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Black screen and blinking caps lock. Can anyone assist?

Michael Wixom 5 Reputation points
2025-07-09T03:07:33.4933333+00:00

I attempted to turn on my mom's laptop today, and I was met with the power on light and a black screen. I repeatedly tried for about 3 or so hours. I then noticed the caps lock button was repeatedly blinking every few seconds or so. I was looking into it and it says it's a hardware issue. This is the only laptop she has and I would love to help her fix it. Can anyone help me? I'm not very good at this stuff.

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Performance and system failures
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  1. Solamillo Charity 20,260 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2025-07-09T08:12:16.2933333+00:00

    Thank you for the detailed information. RTL8822CE - Is for your network card, but no worries.

    I'm only assuming this is an HP laptop (which most are when using this Caps Lock diagnostic system), please correct me if i'm wrong.

    -5 Blinks - System Board (Motherboard) Failure

    -3 Blinks - Embedded Controller (EC) Failure

    Unfortunately, this most likely is a motherboard failure, but if you are able to, you can try to re-seat the RAM. You can Remove battery (if possible), SSD, hard drive, Wi-Fi card (if easy), and even one RAM stick if you have two. Try powering on with just motherboard + 1 RAM stick. If it powers up, the motherboard likely isn't dead, and it's possible that the Wi-fi card, RAM, or your SSD/Hard drive is the issue. You can also check if you are able to remove the the CMOS battery (a coin-size silver battery) to do a BIOS reset.

    But, this is 100% a hardware issue. If you're not able to, I would suggest contacting a local computer repair shop (I'm assuming it's out of warranty), and you can use our chat as basis.

    Please let me know if you have any more questions, I'll do my best to respond as soon as possible.

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  2. Solamillo Charity 20,260 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2025-07-09T03:48:14.7333333+00:00

    Hello there! I am Charity. I'm glad to help you today!

    Please turn the laptop on and carefully count how many times the Caps Lock light blinks in a row before it pauses and repeats. For example: 3 blinks - pause - 3 blinks - etc.

    Also, may I ask what is the make and model of the laptop? You may check in the bottom of the laptop for the model number.

    Let's also do a power reset.

    Turn off the laptop.

    Unplug the power cord.

    If the battery is removable, take it out.

    Hold the power button for 15–30 seconds.

    Reconnect power (without the battery if removable) and try turning it on.

    Kind Regards,

    Charity


    Please note that things might need more than one reply to completely resolve your issue, as it will completely depend on the complexity of the question and the amount of detail that you have provided me.


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