My laptop screen remains black with the keyboard and power button lights on and off.

[Gael97]

Hi, my hp elitebook 840 displayed a blue screen stating a stop code: IRQL NOT LESS OR EQUAL.  I left it to scan until 100% for about 15 munites. I switched it off and on again when the screen remained black and the keyboard keys with the power button turned on and off. I need help how to fix it. 

Thank you in advance.

[IT_WinSec]

Hello @Gael97 

Welcome ! Thank you for posting in HP support community.

• Your problem is known as Blue Screen of Death (BSOD). BSOD is kind of Windows self-protection feature. If you received a blue screen error, or stop code, the computer has shut down abruptly to protect itself from data loss.
• REASON / ROOT CAUSE -> A hardware device, its driver, or related software might have caused this error.What you describe could happen because of incompatible with Windows driver (most often) or because of hardware issue (rarely).

In order to troubleshoot, I would need some specific information.

1. Try hard restart/hard reset.

Press the power on-button on your PC and hold it for about 5-10 seconds until your computer powers off completely.

Remove and unplug any external peripherals and accessories. Press once the power-on button to turn on the PC and wait if it will start now. Wait...

If it still fails to load properly, go ahead with the next steps

2. Perform some basic hardware checks to rule out a potential hardware problem

- Please, shutdown the computer using the power button (pressed and hold for a few seconds until PC powers off)

- Power the computer back on.

As soon as you press the power-on button, immediately begin hitting the Esc button (like tap-tap-tap) before any logo appears. This should open a HP Startup Menu

- Choose F2 to open System Diagnostics. Follow the on-screen instructions to perform System Test >> Quick test.

This will check major hardware components for issue (do it just in case) . Here is more info >> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JXUp43ahHA

If there are no system checks/no quick tests, perform HDD (hard disk drive) and RAM check (memory check).

Let me know the test results. If the tests pass without issues, continue. If not, please, let me know

[IT_WinSec]

In addition to the above, the power button and the keyboard keys, do you notice any pattern in the blinking (on and off) ?

[Gael97]

Hello, Thank you for responding to my issue.

I followed the two instructions but it my screen still remains black and when I start the laptop the power button and keyboard stills lights on and off.

[Gael97]

After pressing the power button it lights on with the keyboard then it goes off just immediately, then on and off repeatedly until when I press the power button off or remove the charger. This happens within an interval of seconds while the screen remains black.