Why does the laptop turn on then off right away?

So when I turn on the laptop I can hear the fan running and I see the lights indicating its on turn on but then it immediately shuts off with in a few seconds, the screen doesn't even have a chance to turn on. My guess is that it's probably the motherboard or the harddrive but I'm not a computer expert so I'm 100% sure if thats the right diagnosis. Thank you if you're able to help.