Computer Problems
- Thread starter slalomdms
- Start date
MaidMirawyn
New Member
slalomdms said:So i guess you guys will have to do without SP for awhile.
Oh no! What will we do without Sleeping Princess?Really, we will miss you. Sorry to hear about your computer!
dorkelf
Active Member
slalomdms said:I wont be on GW for awhile, because my computer has decided that it doesn't want to boot up. Dont know whats wrong with it or when i will be able to get it fixed.
So i guess you guys will have to do without SP for awhile.
NOOOOOOO!
Sorry your computer has decided to have a tantrum, hope you'll be able to find out what's wrong soon.
Paul
Dauntless
New Member
If you can let us know what the symptoms are(strange noises, viruses, etc...) I'm sure we can help. I know there are some tech savy people in the guild. I myself work for tech support at my school, fixing all kinds of problems with students PCs ranging from virus removal to hardware replacement.
Since it's not booting up I would suggest going on a friends computer and downloading a disc image of knoppix linux. It's linux that boots straight off of a cd. If you can get it to boot up with that, then you can rescue any documents you want to save on a usb flash drive. If the PC wont boot up at all then your power supply may need replacing. If power does come on but you see nothing on screen it could be either your video card or your mother board.
Any other details about your problem would greatly help in solving the issue.
Since it's not booting up I would suggest going on a friends computer and downloading a disc image of knoppix linux. It's linux that boots straight off of a cd. If you can get it to boot up with that, then you can rescue any documents you want to save on a usb flash drive. If the PC wont boot up at all then your power supply may need replacing. If power does come on but you see nothing on screen it could be either your video card or your mother board.
Any other details about your problem would greatly help in solving the issue.
Thrawn
New Member
Does it not turn on at all, or does it start and not make it to Windows?
If it starts, are the POST beeps normal?
Do any error messages come up during the boot process?
Like Dauntless said, the more details you can provide, the beter we'll be able to help out.
If it starts, are the POST beeps normal?
Do any error messages come up during the boot process?
Like Dauntless said, the more details you can provide, the beter we'll be able to help out.
Okay here is how everything started.
One day was getting on computer, the computer started to boot up like normally... Then I get on the internet like usual and all of the sudden my computer screen shuts off and so did the rest of the computer. What i did was unplug everything and turn back on the computer. From then on every thing worked fine.
But then a few weeks later same thing happened but it happened as the computer was booting up, so i did the same thing i did last time, that didnt worked so i kept trying, finally after a few times of unplugging and replugging power cables computer booted up fine. This time i ran virus scans and and a few other scans that i had.
The booting up problem has been occuring more frequently and i didnt know what to do. Finally about a few days ago when i tried to turn on the computer it started booting up then powered down, from there on i couldnt turn on the computer again.
I dont know if this will help, but when i usually turn on my computer a green light will stay solid. Now a yellow light just blinks.
I think that it is a power supply problem. What do you guys think?
By the way i have a Dell.
One day was getting on computer, the computer started to boot up like normally... Then I get on the internet like usual and all of the sudden my computer screen shuts off and so did the rest of the computer. What i did was unplug everything and turn back on the computer. From then on every thing worked fine.
But then a few weeks later same thing happened but it happened as the computer was booting up, so i did the same thing i did last time, that didnt worked so i kept trying, finally after a few times of unplugging and replugging power cables computer booted up fine. This time i ran virus scans and and a few other scans that i had.
The booting up problem has been occuring more frequently and i didnt know what to do. Finally about a few days ago when i tried to turn on the computer it started booting up then powered down, from there on i couldnt turn on the computer again.
I dont know if this will help, but when i usually turn on my computer a green light will stay solid. Now a yellow light just blinks.
I think that it is a power supply problem. What do you guys think?
By the way i have a Dell.
Talon
Active Member
power supply, then cpu
does everything get power? like hdds you can hear them spin up. Do cdrom drives pop out when you push button? If they do, powersupply, if not, cpu.
does everything get power? like hdds you can hear them spin up. Do cdrom drives pop out when you push button? If they do, powersupply, if not, cpu.
Thrawn
New Member
Also, does it make any beeps when you turn it on? If it makes anything other than a single short beep, remember what it does. You can then look it up, and depending on your motherboard, that can tell you what the issue is.
I'd also be inclined to say it's a PSU issue, if it weren't for the yellow light...But yeah, check to see if things are getting power.
I'd also be inclined to say it's a PSU issue, if it weren't for the yellow light...But yeah, check to see if things are getting power.
Dauntless
New Member
Talon said:
NOT CPU. If it was the CPU the OS wouldn't even boot up. That sounds like a bad capacitor in your power supply. If it isnt your power supply, then it's most likely your motherboard, not the CPU. If it were the CPU then you would receive some kind of error message from your motherboard bevore your screen went out. Since it seems all your power is going out at once, it must be the source(power supply) or the motherboard which everything is powered through.
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right after i posted earlyier i tried to start my computer up again. It turned on and i booted it up in safe mode and ran some virus scans. Then i restarted it in normal mode and worked fine.
I dont get why it starts up sometimes and others it wont do anything.
It is not making any beeping noises. I will probably have to take it into to get fixed if it keeps on doing this.
I dont get why it starts up sometimes and others it wont do anything.
It is not making any beeping noises. I will probably have to take it into to get fixed if it keeps on doing this.
Cloud G
New Member
DUDE...A Dell !!!
Ok try this...next it it's giving you greif, look at the back of it. You'll see four lights in a row on the back....sometimes labeled 'A B C D'. they should all be green. If not, post what they are. green, off, amber....
The order of them will tell what is wrong.
Ok try this...next it it's giving you greif, look at the back of it. You'll see four lights in a row on the back....sometimes labeled 'A B C D'. they should all be green. If not, post what they are. green, off, amber....
The order of them will tell what is wrong.
Talon
Active Member
If it was cpu, if u have a failed cpu, you wont get any mobo activity, including post, error codes, not even cdrom drives opening. If it would be mobo and cpu fine, you would get bios error codes unless bios rom is completely gone.
sounds like a flaky psu or mobo.
Try the suggestion earlier, find a bootable linux distro, knoppix, pclinuxos, ubuntu live, to determine if its a OS problem but i doubt it.
sounds like a flaky psu or mobo.
Try the suggestion earlier, find a bootable linux distro, knoppix, pclinuxos, ubuntu live, to determine if its a OS problem but i doubt it.
ChickenSoup
Banned
Windowz XP FTW!
vibrokatana
New Member
sounds alot like your power supply is going kaput, my area has really weird power fluctuations, ive lose about 3 computers, 2 amps, and several assorted electronics. Right now our youth area is kaput because our breaker is acting up, were getting very very bad power fluctuations in it.
Usually when a computer boots up and nothing is happening, either A) the motherboard died or B) the power supply isnt sending the power-clean message for the motherboard to continue its boot process or C) your video card isnt transmitting a signal
One of the (older) computers i worked on would stop sending a video signal till you switched out the video card after a reboot, luckly flashing the bios fixed that lol
Usually when a computer boots up and nothing is happening, either A) the motherboard died or B) the power supply isnt sending the power-clean message for the motherboard to continue its boot process or C) your video card isnt transmitting a signal
One of the (older) computers i worked on would stop sending a video signal till you switched out the video card after a reboot, luckly flashing the bios fixed that lol
vibrokatana
New Member
Talon said:
I have seen computers boot fine without any cpu, usually they will get to the post screen and give a cpu error after sounding like a ambulance coming through your house
does it happen to be a compaq? becuase i had the same issues, and i never could tell if my cpu or mobo was going out, i was able to test everything else but those parts on seperate machines
astrod00d
New Member
Most of these guys are right on the money. I would say that your PSU is dieing and/or you have some dirty power. You can get a good power supply for pretty cheap. A thermaltake 420 or 430W PSU runs about $30 on Newegg. If you decide to get one, make sure it's compatible with your system.
Dauntless
New Member
vibrokatana said:
Vibro is right, you will get some motherboard activity but you will get an error shortly thereafter.
I'm betting on it being your power supply as well.
astrod00d is correct, Newegg FTW. However I would suggest spending a little more on your supply than $30. Usually you tend to get a more quality PSU for more money. That is to say, it is less likely to blow out or surge your system with a higher quality supply. If you have the money I would suggest an Antec PSU. They're fairly pricey as power supplys go but well worth the money IMO.
MaidMirawyn
New Member
Speaking of power, this is a good time to bring up uninterruptible power supplies/battery backups. They've saved me many times, both at home and work.
astrod00d
New Member
Don't let the price fool you. Thermaltake makes very good power supplies. And unless you have a real beefy system with dual video cards, the one I recommended will be more than enough for your needs.