Hi, i hope this is in the correct place, never posted here before.

afew days ago i was using my laptop as normal running on AC power, but after it being on for about 30 mins the backlight started to dim and brighten quickly and the icon in the system tray was also quickly changing from the Ac icon to the battery icon, after about 10 seconds of this it automatically switched off.

(backlight was changing because its set to dim during battery usage)

i left it alone for a good hour or so, when i tried to turn it back on it would not power on.

when the power button is pressed the power light sometimes flashes on for about a second before turning off again.

also when the battery is connected and the power cable plugged in the battery charge light is lit.

it is a HP laptop, and nothing new has been installed/changed recently, its 2 maybe 3 years old.

any help would be great, or even ideas what it could possibly be, if you need any more information please ask.

your cheapest place to start is with the charger, then the battery. Make sure that your charge indicator is blinking when you have the cord plugged in. It may not be charging the battery properly. Having said that, if the battery is not functioning as it should, it will not charge. No charge = no power. and also some laptops do not even power up even if the cord is plugged in if the battery is not in good condition.

First, try taking out the battery, drain the power from the board(press power button 2 - 3 times) Then plug the power cord in and turn it on. Sometimes batteries when they are going bad give a negative charge and it will not power on, or stay on very long due to this. If that doesn't work. Try just the battery, though it may be dead and wont power on, might need cord.