Diagnosing PC Problems

Won’t power up No lights on computer

• Check power to computer. Test outlet with a lamp or outlet tester.
• If PC is on battery, plug charger into PC.
• Remove battery and run PC on charger.
• Unplug all devices from PC except charger.
• Test voltage from the charger with a voltmeter. If there is no voltage, either AC or DC, your charger is probably defective. The charger voltage will vary from manufacturer to manufacturer, but will usually be at least 14 volts or higher. At this point you will need to check with the manufacturer or find another charger exactly the same as yours to compare with.
• If there are still no lights, you are going to need to take the PC apart.

PC has some lights on, but won’t power up or stay up

• If PC has some lights on, but no display. Try a different display or connect to TV set with HDMI cable. If you have screen on TV or different display, there may be a backlight issue or the video card may have a problem.
• Check connections between PC and display. Look carefully at ends of cable. Check for bent pins.
• If problem is intermittent, it may be an overheating problem. Check cooling fans.
• Sometimes dust can block air flow. You may need to unplug PC and vacuum it out, being very careful not to pull on any cables or disturb anything.

Device Problems

• Make certain you are keeping your operating system up to date with the latest updates from Microsoft and other software vendors.
• Begin troubleshooting by determining what does not work or does not work correctly. Is the problem an issue with sound, mouse, keyboard, printer, etc.
• First thing to try is to reboot your system.
• If a device is not working, and it’s attached by a cable, try plugging it into a different port.
• If the device is wireless, go to the Windows settings, and look the the category your device is under. (Lower left, click on the Start button, then click on Settings) Settings is a great resource to troubleshoot your computer.