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My Laptop won`t switch on - Help !

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shutter
Community Veteran
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Registered: ‎06-11-2007

My Laptop won`t switch on - Help !

Came downstairs this morning, and as usual, on passing my laptop on the way to the kitchen, pressed the ON button, and proceeded to make brekky.... laptop booted up as normal... used it for about an hour, then had to go out, so shut down in normal manner...

 

Just got back home,... pressed the ON button, and nothing happens...no light to say power is on.. Switch "feels" lower than usual....


Checked the PSU output. and it is showing 19.6v on my multi-meter...

 

so,.  am assuming that th ON/OFF switch has gone duff on me.... anyone had this problem, with a

 

Dell Inspiron 5558 Laptop?   how easy/difficult do you think the job would be to get at the switch..( there seems to be some convenient screws on the base of the casing.)

 

Any suggestions for sourcing a new on off switch? ( Even consider one externally wired and stuck on the underside of casing as it is not a "portable" unit.. and has the hinge area lifted by a slat of wood to increase airflow underneath) .

 

P1060379.JPGtop left corner (under power button)Bottom left cornerbottom right cornertop right cornerPower button

8 REPLIES 8
shutter
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Re: My Laptop won`t switch on - Help !

Well I did a search on Youtube... and found this. a 30 minute video of someone doing the job...

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrhbgpV5RKQ

 

Which seems to show quite and involved process to get at the switch.. something I will probably have to leave for someone else.. and probably cost me about £50 to get fixed.

 

ReedRichards
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Re: My Laptop won`t switch on - Help !

  1. It's almost never the on/off switch.  In over 10 years of fixing computers I have seen only one where the on/off switch had actually failed.
  2. The on/off switch just connects two wires.  If you can access the back of the switch and short the two wires connecting it together (with the end of a screwdriver?) you can test your hypothesis.  
shutter
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Re: My Laptop won`t switch on - Help !

@ReedRichards  Thanks for your comment.... I have actually followed another on line tutorial.. and it is "relatively " simple to follow... there are loads of little screws... so I used a sheet of paper, and some blobs of blue tack... wrote down the "step" number  next to the blob, with a short description of where the screws came from,... and it went back together ok... unfortunately, the switch did not work...

Testing the little "pushbutton" on the small pcb it seemed to "click" as it should do, but when in position, under the plastic button on the keyboard.. there does not seem to be any movement of the button onto the switch itself.. I did check for "free movement" of the plastic button.. which seemed to be ok as well.. I have ordered a new one on Ebay.. to arrive on Tuesday.. but meantime I will have another go, and see if I can make the button return properly ( it is kinda sunk in the keyboard surround area).. and maybe find small bit of plastic to stick to the underside of the button to make contact with the switch mechanically on the pcb.

If that fails to make it operate by Tuesday, and the new one also does not work, then I shall revert to plan B with an external wired switch.

 

as for shorting the switch with a screwdriver, the tutorial says you have to remove the battery, and the HDD , disconnect & remove the WIFI board, and disconnect the speakers,... Oh yeah... and disconnect & remove the keyboard.. so I `m not sure if it would accept any Power.. either from the mains, or the battery if it was replaced, with all those disconnected..

rongtw
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Re: My Laptop won`t switch on - Help !

i may be a bit late , But some laptops wont start with a dead battery even if AC charger plugged in

Did you check battery for life ?? 

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shutter
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Re: My Laptop won`t switch on - Help !

@rongtw  Yeah... done the usual... remove battery... discharge any static, by pressing the on/off button for 30 secs.. replace battery... no start...

 

This machine would run without a battery, so a dead battery would present no problem.. also the machine is plugged in and battery is on full charge all the time..  ... it is a "static" laptop, so really could remove the battery and still use it.

 

Have ordered a new switch part, due to arrive on Tuesday.. If that doesn`t work, then I`ll be in the market for another laptop ! !.

billnotben
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Re: My Laptop won`t switch on - Help !

On my old Toshiba Tecra the switch "broke" a couple of times. It was because when I last dismantled it I had damaged the flip up lock thingy on the ribbon connector on the motherboard. A big of sticky tape held the ribbon in place fine. It was never the actual switch it was just the ribbon connecting to the switch.

Are there any alternatives to the on switch? On the tosh there were three or four small buttons labelled something like help / select and pressing one of those would start the machine up to a sort of multi select screen.

ReedRichards
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Re: My Laptop won`t switch on - Help !


@shutter wrote:

 

...This machine would run without a battery, so a dead battery would present no problem.. 

 


Unless the dead battery acts like a short circuit and prevents power getting to your machine.  For that matter, the fact that the open circuit voltage output from your mains adaptor is normal is not a hard and fast indicator that it still works properly under load.

shutter
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Re: My Laptop won`t switch on - Help !

Fix

UPDATE !... the replacement switch pcb arrived today... cost just under £20 inc postage.. had to compare it to the original, as it has some "folds" in it, for passing through the chassis at various angles.. so did that bit first.

Followed a PDF version of the removal of all th screws. etc.  and replaced the old switch unit with the new one... had much swearing and fiddling trying to get the two tiny WIFI wire connectors to seat properly, and stay there, as I put the wifi card back in position.... originally, it took one go... but this time.. it took about 20 minutes of fiddling about, before I managed to get it in place.

put all the other bits and pieces back. and pressed the on off button on the keyboard... nice click sound !.. but no light up !  Boo Hoo..  so off comes the keyboard.. ( its only a clip on thing. ) and just underneath in the centre of the top row is where the on/off cable connector is... played about trying to get the new one into a proper position,  and replaced the battery... pressed the on/off button... EUREKA !.. it works again..

so  Happy Chappy... !..

I`ve got 3 or 4 small screws left over, if anyone is short of the required number ! ! ! !..  ( 3 of them hold the HDD in. and I`ll get around to putting them back,....... some time.. !   the other one just would not go back in place ! )