Solved! lenovo not starting sometimes

Jeff_ifan

Estimable
Sep 19, 2015
3
1
4,515
Hey there
My lenovo ideapad 320 sometimes wont start. I press the power button and the light comes on and the fan spins but no display (even on an external) but other times it just starts straight up. I have re applied thermal paste and tried a different battery but the problem persists. when it's running it will restart no worries but if I shut it down it wont start back up again. Every now and then when I encounter this problem I leave it and it will just start after a while.
Really hope this isn't a bad board cos I have already been through one of these.
Thanks
Jeff
 
Solution
If it powers up, but only the display isn't showing, then it is actually working, so the issue would be with either the display, the cable that connects it, or the graphics. When you connected an external display, did you make sure to connect it correctly? Just plugging one in, when it is on, doesn't usually work. Then there could also be a key on the keyboard that must be pressed to change displays. Additionally, not all displays will work. Try the steps below...

  1. Turn the laptop off (not sleep or hibernate but off).
  2. Connect an external monitor to the laptop.
  3. Turn on the external monitor.
  4. Turn on the laptop.

NOTE: You may have to press an "external monitor" button. Could be the f4 button or a button with two...
If it powers up, but only the display isn't showing, then it is actually working, so the issue would be with either the display, the cable that connects it, or the graphics. When you connected an external display, did you make sure to connect it correctly? Just plugging one in, when it is on, doesn't usually work. Then there could also be a key on the keyboard that must be pressed to change displays. Additionally, not all displays will work. Try the steps below...

  1. Turn the laptop off (not sleep or hibernate but off).
  2. Connect an external monitor to the laptop.
  3. Turn on the external monitor.
  4. Turn on the laptop.

NOTE: You may have to press an "external monitor" button. Could be the f4 button or a button with two monitors on it, for the external monitor to work.

If you can see fine on the external monitor, then your attached display, or the ribbon cable that connects it, are your problem.

If you can't see on the external monitor at all, or the problem occurs on the external monitor as well, then it is probably the graphics card/GPU that is the problem, which may require the motherboard be replaced.

You may also want to try hitting CTRL + SHIFT + WIN + B to try and reset your graphics driver as another possible fix.
 
Solution