HP dv5-1125nr Troubleshooting

The power button refuses to cooperate.

• Run the laptop with the battery only. If it begins to power on and then shuts off, this is a problem with the laptop booting.
• Try to run the laptop by plugging in the power adapter and removing the battery entirely. Use this guide to aid in removing the battery.

Your adapter may be broken, which would cause no power to reach the laptop or battery.

• Check if power is running through the adapter by using a voltmeter on the laptop-side plug.
• Borrow a friend's adapter and see if your laptop powers on.

Flickering, entirely black, or discolored, the display is unreadable or very annoying.

Sometimes the backlight is simply turned off, but other times it becomes unplugged or fails entirely warranting a replacement.

• Make sure the backlight is on by clicking the start button, clicking the Control Panel, then going to Power Options and ensure the slider on the bottom of the screen is not all the way to the left.
• Shine a flashlight on the screen, if you can see your desktop or program, but it is really dark, your backlight is off or broken. Follow this guide to replace your display.

If there are single pixels or whole lines of pixels that are unresponsive, your LCD panel is broken and needs to be replaced.

The touchpad is oversensitive, insensitive, or doesn't work at all.

Software may be causing the touchpad to behave incorrectly. Open the Mouse section of your Control Panel and adjust the tracking. If this fails there is likely a hardware problem with your touch.

The laptop has a toggle that can disable the touchpad. You can attempt to re-enable it by pressing the small rectangular shaped button above the touchpad. If this fails, there may be a bad connection inside your laptop or it may need to be replaced.

The computer runs very hot under normal operation.

Check the air vents around the dv5-1125nr for dust blockage. If there is a noticeable buildup of dirt, use a can of compressed air to clear out the dirt.

Check to see if the fans are running by putting your ear up against the keyboard. If there isn't any noticeable noise, a fan may be dead. Follow this guide.

Word processing just reached a whole new level of extreme.

If keys are stuck you may be able to un-stick them using a plastic spludger tool. If unsuccessful, follow this guide to replace a broken keyboard.

It is possible that the problem is software related. Try booting using a Windows install CD. Otherwise, check out the keyboard replacement guide.

The laptop turns on but cannot reach the operating system.

The most likely cause of not booting is a damaged hard drive. Make sure you have a backup of your files, then follow this hard drive replacement guide.

If your computer doesn't even show any graphics, then it is likely you have a RAM failure. Luckily, RAM is very easy to replace. Follow this guide to replace your RAM.