Laptop won't start after Windows 11 update

[marcusmaximus1]

My partner spilled water over her laptop the other day so I opened it up and dried it out. It's been working fine since then, including shutting down and restarting the next day until she did an update and shut down today. Now it won't start at all. Power light beside adaptor input is on but pressing the power button does nothing. Have tried a hard reset but no good. Can anyone help with this? Thanks. 

[marcusmaximus1]

She's running Windows 11. Also, the hard reset I did was without disconnecting the battery as that would have involved opening the machine up again. Does that negate the point of the reset? 

Edit: I just did the hard reset with both the power supply unplugged and the battery removed. Held the power button for 1 minute. Still no joy. Would appreciate any help or suggestions anyone can offer.

[Max3Aj · Accepted solution]

@marcusmaximus1, Welcome to HP Support Community. 

Thank you for posting your query, I will be glad to help you. 
I understand how frustrating it must be to have your laptop stop working after a Windows 11 update especially after a recent water spill. Let’s walk through some steps to help isolate and hopefully resolve the issue.
 

• Water spill occurred, but the laptop worked fine afterward.
• Issue started after a Windows 11 update and shutdown.
• Power light near the adapter is on, but the laptop won’t power on.
• You've already tried a hard reset with and without the battery.

Step-by-Step Troubleshooting

Double-Check for Signs of Power

• Confirm if any lights blink when pressing the power button.
• Listen for fan noise or drive spin-up.
• Try connecting an external monitor to rule out display issues.

Perform a CMOS Reset (if applicable)

Some HP laptops have a pinhole reset or a key combo:

• Look for a tiny pinhole on the bottom labeled “CMOS” or “Reset.”
• If found, press it with a paperclip for 10–15 seconds.

Try a BIOS Recovery

If the update failed and corrupted the BIOS, this might help:

• Press and hold Windows + B, then press and hold the Power button for 2–3 seconds.
• Release the power button but keep holding Windows + B for another 10 seconds.
• If successful, the BIOS recovery screen should appear.

Check for Motherboard Damage

Even if the laptop worked after the spill, corrosion can develop over time. The update may have triggered a restart that exposed a latent hardware issue.

If you're comfortable:

• Open the laptop again and inspect the motherboard for corrosion or residue.
• Look especially near the power circuitry and battery connector.

External Boot Test

Try booting from a USB recovery drive:

• Create a Windows 11 recovery USB on another PC: HP Consumer PCs - Using the HP Cloud Recovery Tool in Windows 11 and 10 | HP® Support
• Plug it in and try powering on with ESC or F9 held down.

If none of the above works, it’s likely a hardware failure, we suggest you please visit the nearest HP authorized service center, the service team will check and assist you. 
Kindly follow this link to locate the nearest HP service center: HP® Service Center Locator - Ireland | HP® Support
(Select the country from the dropdown menu and enter the city name or pincode) 
 

I hope this helps. 

Take care and have a good day. 

Please click “Accepted Solution” if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution. Select "Yes" on the bottom left to say “Thanks” for helping! 

Max3Aj

HP Support 

[marcusmaximus1]

Many thanks for your reply. It turned out to be motherboard damage from the spill, which was beyond my skills to repair. So we left it into a laptop repair shop and they seem to have fixed it. Anyway, your explanation of how corrosion can occur over time despite it working for a few days appears to have been correct in this case so thanks again for that.