Dell Inspiron 17-3721 Troubleshooting

The laptop will not respond after clicking the power button.

To test if the battery is not working, take the battery out of the laptop. This process can be shown in our replacement guide for any further information on removing the part. Now, connect the laptop charger to an outlet and proceed to try turning on the laptop. If the laptop turns on now and you know that the battery has been charged prior than there is a problem with the battery and needs to be replaced. Replacement batteries can be found on the manufacturers website.

Check to make sure either your laptop has a charge or is plugged into the wall.

If you can hear the laptop start up but nothing is being display the screen may be dead. In order to test this first hold the “FN” key then press “F1”. This will turn the display on if it was disabled or in sleep mode. If there is still nothing displayed after multiple tries the screen may be dead and need to be replaced.

If the computer has not been turned on in a long time the CMOS battery may be dead. This is a battery found on the inside of the computer located on the motherboard. This can be fixed by replacing the CMOS battery. These can be purchased on the manufacturers website. Follow our repair guide on further information on how to replace this battery.

The laptop is working when plugged into the wall but when not plugged in the computer shuts off and does not turn back on.

Be sure that the battery is fully plugged into the laptop. It may be slightly unhinged or out of position which will cause the battery to not hold a charge.

The charge cable may be malfunctioning. This can be tested with a voltmeter by checking the side plug. If another charging cable is available test if it works with that cable. If this the voltmeter reads that it is not supplying a constant flow or another adapter works, the adapter needs replacement. This can be bought on the manufacturer’s website.

The laptop battery may be completely dead. If the above did not work than the battery is most likely dead and needs to be replaced. This part can be bought on the manufacturer’s website and can be replaced using our replacement guides.

The laptop is turning off due to overheating issues. Overheating can be diagnosed if you hear the laptop’s fans working at an abnormally fast and loud pace than the laptop proceeds to turn off.

The laptop’s vents are located on the bottom of the laptop. This means that the cans internally access cool air via these vents on the bottom. If these vents are blocked than the computer can not receive a steady access of cool air. This will cause the laptop to overheat and subsequently turn off. To prevent this, make sure the laptop can breath by putting it on a solid surface that does not block the vents.

Air vents or fans can build up dust over a long period of time. This makes the flow of air very difficult and sometimes impossible for the computer. This means the computer needs to be dusted and cleaned. This can be done with a can of compressed air and spraying it directly into the ventilation system located underneath the computer. You may also need to open up the laptop and clean the fan internally. This can be done by using our fan replacement guide and just cleaning the fan instead of replacing it.

If the above steps didn’t work than the fan may just be completely broken. This can be done by opening up the laptop and proceeding to turn the laptop on and watching if the fans spin up. Be careful not to touch anything while the power is on. If the fans do not spin up than the case fan is either not plugged in or failing. It can be plugged in or replaced by following our repair guide.

The laptop is not reading or writing to a DVD.

The CD may be in an unreadable condition. Take the CD that you are trying to read out of the laptop and clean it off with a microfiber cloth in order to not scratch the CD. Also look for any scratches on the CD. After cleaning reinsert the CD and see if it works, if not keep reading, but if the CD is scratched it may just be the CD. Make sure to test with another CD.

The laptop’s drive may just need a cleaning. Try spraying compressed air on the drive on the top of it and inside the computer itself.

The CD drive may just not be working. This means the CD drive has to be replaced. Open up the laptop using our replacement guide and go to the CD drive and see if it is plugged in. If it is and still doesn’t work following the previous steps than the CD drive is most likely dead and needs replacement.

The laptop will not connect to the wireless internet despite a connection being present.

Be sure that the connection you are trying to work on is a powerful signal. If the signal is too low than there may be issues trying to connect to being with. A college campus or small business may not have the best connection. Make sure to try wireless in your own apartment or home for troubleshooting issues.

The laptop’s wireless card driver may be outdated. This can be tested using a free program called DriverEasy. This program will detect any drivers that are outdated and will tell you to update them. If it is outdated, proceed to download the driver from DriverEasy and update it by going into device manager on your laptop and right clicking the wireless card. Click “Update Driver”, then “Browse my computer for driver software”, then go to the location of the downloaded driver and click it. This should update the driver.

If the above steps didn’t work, then the wireless card/adapter may be dead. This will require for the wireless adapter to be replaced. Wireless adapters can be bought almost anywhere. External or internal adapters will work but if you are to buy an internal adapter, be sure that it will fit the laptop.