When A Laptop Refuses To Boot - What To Do?

When a laptop won’t start, check power and screen basics first, then use each system’s built-in recovery tools to repair startup.

You press the button, lights flicker—or not—and nothing reaches the desktop. Don’t stress. Most “dead” laptops fall into a handful of predictable causes: power delivery hiccups, display misdirection, removable media taking over, or a damaged startup configuration. This guide walks through fast checks you can do at home, then shows the exact recovery paths for Windows, macOS, and Chromebooks, plus safe ways to protect your files before any reinstall.

Quick Checks Before You Panic

These ten checks clear a lot of non-boot issues in minutes. Work through them in order.

Confirm power. Try a known-good outlet. Reseat the AC adapter at the wall and laptop end. If the plug has a removable tip, reseat it too.
Charge first. Leave it on the charger for 15–20 minutes. Thin machines can run the battery down to a point where they need a short pre-charge before they wake.
Watch the indicators. A charge LED, keyboard backlight flash, or fan spin shows the board is alive. No indicators at all can point to a charger or board issue.
Rule out the screen. Brightness keys can set the display to near-black. Toggle the display output (often Fn + a screen icon). Connect an external monitor or TV with HDMI and power cycle.
Remove extras. Unplug USB drives, SD cards, printers, docks, and external hard drives. A stray USB stick often steals the boot.
Do a forced shutdown. Hold the power button for 10–15 seconds until everything goes dark. Wait a few seconds, then press power once.
Try a hard reset. Many laptops clear embedded controller glitches if you hold power for 30 seconds with the charger unplugged. If the battery is removable, take it out, hold power for 15–30 seconds, reinsert, and try again.
Listen for beeps or feel for caps-lock response. Some models beep error codes; others toggle a keyboard light when the board is responsive. That hints the display, not the board, is the problem.
Check for heat or smells. Unusual heat or a burnt smell calls for a service bench right away. Stop powering it on.
Note messages. “No bootable device,” “Automatic Repair,” or a blinking cursor each suggest a different path you can act on next.

When A Laptop Won’t Start: First Steps That Work

Now move into system-specific recovery. Pick the section for your device and follow the steps as written.

Windows: Trigger Recovery, Run Startup Repair, Then Safe Mode

Get into Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE). If Windows loops or stalls at the logo, power it off as the logo appears, then power on again. Repeat this two or three times. You should land on Preparing Automatic Repair and then the recovery screen with Advanced options.

Run Startup Repair. Go to Troubleshoot → Advanced options → Startup Repair and let Windows scan and fix boot files.
Boot to Safe Mode. If Startup Repair doesn’t finish the job, go to Advanced options → Startup Settings → Restart, then press 4 for Safe Mode or 5 for Safe Mode with Networking. If the system boots, remove any recent drivers or apps and reboot normally.
Uninstall a bad update. In Advanced options, use Uninstall Updates and remove the latest quality update first. If that fails, try the latest feature update.
Try System Restore. Still stuck? Use System Restore from Advanced options to roll the system files to an earlier point (your files remain).
Repair boot records (advanced). Open Command Prompt from Advanced options and run the commands below in order. This rebuilds the boot records on many machines with legacy partitions or damaged BCD data.

bootrec /fixmbr
bootrec /fixboot
bootrec /scanos
bootrec /rebuildbcd

Notes: On newer UEFI systems, the first two commands can return “Access is denied.” That’s okay—run the two BCD commands and test again. If you use BitLocker, have your recovery key ready before you start.

Windows: If You See “No Bootable Device”

Enter the BIOS/UEFI setup (often F2, Del, or Esc at power-on). Check that your internal drive appears and sits first in the boot order above USB and network entries.
If the drive is missing, reseating cables isn’t practical on many laptops. Back up data with an external enclosure if you can access the drive, then replace the drive or book a repair.

Mac: Use macOS Recovery, Then Safe Mode And Disk Utility

Enter macOS Recovery. Steps differ by chip.

Apple silicon (M-series): Shut down. Press and hold the power button until you see “Loading startup options.” Click Options → Continue.
Intel-based: Shut down. Press power, then hold Command + R until you see the Apple logo.

Run Disk Utility → First Aid on the startup volume and the Data volume. Fixes to the file system often restore a clean boot.
Reinstall macOS without erasing. This lays down fresh system files while keeping your data (if the disk is healthy).
Try Safe Mode on the next boot.
- Apple silicon: Shut down, hold power for startup options, select your disk, then hold Shift and click Continue in Safe Mode.
- Intel: Power on and hold Shift until the login screen appears.
If the Mac runs in Safe Mode, remove recent login items and updates, then reboot normally.

Chromebook: Hard Reset, Then Recovery Mode

Hard reset. Turn it off. Hold Refresh and tap Power. Release Refresh when it starts.
Recovery mode. With the device off, hold Esc + Refresh, then press Power. When the recovery screen appears, use a recovery USB created by the Chromebook Recovery Utility on another computer. This rewrites the OS.

Why Laptops Fail To Start: Simple Patterns

Once you’ve tried the built-in repairs, map the symptom to a likely cause. This helps you pick the right next move without guesswork.

Power LED on, screen black: display output to the wrong port, hibernation hang, or GPU/display cable issue.
Logo then spinning dots forever: driver or update crash, disk errors, or corrupted startup files.
“Automatic Repair” loop: damaged system files or a failing drive.
“No bootable device” message: drive not detected or boot order wrong.
Beeps at startup: hardware error code (RAM, board, or graphics).

Protect Your Files Before Big Changes

If you can reach any recovery shell, prioritize your data first. A quick backup saves hours later.

Windows: In WinRE, open Command Prompt and copy files to a USB drive with robocopy or the file browser via Notepad → File → Open trick. You can also boot from a Linux live USB to copy files off a dying drive.
Mac: In Recovery, use Disk Utility → Mount to mount your disk, then Utilities → Terminal with cp or open Safari → Downloads to get to a basic file picker. If you used Time Machine, plug the backup disk and verify the latest snapshot.
Chromebook: Files live in your Google account and local storage. If the device still boots to the sign-in screen, use Guest mode to move local files to a USB drive before any recovery.

Common Fixes In One Glance

The table below packs the most frequent symptoms with the first thing to try. Work left to right, then move to the next row.

Symptom	Likely Cause	What To Try
Black screen, power LED on	Display routed wrong or asleep	Toggle display output, plug HDMI, adjust brightness, forced shutdown
Logo then hang	Driver or update issue	WinRE → Startup Repair → Safe Mode; Mac Safe Mode; Chromebook hard reset
Repair loop	Corrupted boot data	Windows Startup Repair, System Restore, BCD rebuild; Mac First Aid
No bootable device	Drive missing or wrong order	Check UEFI/BIOS boot list; test drive health; plan replacement
Beeps at start	Hardware fault	Check vendor beep codes; reseat RAM if serviceable; book repair

When It Points To Hardware

Some clues mean the fault is beyond software repairs.

Drive clicks or vanishes in UEFI/BIOS. Back up immediately with a USB enclosure if the drive still spins up.
RAM-related beeps or random restarts. If your model allows it, reseat the memory. Mixed modules from different kits can cause flaky starts.
Liquid exposure or a burnt smell. Keep it powered off and take it to a repair shop. Powering on can make damage worse.
Swollen battery lifting the trackpad. Stop using the laptop and arrange a battery replacement.

Reinstall Paths When Repairs Don’t Stick

Fresh installs solve stubborn corruption, but only after backups. Here’s the cleanest path for each platform.

Windows: In WinRE, choose Reset this PC. Start with Keep my files. If problems remain, do a full wipe and reinstall. Activation is automatic on modern devices once online.
Mac: In macOS Recovery, choose Reinstall macOS. If First Aid reports disk errors it can’t fix, erase the disk to APFS, then reinstall and restore from Time Machine.
Chromebook: Use the Chromebook Recovery Utility to make a USB on another computer and restore the device. Sign in and your apps and settings return from your Google account.

Two Trusted Reference Steps You Can Bookmark

Mid-way through recovery, it helps to have vendor pages open in a phone browser so you can match screens and labels exactly. Use these official guides:

Windows Startup Repair for the repair tool and recovery screen paths.
macOS Recovery steps for Apple silicon and Intel Macs, plus Disk Utility tips.
Chromebook recovery mode for the key combo and recovery USB process.

Practical Tips That Save Time

Photograph error screens. Messages vanish fast during a crash. A quick photo gives you the exact wording to search later.
Change one thing per test. After each step, reboot and see what changed. That keeps you from skipping the fix that actually works.
Keep a tiny tool kit. A known-good USB-C/Barrel charger for your brand, a spare USB stick (16–32 GB), and a Phillips #0 driver cover most emergencies.
Know your warranty status. If you’re under warranty, avoid opening the chassis. Use software paths first and call support with the error wording you captured.

When To Hand It Off

Send it in or visit a repair shop when:

There’s liquid damage, burnt smell, or a swollen case.
The internal drive doesn’t appear in UEFI/BIOS and you need data recovery.
Startup beeps indicate RAM or board faults and your model doesn’t allow easy reseating.
You’ve run the full set of software repairs and the issue returns within a day or two.

Wrap Up And Next Steps

Most non-boot cases resolve with a power reset, removing stray USB media, then using the platform’s own repair tools. Start simple, back up early, and work in a clear order: power and display basics, recovery screen, Startup Repair or First Aid, Safe Mode, and only then a reinstall. If signs point to hardware, stop and protect the data. With a steady approach, you’ll either reach the desktop or have clean, specific info a technician can act on quickly.