Member Avatar for henryrhenryr

My laptop has been working for years - now it won't boot.

I press the power button, the fan whirrs up as normal. About 3-5 seconds of normal whirring. Then it dies. Nothing appears on screen. It sounds like it does when I try to boot from battery when the battery is dead but the AC power is in.

I have tried:

- left it charging over night
- battery in no AC
- battery out AC only

Always exactly the same.

I have two questions - thanks in advance if you can help:

1 - How can I get it to boot?
2 - How can I recover the data from the hard disk which I presume is fine as it worked a few days ago.

THANKS!

  • 2 Contributors
  • 3 Replies
  • 215 Views
  • 1 Week Discussion Span
  • Latest Post Latest Post by henryrhenryr

Dani AI

Generated

A short, practical add-on that fills gaps left by the replies and the later solution:

The symptom “fan spins for a few seconds then everything dies” is usually a power-rail or motherboard issue but is commonly fixed by memory or simple power checks (as discovered). Start with quick, safe diagnostics in this order and only move on if the previous step does not restore life:

  • Check the AC adapter and DC inlet: measure the adapter output with a multimeter (the Inspiron 5100 uses the rectangular PA‑9 family — expect roughly 20V on the adapter). If the adapter voltage is wrong or the plug wobbles, replace or test with a known-good PA‑9-style adapter. PA‑9 adapter spec. (cpumedics.com)

  • Power‑bleed and minimal-boot: disconnect battery and AC, press-and-hold the power button ~30 seconds to drain residual charge, then try to start with AC only. Remove HDD, optical drive, PC cards and try booting with only RAM installed — this isolates peripherals.

  • Reseat and test RAM properly: ground yourself, remove modules, clean contacts if dirty, test one module at a time in each slot. Many intermittent “power on then off” faults are cured this way; if a single stick or slot fails consistently the memory or slot may be bad. Follow a safe reseat procedure. (support.exxactcorp.com)

  • Data recovery (if boot fails): the Inspiron 5100 uses a 2.5" IDE/PATA laptop drive — use a USB adapter or universal drive adapter that explicitly supports 44-pin 2.5" IDE (not just SATA). If the drive has read errors, image it first (use a tool such as GNU ddrescue) to avoid further damage and recover files from the image. Service/manual for drive removal. Universal drive adapter guidance. ddrescue. (manualslib.com)

If none of the above works, inspect the mainboard for bulging or leaking electrolytic capacitors (a common failure on older P4-era laptops). If caps are visibly bad or the DC jack/solder joints look damaged, board repair or replacement is the next step; otherwise harvest the drive and retire the machine. Take ESD precautions (grounding/wrist strap or touching chassis) while working inside the laptop. (capacitorlab.com)

This list complements ’s HDD-removal suggestion and explains why the correct adapter type matters, and it documents the standard, safe troubleshooting order to follow before concluding a motherboard is dead.

Recommended Answers

All 3 Replies

Member Avatar for bluetige

Take out the battery and try to run it with just the charger plugged in

To recover the data your best off purchasing a 2.5 hdd caddy and place the Hard Drive from your laptop in to it. You will the be able to plug the Caddy into any computer via USB to recover your data

Member Avatar for henryrhenryr

Take out the battery and try to run it with just the charger plugged in

Thanks for your reply but no luck with this.

Good suggestions on the HD caddy - Thanks...

Does anyone have other ideas for getting it to boot?

Be a part of the DaniWeb community

We're a friendly, industry-focused community of developers, IT pros, digital marketers, and technology enthusiasts meeting, networking, learning, and sharing knowledge.