Member Avatar for LauraStainsby88

I have an Acer Aspire 5601 and a couple of months ago it shut down without any warning whilst I was using it. It wouldn't turn back on until the following day, and showed no record of ever having shut down, no error reports, no system check ups, nothing.
It shut down again two days ago in exactly the same manner as it did the first time, but as of yet I cannot get it to turn back on. It does not charge, it wont power up via battery or power lead...any suggestions as to what's wrong?
Thanks.

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Brief, practical diagnostic path to narrow a "no power" laptop down to a repairable fault. Building on 's mention of motherboard-level failure and 's battery check, the steps below are ordered from safe/simple to board-level so the most likely, cheapest fixes are tried first.

Try these checks in order:

  • Power-reset: remove battery and AC, press and hold the power button for 20–30 seconds, then try to start with AC only.
  • Verify the AC adapter output with a voltmeter (match the label voltage and polarity). If no meter is available, test with a known-good adapter of the same specs.
  • Inspect the DC jack area for looseness, broken pins, or burn marks; a cracked jack or solder joint is a common, inexpensive fix.
  • Disconnect nonessential parts (HDD, optical drive, PCMCIA/Express cards) and try to power with only motherboard, CPU, one RAM stick, and display connected. Reseat RAM and try each stick alone.

If none of the above gives signs of life:

  • Open the case for a visual inspection (only if comfortable). Look for bulging/leaking capacitors, scorch marks, or a blown surface fuse near the DC-in area. Using a multimeter, check for presence of the main DC rail on the board (careful when probing live boards).
  • Test or temporarily bypass the power button connector by shorting the power-on pads on the board (expert-only). Listen for beep codes by connecting a system speaker; they can indicate RAM/CPU faults.

If the main rail is absent or you find physical damage, the fault is likely the DC jack/power circuit or the motherboard itself. Those repairs usually require parts or board-level work; get quotes and weigh repair cost versus replacement. If uncertain at any step, stop and consult a local repair technician to avoid further damage.

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Member Avatar for ebarrera

Are these indicator lights that show that it is plugged in? perhaps the power adapter is bad, thus not turning on the laptop or charging the battery

Member Avatar for LauraStainsby88

Thanks for replying. Yeah, the lights that show it is charging. I've tried charging it with another working charger and that has no effect either. So I doubt it's the charger.

Member Avatar for ebarrera

Possible that it was overheating. did it feel hot at all.

Member Avatar for LauraStainsby88

No, not at all. I'd only had it turned on for about 20 minutes or so.

Member Avatar for bobbyraw

check the battery. it might not being charge when plugged in.

Member Avatar for ebarrera

check the battery. it might not being charge when plugged in.

i don think it is the battery because it doesn't power up even when plugged into AC.

i would start to suspect the mobo or cpu itself.

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