Laptop Powers on, but Screen Remains Black

[Mr_KK_Ron]

My laptop is a Lenovo IdeaPad 5, 15IIL05. I can provide more details, but that should be a good starting point.

I was working with an Arduino project. The Arduino was hooked up to my laptop via USB. I though I needed more power, so I found a cable that fit. I forgot to see how many volts the output was (24v) and the moment I connected the power cable, my laptop went completely blank. I was thinking that it might be that I fried / short circuited my laptop.

I disconnected everything from my laptop and proceeded to try to restart it. The laptop went into recovery mode with first trying to fix the disk. The process competed and I was able to log in. However, some sort of Lenovo Update software, which I had never seen before, popped up. Before I could read what it was saying, my laptop once again completely shut down. I was able to eventually get to the screen that talked about not being able to repair the PC and to either go into advance settings or to restart. I chose to restart.

I have tried: power cycling, power cycling w/ ac power, using the novo (boot button) button on the side of my computer, looking into CMOS and temporarily removing the CMOS battery to try to reset CMOS, using HDMI to try to see if there is video output, and waiting for a while to see if it was hot. None of these things helped at all.

After a few more attempts to regain control over my laptop, with some attempts leading to logging in to my computer with it shutting down again, I got to the point where the screen would never light up. Usually when I power up my laptop, the screen would light up just a bit before it turned on.

The regular process for booting up my laptop would be: power indicator lights up, keyboard lights up, screen illuminates, Lenovo logo appears, circle thinking symbol, and then home screen. Now, my laptop only has a power indicator along with the keyboard lighting up. The fan also comes on for a short moment, but then both the keyboard lights and the fan turn off. I am left with just the power indicator turned on.

Thank you for spending the time just to read this. Please let me know if you have any ideas. The last thing I want to do is to spend money.

[phillpower2]

The RAM may have been fried and if it has I`m afraid that you are looking at a very expensive if at all possible repair as the RAM is soldered into the motherboard

I am left with just the power indicator turned on.

What colour is the light both when the AC adaptor is connected and when the AC adaptor is disconnected with only the battery to power the computer.

[Mr_KK_Ron]

When the AC is plugged in, the charging indicator on one side of the laptop turns on (orange) and the power indicator stays white. When the AC powder is removed, the charging turns off and the power indicator stays the same. This is normal for my laptop.

[phillpower2]

When the AC is plugged in, the charging indicator on one side of the laptop turns on (orange) and the power indicator stays white.

According to your notebooks user manual the lights mean that the AC adaptor is connected, the battery is being charged and the light will stay amber until the battery is between 91% – 100% charged.

Try leaving the battery charging overnight or all day to see if the light goes white, it could be that the battery is devoid of charge and for some reason the AC adaptor is not able to power up the computer, plugging in that cable may have damaged something that prevents the AC adaptor from doing so but without damaging the battery charging circuit.

[Mr_KK_Ron]

Okay, I will try that. There is a function with Lenovo Vantage that limits how much the battery is charged (~60%). That option was on when the computer became damaged. There might be a possibility that that option is still saved and might prevent the computer from reaching the 91% threshold.

[phillpower2]

Lenovo Vantage being an app one would expect Windows needing to be active for Vantage to function, only a BIOS setting should make any difference tbh.

[Mr_KK_Ron]

Okay, the computer charging indicator turned white, but the screen has not turned on yet. I think it might be something with the RAM or CPU. Any suggestions?

Also, if it is the case that my core hardware was damaged, would I be able to salvage my SSD? I thought it would be nice to try to keep that, if possible.

[phillpower2]

The fan also comes on for a short moment, but then both the keyboard lights and the fan turn off. I am left with just the power indicator turned on.

If the behaviour is still the same something bad has happened I`m afraid

Long shot but try connecting an external screen to the notebook to see if you get anything on that, just in case the notebook screen is broken.

You should be able to remove and fit the SSD into another computer or USB enclosure.

[Mr_KK_Ron]

Okay, well thank you for your help. I was worried that it was something pretty major.

[phillpower2]

Long shot but try connecting an external screen to the notebook to see if you get anything on that, just in case the notebook screen is broken.

You are welcome but have you tried the above.

[Mr_KK_Ron]

Yeah, I wasn’t able to get anything.

[phillpower2]

Time for a second opinion from a local tech I`m afraid, bad RAM or CPU are two possible suspects atm, the battery getting charges suggests that the MB is ok.

[Mr_KK_Ron]

Okay, well thank you for checking!

[phillpower2]

You are welcome (y)