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I press the power button and the Dell logo comes up, but then it just goes to a blank screen.

I called the Dell tech support for this problem and we figured out that it was because I wasn't doing the Windows Updates. I have been now, but just today it stopped turning on again.

Will running my laptop on Safe Mode fix this? Or does anyone have any other suggestions? Thank you.

Kevin Keenon
2013-05-10 16:04:03
I have seen this before with laptops. Take the battery out & then try booting while being plugged into the AC adapter.
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Amanda Brooks
2013-05-05 03:04:07
I just realized that it was probably a dumb thing to do. Won't do it again! Thanks everyone for your help
Amanda Brooks
2013-05-01 22:54:18
Thank you everyone for your answers! I did the Diagnostics and all tests passed, so I started it up in Safe mode which worked. I think the problem might be something to do with how I shut down my computer. I never click start and then shut down, I just pressed the power button which I realized is probably really dumb and messes it up. Do you all think that might be the problem? If not, I'll try some of your suggestions. Thanks again!
ha14
2013-05-04 19:43:21
if you click the power button like 10sec it will force shutdown bypasing the process like you unplug the battery and power cable, this can cause problems.
Daniel Vandusen
2013-05-01 17:32:27
If you have one, try to boot using a windows repair or restore disk. It is possible that one of the boot files (ntldr, boot.ini, etc) has been corrupted. The disk can often walk you through this repair based on your symptoms.
Bill H
2013-05-01 13:02:17
First off I would start the system and hit F12 and go to DiagnosticsTry to start windows in safe mode with networking Next..If it passes all test, but will not boot into safe mode, reboot the system and hit F2 at start up. This will bring you into Bios. Use the arrow keys and scroll right to where it says Boot. Check to see if Its set to "Legacy" Mode. If it is scroll down to where it says "Legacy" and hit enter. Change the setting and hit F10 to save and reboot and see if that fixes the problem. If these don't work it could be a bad system board or a bad harddrive. This point take it to a shop to be check out.
yudics
2013-05-01 12:24:49
Hi, maybe this works. try to press [esc] key when your laptop screen goes to black screen, press esc until windows logo is shown and let the system process until the desktop screen loaded successfully. after that, run the scandisk and disk defragmenter for all hardisk drive that you have (in xp::>startmenu->all program->accessories->system tools-disk defragmenter). and last, restart your computer.
yudics
2013-05-01 12:28:10
sorry, i mean press esc key repeatedly until windows logo is shown
Martin Ristovski
2013-05-01 05:56:05
It may be your RAM. I had the same problem with my Dell Inspiron 1764. I hit the power button, the Dell splash screen comes on and then it just shuts itself of. Try your RAM sticks out one by one to see which is the culprit.
Jim Chambers
2013-05-01 02:59:47
How did you update windows, when computer wouldn't boot into OS? Maybe laptop display turned off. Try Function key combination Dell uses to turn it on or try plugging external monitor into VGA port.
Paul Pruitt
2013-05-01 01:07:46
I don't know if this is relevant...It also may be a problem with your power supply/adapter/charger. See if you can get a hold of a new charger. The wires are easy to disconnect internally. The Apple ones for instance are notoriously easy to render useless by pulling too hard on them. I should know, I ruined one two days ago. I thought the laptop had gone bad. I tried a different charger and presto after a few minutes of charging the laptop started right up. The battery had gone dead. So maybe the laptop didn't have enough energy to go beyond the BIOS screen
Arif Ibrahim
2013-04-30 16:45:39
Yup, you could try booting to Safe Mode first, by pressing F8 several times during booting.Then if it's booting, you may have a broken driverIf it's not booting, then something is seriously broken and I recommend you to reinstall Windows, if you're not really a tech-savvy, ask your friends who are.Also, if you don't have 2 partitions and only stores your data in C: or anywhere same partition as Windows, you need to backup your data before reinstalling Windows. Try booting with Ubuntu LiveCD and backup your files there :)
ha14
2013-04-30 16:16:33
theree should be Dell Diagnostics, When you see the DELL Splash Screen, Press the F12 Buttonit can be video card driver, while at safe mode go to device manager, locate the video card driver, right click on it and choose uninstall (do not delete) reboot (to safe mode) and let windows to reinstall the driver, then reboot normally.