Laptop computer problem??????

I was surfing IDA the other night on my Dell notebook. All of sudden the screen goes black, and three lights on the front of the laptop start flashing. The power cord was plugged in at the time. If I unplugged the cord, the lights would stop flashing, but it would not turn on. Plug the cord back in and the lights begin flashing… computer still doesn’t work.

Any ideas out there? I’ve had laptops for years, but I’ve never seen this happen before. Thanks,

Lars

The flashing lights most likely will be an indicator of what’s wrong with the laptop. Either call Dell or if you look for you manual it should tell you what the lights mean (your manual will also be online at Dell.com that you can download it). Most likely something over heated and died or you memory has come loose. The lights should tell you. #1 though is check your memory modules. Try reseating them, if you have two modules, remove one and/or then the other, typically only one will go bad and if removed it will work again. Try removing the battery and putting it back in (with the power cord removed).. Next is, it’s probably burned the motherboard or cpu.. happens, rarely, but happens. Any other connections or cards, try wiggling them for connection. If you’re not getting the initial Dell screen then something hardware wise is majorly wrong or has gone bad. Good luck!

I took the computer apart tonight, unplugged every thing I could, and put it back together again. Low and behold, it works again.

I didn’t even lose a screw.

Lars