There are hundreds of different reasons a computer may not work. Before trying to fix a non-working computer, you must first identify what part of the computer is causing it not to work. Below are the steps to help fix your computer with links to related pages that help fix a specific type of computer problem. Although some steps may seem too basic, you must review all of these sections to help correctly identify the problem.

Is the computer getting power?

When looking at the front of the computer, do you see any lights? Are the fans moving and blowing air from the computer? If there are no lights, moving fans, or it appears the computer is not turning on, it has a power-related problem. See the steps below for all power-related troubleshooting steps.

  • Why won’t my computer turn on?
  • Why does my laptop not turn on?

Is anything seen on the screen?

If the power lights are on, fans are moving, or it appears the computer is on but has no display, you may have a display problem.

  • No display or black screen on a computer monitor.
  • My laptop computer screen is black.
  • When booting the computer, I receive several beeps.

The computer is getting an error message

If you’re getting any error messages, write down the error and search for that error message. Computer Hope and millions of other Internet sites have documents relating to error messages that can be followed to fix those error messages.

The computer keyboard or mouse are not working

If the computer seems to be working, but the keyboard or mouse is not working, you’ll need to fix the problems with the input devices.

  • Why don’t any keys on my keyboard work?
  • Some keys on my computer keyboard aren’t working.
  • Why is my laptop mouse touchpad not working?
  • Mouse not detected or working in Windows.

The computer was working fine, but now it’s acting strange

If the computer is acting strange, frozen, or encountering errors and can boot, reboot the computer. Often rebooting the computer can solve many computer issues.

If you cannot restart the computer because it is frozen, press and hold down the power button for a few seconds until the computer turns off. Once the computer is off, you can turn the computer back on to restart the computer.

If your computer has a blue screen or has another error screen, try the Ctrl+Alt+Del method of rebooting. For further help with restarting, see: How to restart Microsoft Windows.

  • What should I do if my computer does not boot into Windows?
  • Computer questions and answers.
  • How to learn more about computers.
  • See our troubleshooting page for related information and links.
  • Basic computer troubleshooting.