A friend asked me to look at their Dell Inspiron 1525 (Vista OS) because it's not starting up. Here's what happens. When you press the power button, a black screen flashes with the Dell Logo. Then immediately the laptop powers back off.

The 'on' button remains lit but the fans aren't running and the screen is black. I've checked the battery and power cord. I'd really like to fix this device for my friend. Any suggestions on what to do?

Thank you in advance.

If you're dealing with the same problemm here's what happened for me:

After poking around for a bit, I discovered that the screen was very dim. I noticed this because the battery was charged and the fans were running, leaving me to think that the computer was indeed loading (unlike I previously thought).

So, I plugged in an external monitor, hit Fn and F8, and voila! Everything magically worked on the desktop screen.

I don't think my friend uses the laptop enough to need a replacement screen. They'll probably just convert to a desktop device now. But that's what I did. :)

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