Why is My Computer Blinking White, Red, Yellow & Orange?

Nearly all personal computers, from laptops to workstations, have some sort of indicators to show their current state.

This LED blinks in different colors in a certain order to represent a certain error in your computer system. The computer speaker or buzzer usually joins this blinking LED, and you hear beeps.

These beeps are always synchronized with your computer LED. This article discusses what blinking on your computer means. We will try to describe your computer blinking in different colors, such as white, red, yellow, and orange. So, without any ado, let’s start our topic in more detail.

Why is My Computer Blinking White, Red, Yellow, and Orange?

Your laptop computer is blinking white and orange consecutively because its battery or one of the battery cells has died. If your computer blinks red light with synchronized beeps, your PSU, RAM, CPU, or GPU is faulty. An amber light means that other hardware is faulty except the PSU.

Your computer light blinks in different colors to show you certain errors. Each LED blinking pattern has a different meaning on different computers. Similarly, each computer manufacturer uses a light of a different color for this purpose. Mostly, the computer speaker or buzzer joins this light.

There are several reasons behind your computer blinking white, red, yellow, and orange. Each color and blinking pattern has different meanings in each computer system.

What Are The Main Reasons Behind My Computer Blinking Lights?

1. Computer Blinking White And Orange Light Successively

If your laptop computer’s battery indicator is blinking white and orange, there is a high chance that your battery is dead. It is also possible that one or more of its cells are dead. Free software on the internet can help you check your computer battery. It will tell you the battery’s health.

Secondly, you can check the health of your computer’s battery through your computer system’s UEFI/BIOS. Some of the latest laptop computers allow you to do this easily. For this, they have the option to test and diagnose the battery. As a result, you do not have to download and install other software.

2. Computer Blinking Red Light

Your computer can be blinking a red light because of the failure of RAM, Graphics Card, or PSU (Power Supply Unit). In these cases, your computer speaker might also give out buzzing sounds. RAM is responsible for containing the operating system and apps. Hence, your computer’s RAM has failed.

The second reason behind your computer blinking a red light is the failure of your graphics card. You may need to remember to connect your GPU to the power cord from the PSU. In this case, it will also show you a message on your display monitor’s screen. After all, the GPU provides the display.

When your computer blinks red light, it is also an indicator of the failure of your CPU (Central Processing Unit). There can be two possible reasons behind this CPU failure. Either your computer processor has burnt out, or it is overheating. A failed CPU cooler can also cause this error.

 

The failure of your computer power supply unit can be another reason behind your computer blinking red LED light. The power supply is mainly responsible for providing power to all your computer system’s hardware. And without the proper and sufficient power, it can’t start at all.

3. Computer Blinking Amber Light

Your computer blinks an amber light because one of its hardware is faulty except for your PSU. You can easily confirm this by looking at the fan of your computer’s power supply unit. A good PSU fan never stops spinning when you switch on your computer. But you will have to check the other hardware.

The other hardware means your graphics card, computer processor, memory modules (RAMs), etc. These are the basic computer hardware without which a computer system cannot work. Your computer will not start and boot normally, even when only one of your RAMs is faulty.

How to Fix Your Computer Blinking White, Red, Yellow & Orange

Your computer is blinking white, red, yellow, and orange, has different meanings. The color of the computer light varies from computer to computer. Hence, we will discuss each light blinking separately for your convenience:

1. Fix Your Computer Blinking White & Orange Light

You can easily fix your laptop computer, which is blinking white and orange light, by using one of these two methods. Either replace your computer battery with a better one or repair your laptop computer’s battery. A dead laptop battery can be the reason behind this.

Every laptop battery has a certain life that depends on its usage. This time reduces with the passage of time and the intensity of use. The more you use your laptop, the more you must charge it repeatedly, even though it will only start one day if you connect its charger.

It will also suddenly turn off without warning when you remove the charger. And the battery will mostly be on 0% or near it. It will hardly charge more than 90% but in hours. It shows that your laptop computer needs a new battery because the old one is dead.

2. Fix Your Computer Blinking Red Light

First of all, check your power supply unit to fix this issue. Just unplug your computer and rotate it to see the PSU fan in the back. Now switch it on and see if your PSU fan is running. If it spins for a fraction of a second and stops, then your PSU is faulty, and you must replace it.

To prevent your computer from blinking, a red light can be because of RAM failure. Computer RAM is also known as a memory module. You can easily solve this issue by cleaning your RAMs and their slots on the motherboard. Just use a pencil eraser to clean the pinouts of your memory modules individually.

You should remove one of the RAMs, which has burnt out for good. Be careful when installing the memory modules back in their slots. You should always install the RAMs in order, making the pairs. A RAM in the wrong slot can also give this error of a red blinking light.

You can easily fix your computer by blinking a red light if the culprit is your CPU. First, check if your CPU cooler is working properly. If it is, then secondly, check if the thermal paste of your CPU is OK. You must replace the thermal paste if it has dried out and expired. Change your CPU if none works.

If the problem is not fixed, clean your graphics card like you cleaned your RAMs. Do clean its PCIE slot as well because it can contain dust particles. Always connect your GPU with the power cords from the PSU. We hope that your computer will now stop blinking the red LED light.

3. Fix Your Computer Blinking Amber Light

You can easily fix this error of your computer blinking an amber light because of a faulty computer processor, memory modules, or graphics card (GPU). First of all, check if the CPU cooler is working or not. A faulty cooler can overheat a CPU, resulting in this error. 

The dried or expired thermal paste can cause your CPU to overheat and blink an amber light. A burnt-out CPU can also be the culprit, which you must replace. But first, check and clean your memory modules and their slots. Do the same with your graphics card (GPU).

If one of your RAMs is faulty, you must remove or replace it with a new one. The order of installing RAMs also matters. If you install your hardware wrongly, it can also cause your computer system to blink amber light. Check if your GPU is connected to the power cable from the PSU.

Does RAM Need to be Installed in Order?

Yes, RAM always needs to be installed in order. Your computer manufacturers have already defined this order. If you install your memory modules incorrectly, your computer will not start properly, blinking red or amber lights with a beeping sound. Always install your RAMs in order.

Nearly all the RAMs we use today are multi-channel memory modules such as dual-channel or triple-channel. Each multi-channel RAM needs to be installed in a certain order. First, remove all your computer RAMs from their slots to install your RAMs properly.

Install only one RAM in the first slot, DIMM0 or DIMM1, in different computer architectures. Usually, it is written next to each RAM slot on your computer motherboard with a bright color. Now start your computer and save the changes. After this, add the second RAM in the next slot.

When installing each new RAM, save the changes when your computer starts. Otherwise, the memory module may be installed on your motherboard; it might need to be fixed. Put, your operating system, games, and apps will not be able to be used at all. Now check if you have installed all the RAMs.

Log in to your operating system account, such as Windows 10/11. Now press the combination of the “Windows + Pause Break” buttons. A window will appear with the stats about your computer system. Navigate to the “Installed RAM” stat in the “Device Specification” section.

Conclusion

Your computer blinking in different colors has different meanings. Even though each blinking pattern of its LED light represents a different failure or error, it also depends on your computer manufacturer and which colors they use to show a certain error. A white and orange light indicates the dead laptop battery.

If your computer is blinking red light, then it means that it has hardware failure or one of its hardware is faulty, such as RAM, PSU, CPU, or Graphics Card (GPU). You can easily fix this error by cleaning your memory modules, graphics cards, and slots. You should replace one of them.

Your computer may be blinking the red light because its CPU or CPU cooler is faulty. A failed CPU cooler overheats your CPU. As a result, your computer does not turn on, and the red light starts to blink. A dried or expired CPU thermal paste also causes the same problem.

You can change the old thermal paste with a new one to eliminate your computer system’s continuously blinking red light. It is also a sign of a burnt-out computer processor. In this case, you must replace your old fried CPU with a new one. But start with fixing the CPU cooler first.

Your computer’s blinking red light can also be caused by a failed PSU (Power Supply Unit). You can look at the back of your computer to check if your PSU fan is spinning. If it is not, then your PSU is faulty. In some computers, an amber light represents that your PSU is OK, but other hardware is.