fix or ditch- another dead laptop(?)

wolfehouse

dd's 4 year old dell laptop just suddenly switched itself off - totally blank screen and nothing she does seems to convince it to turn back on.

having someone even look at it will be expensive, i'm thinking.
would it be cheaper in the long run just to replace with new (no data she needs on it), or is there an easy way to check for simple glitches first?

thanks for any ideas.

deanos

have you checked the power supply or battery ?

wolfehouse

are laptop batteries interchangeable? otherwise how can i check it without buying a new battery?

Sully316

Batteries on laptops tend to go after 4 years or there abouts dependent on usage. I took a guess on mine and I was right. However two months later I slipped down the stairs at home and broke it

espresso

Have you tried it with the battery removed?

coolagarry

Sully316 wrote: »

Batteries on laptops tend to go after 4 years or there abouts dependent on usage. I took a guess on mine and I was right. However two months later I slipped down the stairs at home and broke it

Sods law :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

wolfehouse

it doesn't work with the power cable in the mains, so my guess is it isn't the battery.

Browntoa

battery can stop everything if it's died totally , but sounds more like the motherboard

aqueoushumour01

mine started to switch off due to over heating - does the laptop get very hot? I bought a cooler pad to put underneath the laptop and although it's still warm it doesn't overheat

culpepper

It might be the power socket has come unseated inside the laptop. Mine was like that and I resoldered it ,which worked for a while then eventually I bought a replacement socket from the internet for about £5 (you need to check for the correct one)and replaced the old one. It took a bit of looking up online and I had to learn how to desolder and solder but it was worth it.
So far so good.
It might be worth it jto take it apart and just look anyway.
If your mains power supply works it may have a little light on it, mine does ,so if that lights up, it definitely sounds like something actually in the computer.

vyseyboy

wolfehouse wrote: »

it doesn't work with the power cable in the mains, so my guess is it isn't the battery.

To be sure it isn't the battery thats gone, you should try the lappy with the battery removed (i.e empty space underneath) and plugged into the mains.

What espresso was trying to say is that even if it's plugged into the mains, a dead battery can often stop power getting to the components.