PC won't boot up

hubb

This has happened for a while. I turn the power on and hear the psi start up and the hard drive whirling. I look at the screen and it is not registering a signal. As time has gone on I have had to power on with a few attempts before it goes through the boot up process.

I know when it has found the boot up process because the psu winds down and goes quiet. Now I can't get it to boot at all with many many attempts. Somehow it has stuck and won't boot.

There must be a lose wire or something. Can anyone help me diagnose what is wrong ?

fwor

hubb wrote: »

There must be a lose wire or something. Can anyone help me diagnose what is wrong ?

Remotely diagnosing a loose wire via the Internet. That's a challenge...

But have you tried turning it off and on again? Seriously - one of my Shuttles occasionally does this, and the only way to make it boot is to disconnect it completely from the mains, allow the power supply to discharge completely and then power it on again.

Another possibility is that the CMOS backup battery has got too low and the BIOS settings have corrupted.

Then again, maybe it's the power supply capacitors, or...

googler

Replace the CMOS battery.

While you have the thing opened up, use a compressed air can to blast the dust away from the PSU, air vents, processor fan, etc (do it outside so you don't end up breathing all the muck as you dislodge it.

If you think it's a 'loose wire', then go through every connection on the motherboard, PSU, drives, etc - unplug them, plug them back in again.

Then try again.

hubb

Ok, will try that. Cheers.

hiz_2

Also try re-seating the RAM module(s).

The best approach is to remove all un-necessary connections and cards then add them back and see when the problem re-occurs, although this is becoming less appropriate these days.

Do you get any beeps? More than just one could indicate the problem. Google motherboard beep codes for your motherboard to see what they mean.

hubb

Just changed the ram and CMOS battery, disconnected everything (all cards) and still no boot. I'm stumped.

macman

Are you getting a 'no signal' message on the monitor? If so, the monitor is working (though easy enough to test with another monitor), so suspect the monitor cable or graphics card. Swap out to establish.

want2bmortgage3

i would try another psu, easy to swap and not too expensive.
if it doesn't fix it you can take it back.
if not that, i'd suggest the motherboard.

hubb

Can't be the psu because I only recently bought the new Casecom from Ebuyer.

want2bmortgage3

ok next thing to check.. you say you can hear it booting up:

1. are there any beep codes.....which would indicate a fault with ram/graphics card etc
2. can you hear the hard drive loading for several minutes (sounds like its loading windows but just no screen display?)

Figment

You don't mention any beeps during the failed start-ups. If there are any it would help diagnose the problem to know how many and the sequence (e.g. One long, two short)

As it's not getting as far as the POST screen, My initial thought was a problem with the graphics card. If it's an add-on card, try removing and reseating it and if it has an on-board fan, check that it's spinning.