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Computer Issues Library

84 common computer problems — understand what is wrong and how we fix it. Browse by category or search for your issue.

84 issues
Laptop Issues

Laptop Won't Turn On

Power button pressed but nothing happens — could be a failed battery, faulty charger, or motherboard issue.

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Laptop Issues

Laptop Overheating

Laptop gets extremely hot and shuts down unexpectedly — often caused by dust-clogged fans or dried thermal paste.

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Laptop Issues

Laptop Battery Draining Fast

Battery drops from 100% to zero in under an hour — ageing battery or background apps consuming power.

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Laptop Issues

Laptop Making Loud Fan Noise

Constant loud whirring sound — dust buildup, failing fan bearing, or heavy CPU load.

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Laptop Issues

Laptop Keyboard Not Working

Some or all keys unresponsive — liquid spill, loose ribbon cable, or driver issue.

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Laptop Issues

Laptop Touchpad Not Responding

Cursor frozen or jumpy — disabled in settings, driver conflict, or hardware failure.

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Laptop Issues

Laptop Running Slow

Programs take forever to open, multitasking lags — low RAM, failing hard drive, or malware.

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Laptop Issues

Laptop Won't Charge

Plugged in but battery percentage stays at zero — faulty charger, damaged charging port, or dead battery.

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Laptop Issues

Laptop Spilled with Water or Coffee

Liquid damage to keyboard or motherboard — immediate action needed to prevent permanent corrosion.

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Laptop Issues

Laptop Hinge Broken or Loose

Screen wobbles or won't stay in position — worn hinge mechanism, loose screws, or cracked plastic mounting points.

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Desktop / PC Issues

PC Won't Boot

Power comes on but Windows never loads — corrupted boot sector, failing hard drive, or RAM issue.

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Desktop / PC Issues

PC Randomly Restarts

Computer shuts down and reboots without warning — overheating, faulty PSU, or driver conflict.

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Desktop / PC Issues

Blue Screen of Death (BSOD)

Windows crashes with a blue error screen — hardware failure, driver issues, or corrupted system files.

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Desktop / PC Issues

Computer Keeps Freezing

Screen locks up, mouse won't move — insufficient RAM, dying hard drive, or overheating CPU.

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Desktop / PC Issues

No Display on Monitor

PC turns on but screen stays black — loose cable, faulty GPU, or monitor failure.

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Desktop / PC Issues

Computer Won't Wake from Sleep

Press any key but screen stays black — power settings, driver issue, or failing hardware preventing wake.

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Desktop / PC Issues

Desktop Power Button Not Working

Pressing the power button does nothing — the front panel connector may be loose, the button itself could be faulty, or the power supply may have failed.

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Desktop / PC Issues

Computer Emitting Burning Smell

A burning smell from your desktop PC often indicates an electrical short, dust buildup on heating components, or a failing power supply -- immediate action is needed.

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Screen & Display

Cracked Laptop Screen

Physical crack or spider-web pattern on display — impact damage requiring screen replacement.

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Screen & Display

Screen Flickering

Display rapidly flashes on and off — loose video cable, failing backlight, or driver issue.

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Screen & Display

Dead Pixels on Screen

Tiny black or stuck-colour dots that won't change — physical pixel damage to LCD panel.

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Screen & Display

Dim or Dark Screen

Screen is visible but very faint — failed backlight inverter or LED strip.

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Screen & Display

Screen Has Lines or Artifacts

Horizontal or vertical lines across the display — GPU failure or damaged LCD ribbon cable.

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Screen & Display

Second Monitor Not Detected

External monitor plugged in but not appearing — faulty cable, wrong input source, or outdated graphics driver.

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Screen & Display

Touchscreen Not Responding

Touch input stops recognising taps or gestures — often caused by driver conflicts, digitizer failure, or screen damage.

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Screen & Display

Monitor Showing Wrong Resolution

An incorrect screen resolution makes everything look stretched or blurry, usually caused by outdated graphics drivers, wrong display settings, or a faulty HDMI cable.

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Performance & Speed

Computer Running Extremely Slow

Everything takes minutes to load — fragmented hard drive, too many startup programs, or malware.

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Performance & Speed

SSD Upgrade Needed

Old mechanical hard drive is bottlenecking performance — upgrade to SSD for 10x speed boost.

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Performance & Speed

RAM Upgrade Required

Computer struggles with multiple browser tabs or applications — 4GB-8GB no longer enough.

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Performance & Speed

High CPU Usage at Idle

Fan spinning full speed even when nothing is open — background crypto miner or bloatware.

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Performance & Speed

Programs Keep Crashing

Applications randomly close — corrupted software, insufficient RAM, or hard drive errors.

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Performance & Speed

Computer Fan Always Running at Full Speed

Loud fan noise even when idle — dust buildup, failing thermal sensors, or background malware.

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Performance & Speed

Computer Takes Too Long to Boot Up

The system hangs on the manufacturer logo or Windows loading screen for minutes — caused by too many startup programs, failing hard drive, or corrupted system files.

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Performance & Speed

100% Disk Usage in Task Manager

When Task Manager shows 100% disk usage constantly, your computer becomes painfully slow -- this is often due to Windows Search indexing, Superfetch, or a failing hard drive.

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Virus & Security

Computer Infected with Virus

Pop-ups, redirected searches, unknown programs — malware infection needing professional removal.

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Virus & Security

Ransomware Attack

Files encrypted and a ransom demand displayed — critical data held hostage by criminals.

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Virus & Security

Browser Hijacked

Search engine changed to something else, constant redirects — browser hijacker malware.

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Virus & Security

Pop-up Ads Everywhere

Ads appearing even when no browser is open — adware infection in the system.

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Virus & Security

Suspicious Email Attachments

Received emails with unknown files that may contain malware — phishing attempt targeting your data.

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Virus & Security

Unknown Programs Installed

Software you never installed appears on your desktop — bundled malware or PUPs.

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Virus & Security

Spyware or Keylogger Infection

Malicious software silently records your keystrokes, browsing habits, or personal data — often installed through fake downloads, email attachments, or cracked software.

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Data & Storage

Accidentally Deleted Important Files

Files emptied from Recycle Bin — data recovery needed before they're overwritten.

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Data & Storage

Hard Drive Making Clicking Noises

Repetitive clicking sound from inside the computer — mechanical hard drive failure imminent.

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Data & Storage

External Hard Drive Not Recognised

Plugged in but nothing appears — corrupted partition, failed enclosure, or physical damage.

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Data & Storage

USB Flash Drive Corrupted

Windows asks to format the drive — file system corruption or physical NAND failure.

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Data & Storage

Computer Storage Full

No space left for new files — need to clean up, upgrade storage, or move to cloud.

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Data & Storage

SD Card Data Loss

Photos or videos missing from camera memory card — accidental format or card corruption.

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Data & Storage

Cloud Storage Not Syncing — OneDrive or Google Drive Issues

Cloud files won’t sync, showing offline status or sync errors — often due to account conflicts or network restrictions.

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Data & Storage

Data Recovery After Accidental Format

Accidentally reformatting a drive or SD card does not immediately erase your data -- professional recovery tools can often restore files if you stop using the drive right away.

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Data & Storage

File Corrupted and Won't Open

A document or spreadsheet that refuses to open or shows garbled text — file header corruption, incomplete save, or malware damage.

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Network & Connectivity

WiFi Not Working

Connected but no internet, or WiFi networks not showing — router issue, driver problem, or hardware failure.

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Network & Connectivity

Slow Internet Speed

Pages take forever to load despite paying for fast broadband — router placement, interference, or ISP throttling.

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Network & Connectivity

WiFi Keeps Disconnecting

Connection drops every few minutes — outdated drivers, router channel congestion, or faulty WiFi card.

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Network & Connectivity

Can't Connect to Printer

Computer cannot find the printer — driver issue, network misconfiguration, or USB cable fault.

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Network & Connectivity

Bluetooth Not Working

Devices won't pair or keep disconnecting — driver issue, interference, or hardware failure.

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Network & Connectivity

Printer Printing Blank Pages

Ink cartridges full but output is blank — clogged printhead, driver issue, or incorrect settings.

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Network & Connectivity

DNS Server Not Responding

Websites won't load but internet appears connected — DNS server failure, router misconfiguration, or ISP outage.

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Network & Connectivity

VPN Not Connecting or Dropping Frequently

VPN fails to connect or keeps disconnecting mid-session, often caused by firewall settings, outdated software, or network instability.

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Network & Connectivity

Router Keeps Restarting or Dropping Connection

Internet goes down several times a day and the router lights blink — overheating, outdated firmware, or ISP line instability.

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Hardware Failure

Motherboard Failure

Computer dead with no signs of life — failed capacitors, power surge damage, or component short.

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Hardware Failure

Graphics Card Artifacting

Strange colours, lines, or shapes on screen during gaming — GPU overheating or failing VRAM.

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Hardware Failure

Power Supply Unit Failure

Computer won't turn on at all — PSU no longer delivering power to components.

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Hardware Failure

USB Ports Not Working

Devices not recognised when plugged in — driver issue, physical damage, or motherboard fault.

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Hardware Failure

Computer Making Beeping Noises

Series of beeps when powering on — BIOS POST error codes indicating hardware failure.

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Hardware Failure

Webcam Not Working

Camera shows black screen or not detected — privacy shutter closed, driver issue, or internal cable failure.

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Hardware Failure

CMOS Battery Dead — Time and Date Keep Resetting

Your computer keeps resetting to a wrong date and time on every boot — the small CMOS battery on the motherboard has died and needs replacement.

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Hardware Failure

Laptop Speakers Not Working

No sound from built-in speakers even when volume is turned up — could be a faulty audio jack sensor, blown speakers, or loose internal cable.

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Hardware Failure

Coil Whine or High-Pitched Noise from Computer

A constant high-pitched squeal or buzzing from inside the case — vibrating inductors on the GPU or power supply under load.

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Software & OS

Windows Won't Update

Updates stuck downloading or failing to install — corrupted update cache or disk space issues.

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Software & OS

Windows 10/11 Upgrade Problems

Upgrade from older Windows fails midway — incompatible drivers, insufficient space, or corruption.

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Software & OS

Microsoft Office Not Working

Word, Excel, or Outlook crashing or refusing to open — corrupted installation or licence issue.

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Software & OS

Driver Issues After Update

Sound, graphics, or network stopped working after Windows update — incompatible driver version.

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Software & OS

Mac Won't Boot to macOS

Apple logo stuck or flashing question mark — corrupted OS, failed drive, or NVRAM issue.

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Software & OS

Forgotten Windows Password

Locked out of your own computer — need password reset without losing data.

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Software & OS

iPhone or Android Not Connecting to PC

Phone plugged in via USB but computer doesn't recognise it — driver, cable, or port issue.

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Software & OS

Audio or Sound Not Working

No sound from speakers or headphones — muted output, wrong playback device selected, or corrupted audio driver.

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Software & OS

Windows Stuck in Automatic Repair Loop

Windows keeps booting into Automatic Repair and never reaches the desktop — usually caused by corrupted system files, failed updates, or driver conflicts.

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Software & OS

Windows Boots to Black Screen with Cursor

Windows loads past the logo but you only see a black screen with a movable mouse pointer — Explorer.exe failed to start, or a graphics driver crashed.

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Power & Battery

Laptop Battery Not Charging

Charger connected but battery icon shows 'plugged in, not charging' — faulty battery or charging circuit.

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Power & Battery

Laptop Battery Swollen

Battery visibly bulging, trackpad lifting — dangerous lithium-ion battery failure, needs immediate replacement.

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Power & Battery

Computer Shuts Down Immediately

Powers on for 2-3 seconds then turns off — short circuit, overheating, or PSU failure.

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Power & Battery

Power Surge Damaged Computer

Your computer stopped working after a lightning strike or power outage — the surge may have fried the power supply, motherboard, or other internal components.

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Power & Battery

Laptop Charger or Adapter Not Recognised

When your laptop does not detect the charger even when plugged in, the issue could be a faulty DC jack, a damaged charger cable, or a motherboard power circuit failure.

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Power & Battery

Laptop Battery Drains While Plugged In

Charging light is on but the battery percentage keeps dropping — undersized charger, worn-out battery, or a power-hungry application running.

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