Picking a laptop over a computer is a natural choice in certain situations. It is significantly lighter, allowing you to easily travel with it without feeling overburdened. Because of how compact laptops are, you can easily fit one in the most cramped bedrooms without the risk of making the entire space seem cluttered. Other than that, laptops are much smaller and arguably less potent, meaning that the amount of power they consume tend to be significantly smaller.
However, unlike in a regular computer, you do not have easy access to a laptop’s components, so determining why something suddenly stopped working and fixing the issue might be kind of difficult. Fortunately, there are some universal steps that you can take to try to resolve the problem.
Your first move should always be checking if the power adapter is plugged in and whether it is undamaged. If that is not the cause of your issue, try to check if the battery is properly installed and charging. Next, you might want to determine if your display is at fault here. If nothing of the above seems to be the cause, visiting your local computer repair store is always a viable option. So, read the tips below and discover what to do when your laptop refuses to work!
Check the Power Adapter
Before you even think about doing anything else, you want to make sure that your power adapter is plugged in. You might be surprised by how easy it is to mistake a laptop simply running out of power for a major issue, particularly if you are tired and forgot to plug it in in the first place.
If your laptop is plugged in, it might be that your house has experienced a power surge and you simply did not notice. The easiest way to determine whether it is the source of the problem is to turn on the lights and other grid-connected devices. If nothing seems to be working, your laptop is definitely not at fault.
Lastly, try to determine whether the power adapter’s plug is intact and nothing obstructs the pins inside. Sometimes, a speck of dust can block the physical connection between the laptop and the charger, or the pins themselves may be too heavily bent for the adapter to work correctly. In such a case, ordering a new power adapter from the manufacturer should solve the issue.
Determine If the Battery Is Working as Intended
Laptop batteries degrade over time and stop working after a certain number of charges, just like any other kind of battery. In addition, the battery might not be properly installed. If you suspect that the battery is at fault here, check whether your laptop is charging properly whenever you connect it to a power adapter. You should be able to do that by checking the LED light somewhere on your device. If it lights up, it means that the laptop is charging properly and you should be able to use it after a few minutes.
If it does, then there is a chance that your battery simply died while the laptop was unplugged. Getting yourself a better one, whether original or a substitute should extend the laptop’s battery life significantly. If you are on a limited budget, check out the Dell discount codes!
Check If You Can See Anything on the Screen
If nothing is happening on your laptop, but the power adapter and battery seem fine, you might be dealing with a display problem. The first thing you want to do is try to turn off your laptop and then turn it back on. If this does not work, you might want to try connecting your laptop to an external monitor. If you can see something on the external display, your laptop either needs a different screen or a different graphics card. Alternatively, you might be dealing with a software issue, such as outdated drivers.
If Nothing Seems to Work, Consider Contacting a Specialist
If you tried everything mentioned above and nothing worked, you might want to visit a computer repair shop. They will first determine whether your laptop is still under warranty. If it is, you might get it repaired for free. If it is not, you might be looking at a hefty bill for replacing the damaged hardware inside. Depending on the price, you might want to consider buying a new one. After all, if your laptop stops working out of the blue, it might be the result of years of wear and tear, so chances are it will break down again in the near future. A new one, on top of being in pristine condition, will be under warranty, which means that you will not have to worry about unexpected expenses if it does happen to break down.
In Conclusion
Laptops, even more than regular computers, are prone to breaking down. Their compact size and smaller components mean that they lack the protection of a regular personal computer. While you have the ability to do the same things with a laptop that you can do with a desktop PC, it will be harder for you to repair it if something goes wrong. Therefore, knowing what to do when your laptop suddenly stops working is crucial. With the tips listed above, you should be able to identify the most basic issues on your own. If not, you can always visit a local computer repair centre and let them take care of the problem for you. Good luck!