My laptop has been slowing down for the last couple of days. Then yesterday I turned it on and it went to a gray screen. But today I try turning it on and the screen is completely black!! :( What happened? What should I do? Did I BREAK it?! :(:(:(:(

Have you ruled out battery and/or charger problems?

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Originally Posted by smearcase

Have you ruled out battery and/or charger problems?

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My charger works but the screen is black:(

I don't really know very much about actual computer operations. But I have some experience with the power issue.
Do you have any indication that there is power on in the laptop, such as indicator lights lit etc? How are you able to determine if the charger is working as I am assuming you have no way to check battery charge level or have any kind of indication that it is charging? You are not assuming that power is OK because it was charging just before the problem or because battery level was OK just before it the problem arose- correct? Batteries and chargers can fail instantly without any warning- That's all I am trying to say here.
My laptop went into a black screen a few months ago and the problem turned out to be a bad charger. I realized that the charger was most likely bad because it had been plugged in for a considerable time before it went black although it still could have been battery failure.
Tell us how you know it is not the battery or charger being the problem and maybe one of the computer experts will come on here with some other advice.

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Originally Posted by smearcase

Do you have any indication that there is power on in the laptop, such as indicator lights lit etc?

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Well when I try to turn it on the light claims it is on. And the same with my charger

One (or two)possibilities- then I will stop. The battery could be so low on power that it could only have enough to light the small indicator light--- and the battery could be low on power because: 1) The battery is now defective and can no longer hold a charge OR 2) because the charger is defective and is not charging the battery.
If you go to Staples and ask them if they will check your charger (maybe battery too)-- but tell them that you want to check before buying a charger or battery-- they may check it for you for at no cost. They did for me (universal charger was around $ 60).
Or if you have an electrical multi-meter, you can check to make sure you have DC voltage output from the charger-- but only if you have the skill level to safely do so.
That's all I have. Good luck.

There is a ribbon cable that can break. It goes between the main board and the screen of the laptop. You might want to consider taking it to a computer shop near you and let them check it out. Some laptops are a real pain to separate. Its best left to someone who does it a lot.