Problem:

What to do if my notebook doesn't POST?



Solution:


Before deciding that the computer is dead and sending it for repairs, try the following things. First, make sure that the computer indeed doesn't POST. If you can get into BIOS and change boot setings etc. it's probably just a Windows / bootsector / HDD problem. In that case, see Windows no longer starts! How can I fix it? and I want to wipe the Master Boot Record / wipe my HDD clean!.

If you are sure it's a POST problem, apply the following "cold restart" procedure which will restart your notebook if it suffered from a temporary glitch or bad peripherals:
Remove all the peripherals (USB ports, firewire, video out, eSATA, everything).
Remove the battery and unplug from the mains.
Press the power button a few times, and keep it pressed each time for 5 to 15 seconds.
Plug in the mains (not the battery).
Try to boot and get into the BIOS.

If it starts fine after this procedure, it was just a temporary glitch. If it still doesn't boot (and you feel up to it):
Remove the HDD.
If you have two chips of RAM, remove one of them at a time.
Remove the ODD.
Remove any other removable components such as components connected on the miniPCI port (like WiFi).
Try to boot and get into the BIOS with each such configuration.

If removal of one of these peripherals (HDD / one of the RAM chips / the ODD / miniPCI) causes the computer to start booting again, it's clear: that peripheral was the cuplrit.

A common cause for computer death is a bad or interrupted BIOS flash. If the death occurs just after you flash the BIOS, it's almost sure to be the cause. Such a situation can be reverted without exchanging hardware, but usually only by computer repair professionals.

If your computer doesn't start after all the steps above, then I'm afraid you have a dead motherboard or some other non-user-removable component, and you need to send the laptop for repairs.