Helpful Tip #1: Laptop will not turn on

I have had a problem with all but one of my laptops and have been asked questions about this very problem from many people. "The lights on my laptop turn on but my laptop doesn't. the screen just stays black and the hard drive doesn't spool up. whats going on"? While this may be indicative of several things -hard drive, motherboard etc.- I've noticed that this problem is usually "Electric" related and have seen this solved two different ways. The method to try first is to unplug the laptop, take out the battery, and hold down the power button for ten seconds then release, then press and hold the power button for a full minute. This electrically purges the laptop. Replace the battery, plug in the laptop and try turning it on again. This usually takes care of it (this has worked for me every time) but if not, trying a different adapter may solve the problem. I've never had to try this myself but has worked for people I know.