Computer Crashed---Need Help

self | August 14, 2016 | PJ-Comix

[PJ-Comix]

My Compaq laptop has crashed. When I turn it on, all I get is a black screen. I tried pressing the F8 key when turning it on but I still get nothing on the screen.

So how do I restore my computer?

[PJ-Comix]

I’ll try it once more tomorrow AM and then take it in to the tech guy next weekend.

[X-FID]

Hold power button for one minute, works on my Lenova.

[snooter55]

bump fer ya

[Mears]

“I learned in 1992 that one needed to have a second comouter to be able to look stuff up to fix a “broken” primary computer.”

—

OMG,I do that but never told anyone because I figured they would consider it an “Old lady thing”-—and I’m an old lady.

It has been VERY helpful.

.

[MayflowerMadam]

Ha!

[Paladin2]

Given the millions of computer hardware configurations, billions of lines of computer code, all the WiFi and other network variations, we're lucky that the darn things work at all.

It's worse than The Law (more laws than a single person can comprehend/learn/obey in a lifetime).

Online research is a necessity. A "broken" computer tends to inhibit that ability. Redundancy is your friend.

[PJ-Comix]

Hold power button for one minute, works on my Lenova.

Good idea. I'll try it tomorrow morning. BTW, that also works on my tablet.

[Montana_Sam]

This may sound odd, but after you turn the laptop on (you stated you hear something - harddrive/power supply fan/???), try this: shine a flashlight on the screen.

Back-lit screens sometimes have the back-light go out. The graphics are still being drawn to the display, but there isn't any back-light to light it up.

Am speaking from experience here as had an old HP laptop this happened to. Still have it. I can run it if I plug in an external monitor.

[roadcat]

You might try plugging an external monitor in it, to see if your screen has died, or the video circuits have died. You can try a strong flashlight against the screen to see if it’s only the backlighting that has died.

What EasySt said. It's an easy task to replace the backlighting tube on many laptops. I've done that. With other laptops, you can also easily replace the monitor panel, often by buying a secondhand cheap laptop.

[Albion Wilde]

One time they put a new carburetor in my car - it was out of gas.

Reminds me of the time I had a rattle in my dashboard. I took everything apart in the front, including the fuse box, and put it back together meticulously (I am woman! Hear me roar!) but still couldn't get rid of the rattle.

Finally I took it to the shop and paid to have them discover it was a tin of mints in the console.

[Albion Wilde]

I cant run disks on this. It is windows 10.

Make a "genius" appointment at the nearest Apple dealer. Take your wounded computer to your appointment. Point at it and laugh, and let them sell you a MacBook Pro.

[Paladin2]

That’s an old skool, all-American self-sufficiency approach. Not so common these daze.

[donna]

LOL. Well, the station owner and I were both embarrassed so I paid for the carburetor and he absorbed the labor and we avoided looking each other in the eye.

[Rockingham]

It sounds like a failure of the power supply, or you may be going through an OS update that locks up the computer until it is completed. Leave the computer on but do not try using it for a day or so, and if it still is not working, take it to get diagnosed and repaired professionally. Or replace the power supply if you have the necessary tools and are handy enough to do it.

[Conan the Librarian]

HE wants help with a computer, not, a door stop. If he wanted a door stop he could by an Apple, or, go to Home Depot and pay a lot less for the same effect :D

As for PJ, the battery thing works for me many times. Battery out, un plug, hold the ON button, and plug it back in. Should work with no restore needed.

My old Acer 5515 does this frequently.

[Heart-Rest]

There seems to be a lot of worthwhile suggestions in this thread for you to check out, but if all of them fail, here is a (lighthearted) look at several more ways you can deal with an interminable black screen, at this link, which, for the purposes of this thread, I will just call "Additional steps that can be taken, when confronted with an interminable black screen".

[Albion Wilde]

Macs are incredibly stable and reliable, and their service is excellent. You get what you pay for. What’s with the “doorstop” meme? Sounds like you haven’t owned a Mac since the 80s.

[upchuck]

If you’re running Win 10, the F8 key on bootup does nothing. Unlike every version of Windows before.

[publius911]

How old is it?
What operating system?
Desktop or laptop?

[Grams A]

We have a UbreakIfix shop in our local shopping center. They seem to be able to fix anything and everything electronic. My neighbor works for Geek Squad. He is as dumb as a box of rocks, but they do seem to have some well qualified techs.