laptop not starting

Thread Starter

mooman

Joined Oct 2, 2020
4
Hi guys, I have bought a multimeter to try and figure why my machine isn't working and was wondering if anyone could help. The problem is that my asus k501lx just doesn't startup. When I plug the power in, I can feel the cpu starts to get warm but each time I push the power button nothing comes to life. The way it's designed is that there is another little logic board with a bridge across it that contains the power switch. The power input is on the main large board and when i check voltages, I see that voltage is reaching that little board (reading 3.5Vs). So any ideas what I can check next plz... any help would be greatly appreciated as I'm just getting into this level of troubleshooting hardware? (also when pushing the power button i don't get any led activity, but when plugging in mains power i do get orange charging light)
 

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sagor

Joined Mar 10, 2019
903
Something is wrong if the CPU is getting warm without the machine being turned on. That would be a major motherboard failure.
 

Thread Starter

mooman

Joined Oct 2, 2020
4
Something is wrong if the CPU is getting warm without the machine being turned on. That would be a major motherboard failure.
Thanks, I feared that. Sadly wherever I trace I am seeing voltage so I'm kind of at a loss as to where to even start tracing :(
 

Alec_t

Joined Sep 17, 2013
14,280
I had something similar happen with a HP laptop, but don't know if it would apply to your Asus one.
Pressing the power switch had no effect initially. I deduced that the battery had discharged below what the computer considered a safe level so the computer was in a self-protect mode which prevented it powering up until the battery had charged up above that level.
 

Thread Starter

mooman

Joined Oct 2, 2020
4
I had something similar happen with a HP laptop, but don't know if it would apply to your Asus one.
Pressing the power switch had no effect initially. I deduced that the battery had discharged below what the computer considered a safe level so the computer was in a self-protect mode which prevented it powering up until the battery had charged up above that level.
Thanks Alec_T , that's definitely handy knowledge however in my case the battery is at full charge prior to this not working so I'd put money on it that it's not that unforunately :(. the hunt continues :)
 

AlbertHall

Joined Jun 4, 2014
12,345
Something to try - no guarantee of success:
Remove the mains power. Remove the battery.
Wait for 1 minute.
Connect mains power only and prees the 'on' button.
 

Thread Starter

mooman

Joined Oct 2, 2020
4
Something to try - no guarantee of success:
Remove the mains power. Remove the battery.
Wait for 1 minute.
Connect mains power only and prees the 'on' button.
thanks AlbertHall, tried that previously and no joy. I think the heating up of the cpu as sagor mentioned, indicates something has gone pop. I'm new to tracing and grasping at straws but from the videos I've seen it could be a a mosfet gone pop or something along those lines. The fact the cpu is heating up makes me guess that something isn't able to regulate the voltage along the main power rail.
 
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