Laptop not switching on

M

MS90

New Member
Hello,

I've had my Acer Aspire 5536 for 2 years now and never had any problems with it. However, recently strange things began to happen. When I switch it off and leave for the night it won't start in the morning. I switch it on, there's that blue light telling you it's on, but nothing happens - the screen is black, no other leds are on (like the one indicating hard drive is working). I can hear the laptop working (I don't know if it's the fan working queitly or something else) but that's it, nothing else. However long I wait, nothing else happens, which I think means that it's not the screen that's not working - the laptop is just not doing anything. There isn't even that Acer logo that always pops up at the beginning.

I then switch it off and on again (up to 10 times) and at some point it will start normally. Once I've managed to get it to work, there are no problems doing what I usually do (videos, Skype etc. - everything works fine). It only once happened that I got that blue screen telling me the memory was being saved and the laptop would reboot. I guess it may be because of that constant switching on and off.

I should mention that it can also happen when I put it into the sleeping mode - after I press anything to switch it back on, there's only black screen and quiet sound of computer 'working'.

The other day I shook the laptop gently (I was fed up with waiting endlessly for it to start working) and when I managed to get it to start there were some 'scratches' on the screen (like when you overclock your graphics card) - but it only happened back then.

I would be very grateful if somebody could suggest what the possible problem could be. It seems really strange to me and I am wondering whether it's worth handing it over to specialists (who'll charge a lot) or whether I should be looking for a new laptop...

Cheers,
MS
 
Last edited:
You aren't by chance keeping the laptop plugged in all the time are you? If so, thats not a good idea. I've seen too many laptops being damaged by keeping them plugged in 24/7. Other than that, you may want to try resetting the cmos by removing the battery and then remove the cmos battery if you can find it and then press and hold the power button for 30 seconds. Then reinsert cmos battery, reinsert battery and try turning on.
 
Thanks for your reply. No, I never keep it plugged in when I'm not using it unless the battery is being recharged.

I will try to find the battery you mentioned - will I have to get a screwdriver and open the laptop? I have also tried loading the BIOS default settings - does it not have the same effect as what you described?

Cheers
 
johnb35 said:
You aren't by chance keeping the laptop plugged in all the time are you? If so, thats not a good idea. I've seen too many laptops being damaged by keeping them plugged in 24/7. Other than that, you may want to try resetting the cmos by removing the battery and then remove the cmos battery if you can find it and then press and hold the power button for 30 seconds. Then reinsert cmos battery, reinsert battery and try turning on.
Click to expand...

why does keeping it plugged in damage it? i have had my new one plugged in since i got it
 
Not sure how it happens but I've seen it. Everytime I am asked to work on a laptop that won't power up or won't stay on, I ask them if they leave it plugged in all the time and most of the time, the answer is yes.

1. Kills the battery faster
2. Laptop usually runs hotter from constantly charging the battery.

It's always best to only have it plugged in while its charging.
 
What if the power goes out Jonny? Why not just only plug it in when its needs charged and not worry about it? Simple enough.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top