Solved! Asus Laptop Black Display

[ryanhough]

Hi there,

I've recently had issues with my Asus X401A laptop.

I installed a new SSD into it and installed Windows 10 pro, then suddenly it shut down and the screen hasn't powered up since. The SSD was working for a good few hours (i managed to install all the windows updates, and some applications) then it randomly powered off and the laptop hasn't worked properly since.

When installing the new SSD, I did use compressed air to remove dust from the fan/motherboard (I didn't over-do it on the fan so it hasn't broke - it still spins fine when required).

The issue I'm getting:
a) Plugged into the power supply: Power on and the fan runs at max for 2-5 seconds then it shuts off immediately
b) Only battery as power: Power on and it seems to start up then after 15-20 seconds the fan goes to max but keeps running (eventually I turn it off as it runs at max for a while)

Once the laptop powers off via either by shutting off automatically (a) or I shut it off (b), when I power up again the fan runs at max for 2-5 seconds then it shuts off. If i completely power down without the CMOS battery it'll then go back through the process of (a) or (b) [see below].

I have a feeling that the CPU is overheating and it's shutting off. I've purchased some new thermal paste for the CPU so I'll give that a go. But if you have any other ideas, that would be amazing!

Here's what I've tried:

• Remove the SSD and put in the original HDD
• Booting without a hardrive at all
• Remove the battery / power supply and held down the power button to power down then restart
• Remove the battery / power supply / CMOS battery (BIOS) and held down the power button to power down then restart
• Removed the whole motherboard and removed the dust from everything (including the RAM - removed and reinstalled)
• I've tried booting whilst pressing F2 or F5 to get into the BIOS but it doesn't do anything

Other notes:
No peripherals are plugged into the laptop
It boots up with a blackscreen so I cannot get into the bios

Many thanks in advance for your help!
Ryan

It is an old laptop so maybe it's time I just bite the bullet and get a new one!

 

[webworkings]

Changing the thermal paste can't hurt, but it is completely possible there is dust/debris trapped somewhere that it shouldn't be and it is causing problems.

It is also possible that, no matter how careful you were, the fan could need replacing.

Start with the thermal paste, and also monitor your temps to see what they are actually getting to. Then, should changing the paste not resolve the issue, then replace the fan.