Im not sure how to explain this problem. When I power up my laptop, it sounds like it begins to run and the lights display that its running, however, it just seems to just stop running...the power light is still on but my network card doesnt light up, so I dont think its connecting at all...the screen is black, I thought maybe its a screen issue, however wouldnt the computer still connect to my wirless network (card lights flicker) indicating that the PC is running? Im not sure if this is a backlight (monitor issue) or if theres another reason

Hello tinag11, welcome to PCHF.

Does the laptop still beep when you first turn it on? Do you have a "welcome to windows theme" sound when Windows starts up, and if you leave the laptop for a while, do you hear it? What is the make and model of the laptop? When you turn the laptop off, do all the lights go out?

I dont hear a beep, however, I usually have the sound turned off ( dont know if that makes a difference) so I dont hear anything at all. Ive had the laptop on since this post and it hasnt made any sounds. Its a Dell, Insprion 1150. When I turn it off the lights on the front go out.

Hello Tinag11 Welcome to PCHF

It sounds to me like your laptop isn't POSTing. The POST is the power on self test. Faulty hardware can cause the computer to lock up when it tries to do the initial power on test which will make it look like its just sitting there with no video output.

Before jumping to that conclusion, boot the laptop in a well lit area and check to make sure that it just isn't your backlight that is out. You will have to look very hard to see if there is anything being displayed very faintly. Sometimes, it is just the backlight that is bad. If it is the backlight, I will have some different advice for you.

If it is a POST issue, unfortunately, because it is a laptop, there are not too many options available to try to repair it.

If it were my laptop, I would go in this order (assuming your laptop has easy access to these components and/or you are comfortable with taking your laptop apart):

First, reseat the memory. Reseating the memory means, just unplug it and plug it back in. If that doesn't help and you have two sticks of memory installed, insert each stick one at a time and test powering on with just one stick inserted. It could be a single bad stick of memory.

If you only have one stick of memory, you may want to try purchasing another stick of memory from a local store that has a return policy and check if that individual stick is bad. If it doesn't help, you will be able to return it and get your coin back. You may want to do that if you have two sticks of memory anyways, but it would be a last resort if everything else doesn't help cause the chances of both sticks being bad is slim.

Next, if memory doesn't help, try unplugging the hard drive, and leaving it unplugged then booting the computer up. I have seen in tons of cases a faulty hard drive preventing POST from finishing.

That is about the extent of testing in most situations. If there are lots of panels on the bottom of the laptop that give you access to the network card or the CMOS battery, you can try unplugging any peripheral components that may be attached, and/or reseating the CMOS battery.

If there aren't panels that give you access to those devices, then the only thing to do is to literally open the laptop up and try removing/reseating them to see if maybe they are the cause of the POST issue.

Lastly, if doing all that still offers you no help, then I'm afraid it is either a bad screen (which is less likely) or a bad motherboard. A bad screen, if you are prepared for some serious risky and annoying work, you can replace (if you can find a cheap, exact replacement). But unfortunately, that may not help and the only way to test in this situation is to replace the screen.

If it is a bad motherboard, it is pretty much the same situation as the screen. It will most likely be completely uneconomical to repair because you will probably not find a used, broken exact model laptop with a working motherboard.

So basically, in most cases, if you find it is not the memory, hard drive, or other small peripheral components that aren't built into the motherboard, you will probably just want to avoid the hassle and get a new computer.

Hope that helps. Let me know what happens, ask me any questions, and I will try to help you wherever possible.

EDIT: Sorry if I jumped in Mad, it took me a while to write all that :P

Nice post Wadd

One thing that snagged my attention, is that you said all the lights go out when you switch off? Is the charger connected, as this will light up even if the laptop is switched off.

Sorry, the lights go out only if not connected, I plugged in the pwer cord and one of the lights remain on

Great stuff. Let us know how you get on with Wadd post.