Dell Inspiron N5030 Troubleshooting

Make sure that the power adapting plug is inserted into both the wall and your laptop. Give time for the laptop to charge. Double check that the electrical outlet is functional. If this does not work, it may be a bad power adapter.

If the adapter is working properly and your computer is charged, the issue may be with your battery. Remove and then replace the battery (Dell Inspiron N5030 Battery Replacement), but keep the power adapter plugged into the laptop. If the computer still does not work, you may have a bad battery and you need to buy a new one.

If you turn on your laptop and when trying to run programs you experience random crashes and unexplained freezing, you may be experiencing a RAM issue. If Windows does not show error messages, or you receive a blue screen, or programs crash unexpectedly, then the RAM currently installed should be replaced. Reinstall the RAM (Dell Inspiron N5030 RAM Replacement) and make sure it is securely positioned in the slot.

Laptop will boot, but randomly shuts down mid operation.

If the laptop is running on battery power, this might mean that you have a low battery. Plug into an outlet for the computer to charge and see if this fixes the problem.

Feel the back of the laptop. If it feels warmer than usual, it may be overheating. If this is the case, check the air vents on the side of the laptop. Clean these air vents, if dirty. If the vents are clean, the problem may be with the fan on the units themselves. Remove the back cover and look at the fans attached to the processing units. Clean the fans of the processing units.

Remove the battery and have the power adapter plugged in. If the laptop operates fine under these conditions, the battery may be faulty and need to be replaced.

The display on the screen is dim or black.

Make sure your laptop has been charged properly and is connected to a functioning power adapter.

Check your brightness settings and make sure it isn’t all the way down. If it is low, turn up the brightness to a comfortable level.

Listen to the fans in your computer. If they make no noise, then the graphics/video card may not be running properly. In this case, your graphics card is malfunctioning and should be replaced.

If the screen has cracks in it, and it bothers you when you use your computer, you can replace the screen.

If none of these solutions above worked, you need to replace the screen.

You are having issues with the disc drive.

Your disc drive will not come out of the computer.

If the button on the disc drive does not release the drive, try opening the drive via software on the computer. Go to your Start button and click on the computer icon. Double click on the DVD drive icon for the disk drive to open. If the drive opens this way, then the outside button of the drive needs to be replaced.

If the disc drive still does not open, but you hear a clicking sound when you try opening from your software file, then the latch may be stuck and the outer latching mechanism will need to be replaced. Refer to the Dell Inspiron N5030 Disc Drive Replacement Guide for assistance.

This may be a software issue that must be fixed through the operating system. Download the necessary drivers found online at Dell Driver Support. Look under Removable Storage and click the firmware update that corresponds to your version number.

If support for your operating system does not work or you can hear the disc spinning inside but media does not appear on screen, the laser lens in the disc drive may be broken. Follow this guide to remove and repair the laser lens (guide here).

The cursor will not move when the touch pad is used.

The touch pad may be turned off. Look for the button, it should be on the top row of keys, that turns the touch pad on or off and turn it on.

Computer is not receiving keystroke signals.

Remove and replace the battery in the laptop, then try using the keys again. If that doesn't work, then you will need to replace the keyboard (Dell Inspiron N5030 Keyboard Replacement).