[SOLVED] Laptop powers on but no display

[tylermcfarland]

I am working on a Dell M5030 laptop right now that powers on but there is nothing on the display. You can hear the fan spin when you first turn the laptop on but then it stops spinning. Sometimes you can see the laptop display a black screen other times nothing. At one point there were a bunch of different colored lines and it kind of look like a TV in the old days when it lost signal. They were horizontal lines.

I have tried everything I can think of. I have reseated the RAM modules, taken the CMOS battery out for a minute or two and then put it back in, removed the hard drive and then put it back in, checked all connections, cleaned the dust out of the fan, etc. I have even tried hard resets and connecting the laptop to a monitor.

When I took the two RAM modules out and turned the machine on the laptop made a couple of beeps so I'm guessing there is still life in the motherboard? Have any of you ever seen a laptop with these symptoms and were you able to fix it?

 

[BrentfromZulu]

I'm confused, was there a signal when you connected to a monitor?

Do you have a spare AC Adapter? It also sounds like it might be really low on battery and will power on for a second. Or, disconnect the battery and use just the AC Adapter, to rule out the AC Adapter. I say that because I've seen plenty of Dell AC Adapters fail on me.

 

[tylermcfarland]

I'm confused, was there a signal when you connected to a monitor?

Do you have a spare AC Adapter? It also sounds like it might be really low on battery and will power on for a second. Or, disconnect the battery and use just the AC Adapter, to rule out the AC Adapter. I say that because I've seen plenty of Dell AC Adapters fail on me.

There was no signal when I connected the laptop to a monitor.

I tried both of those and it's not the battery or the AC adapter. The laptop does power on and the power light stays on it's just there's no activity on the screen and the fan isn't spinning.

 

[BrentfromZulu]

I would say try 1 stick of each stick of memory in each slot, pull the HDD, and try again. I believe in your post you said you tried it, but it failed. I would be curious if you ever got a signal on the external monitor, with 1 stick of ram.

Use air on the fans. I would assume that it wouldn't matter.

Long shot, but perhaps overheating. My wife's old dell was plugged in 24/7 and it overheated and BSOD'd. It needed to be unplugged without the battery for an hour or so, then it was fine. Again, really long shot.

 

[BrentfromZulu]

If that doesn't work I would then wager that it has a motherboard failure. This was a low end computer, and Dell isn't the best of companies when it comes to quality parts unless it says Latitude, XPS, Precision, or Vostro.

 

[HubCityPC]

Sounds like a failed graphics chipset. Probably unsoldered due to heat.

 

[shamrin]

...At one point there were a bunch of different colored lines and it kind of look like a TV in the old days when it lost signal. They were horizontal lines.

Sounds like a failed graphics chipset. Probably unsoldered due to heat.

...or failed video RAM.

 

[PcTestCard.com]

Try a reset and discharge on the laptop :

1. remove all power sources including power adapter and battery.
2. pressing the laptop power button over 15 seconds do not let go.
3. connect the power cord only and power on the laptop again.

Change the other working RAMs.

If still the same problem, we can try replace the mobo bios battery and check the GPU chips as well.

Hope this helps.
Bill
Tech Manager, WPTinc.

 

[Boston Pro Comp Serv LLC]

I'd try discharging it as well first. Then move on to removing all the devices you can to rule out a bad one. A bit of a long shot that a bad HDD or optical drive is keeping it from posting but possible. So really you pretty much want to take anything removable out, optical, HDD, wireless card, keyboard, etc etc and connect to an external, then start with a known good stick of ram and just try to get it to post. Sounds funny but I have seen failed keyboards stop laptops from posting, very rare yea but have seen it a handful of times.

 

[DataMedics]

Sounds like something is either shorted out, or bad RAM to me.

Try a fresh RAM module first in one slot, then in the other. (cuz it could be a bad slot too). If that doesn't help it's off to find the short circuit that's shutting it down.

 

[JustInspired]

Those new Dells are REALLY crappy. We've had quite a few in here with failed motherboards.
Don't forget to check and rule out damaged (shorted) USB ports too. I automatically do a visual check of the ports before doing any other troubleshooting.

 

[altrenda]

Try a reset and discharge on the laptop :

1. remove all power sources including power adapter and battery.
2. pressing the laptop power button over 15 seconds do not let go.
3. connect the power cord only and power on the laptop again.

Change the other working RAMs.

If still the same problem, we can try replace the mobo bios battery and check the GPU chips as well.

Hope this helps.
Bill
Tech Manager, WPTinc.

Has anyone ever had this fix anything? It's something we all try but I don't think I ever had it solve a problem.

 

[CompChris]

I have had about 2-3 of these Dell M5030 with the same issues as the op. If you do a google search you will see this is a common problem with M5030.

I have had one video chip that was able to be reballed and that worked (for how long who knows), the other couple had to change the video chips or motherboards. This laptop gets really hot it is poorly designed it always seems like the fan in lagging behind until it gets hot on this model, but best of luck getting this thing running.

Chris

 

[joseluisxp]

You Should check the LCD Connection but If you are not getting display to the external monitor sound like a bad Graphic Video Chip in that case you will need to replace the motherboard or send it to a electronic repair Shop they can fix it for 100$(Most of the Case do not worth it)

 

[AlaDes]

I have had about 2-3 of these Dell M5030 with the same issues as the op. If you do a google search you will see this is a common problem with M5030.



I have had one video chip that was able to be reballed and that worked (for how long who knows), the other couple had to change the video chips or motherboards. This laptop gets really hot it is poorly designed it always seems like the fan in lagging behind until it gets hot on this model, but best of luck getting this thing running.



Chris

I'm with Chris on this one. This particular model has a very bad reputation when it comes to the graphics chip failing. Usually, these models will simply give 7 beeps (commonly called the beep of death lol) a few seconds after being powered on. However, I have had one that actually shorted the charger out every time the charger was connected to the laptop (the charger resorted to no power until being unplugged from the power source). Personally, I'd ask your client if they want anything saved and tell them to buy a new laptop.

I usually throw these units into an enclosure (an old comforter works really well lol), turn them on, and allow them to run for about 15 minutes, which causes them to severely overheat. After allowing them to cool for about 30 minutes, I then try to power them on again. If they power on, it's definitely the graphics chip. And yes, I have had several to power on after doing this little trick. I just use it to confirm my suspicion of the graphics chip solder joints being bad. Just make sure if you try this to pull the batter and hard drive first.

 

[tylermcfarland]

I'm pretty sure the graphics chip is toast. Told customer it would be best at this point to just buy a new laptop. They figured it was a goner but wanted me to look at it just to be sure. Thanks for all your help everybody!