, displays a blue screen error and reboots on its own.

Possible cause:

1. Memory module popped out from the slot.
2. Hard drive got disconnected from the motherboard.
3. Hard drive failed.

Possible troubleshooting steps and repair solution:

If the laptop stopped booting properly after it was dropped, check the memory modules first. It’s possible that one of the memory modules popped out and not making good contact with the memory slot. Try reconnecting both memory modules.

Also, take a look at the connection between the hard drive and motherboard. Make sure the hard drive is plugged all the way into the connector. It’s possible that the hard drive got partially disconnected from the motherboard.  Try reconnecting the hard drive.

It’s possible that the hard drive was damaged. Run hard drive diagnostic utility and if it fails test replace the hard drive.

After the laptop boots up, all you get is a black screen with the arrow. You can move the arrow but nothing else appears on the screen. There is no background picture or icons.

Possible cause:

Software corruption.

Possible troubleshooting steps and repair solution:

Most likely this problem is related to the software corruption. Here are a few things you can try in order to fix the problem.

1. Turn the laptop on and when the logo appears on the screen, press on the F8 key. Select Last Known Good Configuration from the boot options and press on the Enter key. It’s possible that after that the laptop will boot up back to the normal desktop.

2. Instead of Last Known Good Configuration select Safe Mode. If the laptop boots in Safe Mode, go to the System Restore and roll Windows back to one of the previous restore points.

How to access System Restore utility in Windows Vista:
Start menu >> All Programs >> System Tools >> System Restore

3. If using Last Known Good Configuration or System Restore doesn’t help, back up all personal files and reinstall Windows from scratch using laptop recovery discs or installation CD.

You can back up files using an exernal USB enclosure.
- remove hard drive from your laptop.
- install hard drive into the external USB enclosure.
- connect enclosure to another working computer.
- access hard drive from My Comptuer and back up all personal files.

In some cases this problem might occur when you have a failing hard drive. You can test the hard drive using diagnostic tests from the Ultimate Boot CD (google UBCD).

The image on the screen is very dark after the laptop fell of the desk. You still can see the desktop background picture and icons if you look very closely but the screen has no light.

Possible cause:

1. Video cable got disconnected from the screen inverter board.
2. Damaged backlight lamp inside the LCD screen.

Possible troubleshooting steps and repair solution:

1. It’s possible the screen is very dark because the video cable got disconnected from the screen inverter board. As a result, the backlight lamp gets no power from the inverter board and remains off even when the laptop is turned on. Disassemble the display panel and try reseating the video cable connectors on the inverter board.

2. If reseating the video cable connections doesn’t help, most likley the screen backlight lamp was damaged when the laptop fell off. The backlight lamp is located inside the LCD screen and it’s very hard to replace just the lamp. I would suggest replacing the entire LCD screen which comes with a new backlight lamp.

By the way, you still should be able to use the laptop with video output on the external monitor.

The laptop starts loading Windows, gives a blue screen error and reboots by itself. On the next start the same problem occurs again.

Possible cause:

1. Software related failure.
2. Faulty memory module.
3. Faulty hard drive.

Possible troubleshooting steps and repair solution:

Most likely this problem is related to corrupted software, memory module failure or hard drive failure.

1. Turn on the laptop and press the F8 key when logo appears on the screen. You’ll see the boot menu.
- Try using Last Known Good Configuration.
- Try boot the laptop in Safe Mode and if you can do that, go to the system restore and revert your system to the previous restore point.

2. Test laptop memory. As memory test utility you can use Memtest86+. If you are getting error messages, replace the faulty memory module.

3. Test laptop hard drive. You’ll find many different hard drive tests on the UBCD disc (Ultimate Boot CD). Just google UBCD. Replace the hard drive if it fails test.
I usually use Hitachi’s drive fitness test, it works well with many different brands. You’ll find this test on UBCD or just google Hitachi DFT.

4. If memory and hard drive passed test, try reinstalling the operating system from scratch.

No bootable device found or detected message appears on the screen when laptop starts.

Possible cause:

1. Hard drive disconnected from motherboard.
2. Hard drive is blank.
3. Failed hard drive.
4. Motherboard failure.

Possible troubleshooting steps and repair solution:

If no bootable device error message appears on startup, it means the laptop cannot see the hard drive, the hard drive is blank, the hard drive failed or the motherboard has a failed controller.

1. Access the hard drive and make sure it’s properly connected to the motherboard. Try reconnecting the hard drive. Remove the hard drive from the laptop and install back in. Test the laptop.

2. You can get this message after the hard drive replacement. You can see the error message because the hard drive is blank and the laptop cannot boot from this drive. Install the operating system from the laptop recovery disc or installation CD.

3. It’s possible you getting this error message because the hard drive failed.
Listen for the hard drive noises when the laptop starts. If the laptop doesn’t spin, most likely you have a failed hard drive.
Also, you can remove the hard drive from the laptop and test it in an external USB enclosure. Connect the enclosure to another working computer and try to access the drive.

4. If you can access the hard drive and it works fine when connected to another computer (via USB enclosure or hard drive adapter) but doesn’t work when installed into the laptop, most likely this is laptop motherboard related failure. Apparently the motherboard has a failed hard drive controller. In this case the motherboard has to be replaced.

The laptop switches on only when power plugged. When the laptop is unplugged and you press on the power button, nothing happens.

Possible cause:

1. Bad battery.
2. Motherboard failure.

Possible troubleshooting steps and repair solution:

This is either the battery or motherboard related problem.

1. Try reconnecting the battery. Remove it from the laptop and plug back in. Test the laptop again. It’s possible that the battery is not making good contact with the connector on the motherboard.

2. Try replacing the battery with a new one. The battery could be bad. Even if the battery is detected by the operating system and appears to be 100% charged, it still could be bad.

3. It the problem still exists even after replacing the battery, most likley it is related to the motherboard failure. You’ll have to replace the motherboard or use the laptop just on AC power.

The laptop turns on, starts loading Windows and freezes at the loading page. The only way to turn the laptop off is hard power down.

Possible cause:

1. Memory failure.
2. Corrupted software.
3. Hard drive failure.

Possible troubleshooting steps and repair solution:

This problem could be related to the memory failure. Here are some things you can try:
- Download and run Memtest86+ memory test. If you are getting errors, the laptop has bad memory.
- If you have only one memory module installed, try moving it into the empty slot and test the laptop. If the laptop still fails, try replacing the memory module.
- If you have two memory modules installed, remove them one by one and run Memtest86+ (Google it) with each module installed separately. Find the faulty module and replace it.

If reconnecting and replacing memory doesn’t help, this could be software related problem. Back up all personal files using an external USB enclosure and reinstall Windows from scratch.

There is a chance that you have faulty hard drive. Turn on the laptop and listen for sounds coming from the hard drive. If the hard drive makes repetitive clicking sounds before the laptop freezes, most likely you have a faulty hard drive. Replace the hard drive with a new one.

You can test the hard drive with utilities found on Ultimate Boot CD (Google it). Burn this utility on a CD, boot the laptop from the CD and run hard drive diagnostic utility.

When you start the laptop, there are lines running though the manufacturer’s logo. Windows will not load. Same lines running through the logo appear on the external monitor.

Possible cause:

Video card failure.

Possible troubleshooting steps and repair solution:

When you have lines running through the laptop logo on both internal and external screens, most likely the laptop has a failed video card.

If the video card is a discrete module, you can try reseating the card. Unplug it from the motherboard and plug back in. It’s possible this failure occurs because of bad connection between the video card and motherboard. If reconnecting the card doesn’t help, you’ll have to replace the video card.

In most laptops the video card is integrated into the motherboard and cannot be removed and replaced separately. If the video card fails, you’ll have to replace the whole motherboard.