All laptop USB ports stopped working at once. Laptop stopped recognizing any USB device plugged into any USB port.

Possible cause:

1. Software problem.
2. USB controller failure.

Possible troubleshooting steps and repair solution:

1. Uninstall all USB related entries in the device manager. Restart the laptop and let it re-detect USB ports and install drivers. Test USB ports. If it doesn’t help, move to the next step.

2. Back up all personal files and reinstall Windows from scratch. It possible that all USB ports stopped working because some system files got corrupted.

3. If reinstalling Windows from scratch doesn’t help, most likely this is hardware related failure. Apparently, the motherboard has a failed USB controller. If that’s the case, the whole motherboard has to be replaced.

Alternatively, you can use an external PCMCIA USB card. You plug this card into the PC slot and get 2 or 4 USB ports instead.

When you push on the power button, the power light on the laptop turns on but the screen shows no image. The laptop screen remains black and blank. Video on the external monitor also not working even though it used to work fine before.

Possible cause:

1. Memory failure.
2. Video card failure.
3. Motherboard failure.

Possible troubleshooting steps and repair solution:

1. Try reconnecting memory modules, maybe one of them is not making good contact with the memory slot.
Try removing memory modules one by one. Maybe one of the memory modules is bad. The laptop might start properly when the faulty memory module is removed.

If you have only one memory module, try moving it to another slot. Maybe the slot itself is bad.

Try replacing memory module with another known good module.

2. If you have a discrete video card, which is not common, there could be a problem with the video card.

First, try reconnecting the video card to the motherboard. Maybe connection between the video card and motherboard is bad.
If reconnecting the video card doesn’t help, try replacing it.

3. In most newer laptops the video card integrated into the motherboard. If the video card fails, you’ll have to replace the motherboard.

If playing with memory modules (as explained in step 1) didn’t help, most likely there is a problem with the motherboard and it has to be replaced.

Spontaneously the laptop screen will “freeze” the current image and then slowly turn white with some faint gray blotches. If I move the top of the laptop toward me, sometimes the image comes back to normal. If I move it backward, then the image freezes and goes white again. The laptop works fine with the external monitor.

Possible cause:

1. Bad connection between video cable and LCD screen.
2. LCD screen failure.

Possible troubleshooting steps and repair solution:

First of all, try reconnecting the video cable on the back of the LCD screen. It’s possible that video cable is not making good contact with the LCD screen.

If reconnecting the cable doesn’t help, most likely this is LCD screen failure. Apparently there is a faulty component or solder joint on the screen controller board. In this case the LCD screen has to be replaced with a new one.

After upgrading the hard drive it’s not detected by the laptop BIOS. The hard drive doesn’t appear in the BIOS.

Possible cause:

1. Hard drive is not connected properly.
2. Hard drive not supported.
3. Bad hard drive.

Possible troubleshooting steps and repair solution:

1. Make sure the hard drive is properly connected to the motherboard. Try reconnecting the hard drive. Find out if the hard drive appears in the BIOS after reconnecting.

2. Enter the BIOS setup menu and load default settings. Safe settings and restart the laptop. There is a chance that your new hard drive will be detected after that.

3. If you installed a larger hard drive, make sure it’s supported by the laptop. Some older laptops will not support large hard drives. In some cases, a larger hard drive will be supported after you upgrade laptop BIOS to the latest version.
Upgrade the BIOS if needed.

4. Try installing the old hard drive. If the old drive is detected but the new one is not, it’s possible that your new hard drive is defective.

The laptop starts with a blue screen error after memory upgrade.

Possible cause:

1. Memory not seated correctly.
2. Bad memory module.
3. Bad memory slot on motherboard.

Possible troubleshooting steps and repair solution:

I assume that you are using the right memory type and size for your laptop.

1. It’s possible the memory module was installed incorrectly. Try reconnecting the module. Remove it from the slot and install back. Test the laptop.

2. Check out all contacts on the memry module. Make sure all contacts are clean. Take a look into the memory slot. Make sure there is no junk inside the memory slot.

3. If you installed new memory module instead of the old one, try installing the old memory module back and test the laptop. If the laptop works fine with the old module but not the new one, it’s possible that your new memory module is defective. You can test memory with Memtest86+ utility (google it).

4. If you installed new memory module into the emptly slot, it’s possible that the slot itself is defective. Move the new memory module into another slot and test the laptop. If the laptop works fine when installed into the second slot, the first memory slot could be bad. In this case you’ll have to replace the motherboard or use the laptop with only one memory module installed into the good slot.

One half of the laptop screen is completely black. The second half of the screen works properly.

Possible cause:

LCD screen failure.

Possible troubleshooting steps and repair solution:

If one half of the laptop screen stopped working but the second half still works properly, this is LCD screen failure.

The LCD screen cannot be fixed at home. You’ll have to remove the failed screen and replace it with a new one.

The laptop shuts down on its own when playing games. All other time it works fine.

Possible cause:

Laptop overheats.

Possible troubleshooting steps and repair solution:

Most likely the laptop shuts down while running games because it overheats. When you run a game, you push the CPU to the limit and it generates a lot of heat. If the laptop cooling module (fan and heat sink) is clogged with dust, the laptop will overheat and shut down.

Make sure the cooling module is clean. Remove dust using canned air or air compressor.
Apply fresh thermal paste on the processor if needed.

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.

The laptop shuts down while installing Windows. The installation process runs fine for a while but after some time the laptop shuts down on its own. Same problem happens if you start the installation process again.

Possible cause:

1. Laptop overheating.
2. Memory failure.

Possible troubleshooting steps and repair solution:

It’s possible that the laptop shuts down on its own because of overheating. Take a look inside the cooling module. If the cooling fan and heat sink are dirty and clogged with dust, clean it with compressed air. After the cooling module is cleaned, try installing the operating system again.

Also, this problem could be related to the memory failure. Test laptop memory with Memtest86+ utility. If it fails test, replace the memory module.

If you have two memory modules installed in the laptop, remove them one by one and try installing Windows with only one memory module in place. If one of the memory modules is bad, the installation process will run smoothly when this module is removed.

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.