Help please - computer won't switch on!!

jackiegats

I don't know if anyone can help me but i'm having problems with my computer (not the one i'm on now though). When I switch it on it seems to want to start up but after a very short time it cuts out & then starts trying to start up again. I've been told that this sometimes happens if you aren't using a registered version of windows but mine is genuine and registered.

Any suggestions on how to sort this out would be most appreciated.

Thanks

rmg1

How long after the first switch on does it turn itself off again?
I had a similar problem when I first got my PC. It would be OK for about 15 mins and then switch itself off. Switch it back on and it oges off after a few minutes.
The fan for the CPU wasn't running and it was shutting down due to overheating.

dickibobboy

This wont be the reason.

We need more information

Do you hear any beeps?
Do you see anything?

CHR15

It has nothing do with your version of Windows.

the CPU fan is a likely cause as rmg1 suggests, take the side panel off and look at the fan, it should spin as soon as you press the power button.

Does the PC make any beeps when it powers up?



[edit] Too slooowww!!

jackiegats

Thanks for your fast responses - the computer beeps when I first switch it on - it then goes throught the motions of starting up for maybe one or two minutes before it clicks off & then starts all over again. I never actually get to the point where I can actually use it.

CHR15

Did you look at the fans?? Take the left side panel off (as you look at it)

Try powering up and hitting DEL (or whatever you need to go into BIOS)

Just leave it at the main BIOS screen for a few minutes, this will tell us if it is through overheating or something more sinister.


Try hitting F8 after you have pressed the power button. Keep tapping F8 until you see a menu come up. Select SAFE MODE and hit enter.

jackiegats

Thanks for your help - i'll give your suggestions a try when I get home from work later.

shimmasok

It could be that you've had a virus that has deleted your hard drive including windows. My friend had a laptop that kept restarting before completely booting and it turned out this was the problem.

If you have your original windows cd try inserting and then rebooting and selecting boot from CD

cwoodham

To stop the rebooting on error, if you can start in Safe mode:

Right-click My Computer and click on Properties.
Click the Advanced tab.
Click the 'Settings' Button in the 'Startup and Recovery' section and untick 'Automatically restart'.

johnmc

Usually overheating. As above, check the fan on the CPU.

If that's OK, have a listen near the power supply. Any sound from it?

I've had a few that have done this and have a "whistle". Change the power supply and everything sweet again.

steveeeee

I'm getting a similar problem on my main PC at the moment (fortunately I also have a laptop so can still keep an eye on eBay etc when I'm at home). What's happening with mine is that it gets past the BIOS memory test, and checks for connected IDE drives. About 1 second after the IDE drives are listed, the system hard resets and goes through the same cycle again.

So far I've tried reseating the graphics card and disconnecting the DVDRW and CDRW drives (I know the CDRW is faulty) and the 2 SATA hard drives and that made no difference. The weekend was quite busy so I didn't get round to trying anything else. Next on my list is to disconnect the 2 IDE hard drives and if still no joy, I'll remove absolutely everything (incl each stick of RAM one at a time) and see if it still does the same thing. Then I'll start putting bits back in one by one starting with the essentials and see what happens. I can only pray that my 800GB+ of data is intact! :eek:

I've had numerous problems with it over the years, including having to buy a replacement CPU last year. I thought for a while that it would need a new motherboard (this one's quite rare nowadays) but I've just seen someone selling the exact same board on eBay ending this week and I'll snap that up so I've got a spare one handy.

To the OP - at exactly what point does it reboot? As it boots do you see any scrolling information on the screen?