"It's dead, nothing happens" is the most common sentence we hear at the counter. Most of the time the machine is fine, or the data is fine even when the machine is not. This is the order we work through.
One: the charger, not the laptop
Test the adapter on another machine, or check the output with a meter. More failures start at the charger or the barrel jack than at the board. A laptop that only works when the cable is held at an angle needs a jack repair, not a new laptop.
Two: a hard reset of the power state
With the charger unplugged and, where the battery is removable, the battery out, hold the power button for twenty seconds. On many machines this clears a latched power state, and it costs nothing to try.
Three: does it post with an external screen
Plug in a monitor. If you get a picture outside, the machine is alive and the problem is the panel, the ribbon or the inverter. That is a repair, and it is cheaper than a replacement.
Four: memory, one stick at a time
A failing memory module causes exactly the symptom people describe as dead: fans spin, nothing on screen, no beep. Reseat the modules, then try one at a time. It takes ten minutes and it resolves a surprising share of cases.
Five: does the drive still read
Before anything else, we pull the drive and read it on a bench. If the data is intact, the urgency disappears and the repair becomes a decision rather than an emergency. This is also why we tell people to stop pressing the power button repeatedly — every attempt on a failing drive reduces what can be recovered.
Six: liquid damage has a smell and a colour
Corrosion around the board, a tide mark on the inside of the case, green on the connectors. If it went in liquid and it was powered on afterwards, stop. Every further attempt lowers the odds, and the right move is a proper clean and assessment, not another charger.
Seven: the honest conversation
Sometimes the board is gone and the repair costs more than the machine is worth. We say that plainly, and we say what the data would cost to recover separately. A seven-year-old laptop with a failed board is not worth a board replacement; the photos on it usually are worth a recovery attempt.
What to do before you bring it in
Do not keep powering it on. Do not open it if it is under warranty. And if there is data you cannot lose, say so at the counter — that changes the order of everything we do.
