Troubleshoot a Laptop Motherboard & CPU
After you've been using your laptop computer for several months or years you may find that its screen appears blank when you turn it on or that it simply will not power on at all, which may indicate a dead motherboard or processor. While troubleshooting the parts of a laptop is a more difficult process than for a desktop, it can still be done with a standard set of tools in your kitchen or home office.
Instructions
1. Check your physical connections first to ensure the problem isn't with your electrical outlet or power cable. Plug the laptop into a separate outlet and try an extra power cable to verify if your laptop will turn on at all. Remove the battery from the laptop by pressing down on the battery release latch and pulling it out. Wait a few minutes and put it back in. Attempt to turn the laptop on again and see if it will then power on.
2. Shine a flashlight on the LCD screen and check for faint images if the power comes on but there is no clear image on the screen. If faint images appear, the back light bulb needs to be replaced. Remove the battery and then pull the rubber stoppers off the screen. Remove the screws under the rubber stoppers and then pull off the plastic piece underneath the screen. Remove the hinges holding the screen cover into place and pull it off. Remove any remaining screws to fully remove the laptop screen. Pull out the metal or plastic tube holding the back light bulb and replace it with a new one.
3. Connect a normal desktop monitor into the appropriate port on your laptop, such as a serial, DVI, S-Video or USB port. Power the laptop on and watch to see if an image appears on the separate monitor. Take the laptop to a repair center to have its inverter board replaced if you can see an image in the separate monitor. Unplug the external monitor if no image is appearing at all.
4. Take out the laptop's battery. Remove the large plastic piece in between the keyboard and the top half of the monitor by pushing a flat object such as a screwdriver head in between its hinges and then pry it up and down. Disconnect the cable attached to the motherboard. Take out all of the screws holding the keyboard and screen hinges in place and then pull them out. Check for any obvious damage to the internal components such as from a spilled liquid. Use canned air to spray out any dust or debris that are covering any parts.
5. Remove all of the screws and pull out of the parts such as the hard drive and graphics card. Pull out the motherboard. Set the motherboard down and plug the external monitor directly into it's appropriate port. Plug the power cable into the power supply and then press the power button on the motherboard. Wait to see if the processor fan turns on at all. Replace the motherboard all together if the fan will not turn on.
6. Replace the processor if the fan turns on but the laptop will still not display anything on the external screen.
Tags: power cable, then pull, your laptop, appropriate port, back light