Laptop won't start

I have a laptop with W XP Home, about a 1.6 G Intel processor. Not sure about SP because I can't start the thing! I push the power button and the fan spins for 1-2 seconds then stops, the power light stays on and the thing goes silent and stays dark. I keep turning it on and off and it used to eventually start after 15-20 tries but now it won't. HD light never lights during this. Where do I start? Power supply? thanks in advance. - Chris

 

I am thinking that you are not getting your battery charged and your ac adapter/connector may be the culprit. May be a silly question, do you still have any warranty time left with this laptop? If so I would use that to have it repaired by the manufacturer before tearing into it myself. Laptops are a different animal than desktops

 

I checked the power supply - it does supply the 19V DC that it says it should. The batt also gets hot while charging. Any other ideas? Thanks for your reply! - CSL

 

how old is the computer?

it this is an old battery and it is shot i am wondering if it could do the same thing as a car battery where if a battery is shorted out you can not even jump a car without removing the battery??

maybe worth taking the battery out and trying to run off power supply?

 

That was a good thought. But without the battery in it still did the same thing. (I didn't realize you could run it without the battery)!
Any other thoughts?

 

do any of the lights even try to come on? what make is the laptop?

 

It is a PC Club EN34504

The battery charge/external power light works as expected. When "starting" the unit the power-on light does illuminate.
thanks again. - Chris