Hi, My laptop (win me) will not power up, when I push the power button, the hard drive icon flashes for a fraction of a second and I can hear the computer run for a few seconds and then nothing, the screen is always dark. I have tried this using only the battery and with the A/C plugged in. Any suggestions? Thanks!

Kathryn, Only two suggestions. Sometimes if the battery is really down, or dead, it won't power up even when plugged into the "mains" [as the Brits say]. So, first try removing the battery. If that doesn't work, you may have a laptop which requires the battery to be in place. {It is, as technicians say, interlocked.] I that case, we're assuming the battery is dead, find the contacts on the battery and cover them with a piece of duct tape. Replace the battery and try again. If this does not help, you're running out of options. If it's new enough to have run ME, it may have a user-pluggable CD and/or HD, in which case you could remove the CD or HD and try again. HTH M2