Computer won't start

ZephZeph In geosynchronous orbit.
edited March 2007 in Hardware
Okay, this is serious business. Last night, as per usual, I put my computer into hibernate and went to sleep. This morning, I found it had turned itself off overnight. Furthermore, it would not turn on. After holding the power button for quite some time, switching outlets, and checking the connections, it was time to go to school, so I left it to figure out until later. My computer has relatively recently taken up the habit of turning when I've tilted or nudged it a bit, and my A+ teacher thought it might have been chip creep. After I got home, I tried to turn it on, which it did just fine. I turned it back off to make sure everything was in proper working order inside. I opened it up, checked all the power cables, reseated the RAM, and tried it again. It wouldn't start. Furthermore, it would turn on if I pressed the button on the floppy drive, but nothing would appear on the monitor, and then it would randomly shut down again. The power supply fan seems to be spinning just fine, so I'm not sure it's a power supply issue...In this state, my computer is essentially unusable, and I really need help!

UPDATE: I've tried to turn it on a few more times. Generally, it turns on, nothing happens on the monitor, the front panel LEDs either stay off, flicker and fade, or turn on normally. Then, after about ten or twenty seconds, it turns off. Sometimes it will turn itself back on again randomly. I never hear any beep codes as this happens. Once in a while something will appear on the screen, and once I even got so far as the Windows startup screen before the computer gave out again.

Comments

  • profdlpprofdlp The Holy City Of Westlake, Ohio
    edited March 2007
    Problems like this are awfully hard to troubleshoot, seeing as how you can't get the computer going long enough to test anything. I'd start by trying a new power supply and see what difference that makes, if any.

    You could also temporarily disconnect the hard drive(s) and any optical drives. Obviously the computer is not going to boot all the way, but if it consistently gets to the "No Operating System found, insert Boot Disk" screen it might help narrow things down. :)
  • ZephZeph In geosynchronous orbit.
    edited March 2007
    Thanks for the advice. When I booted up the computer for the twenty-ninth-thousand time, it went into chkdisk on its own, fixed three or four errors, and now the computer seems to be stable. I have no idea why, but I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Any additional advice or explanations would be helpful, though.
  • profdlpprofdlp The Holy City Of Westlake, Ohio
    edited March 2007
    Run the "Quick" and "Full" tests from the hard drive manufacturer. A failing drive could be causing the problem. It is also possible that a failing power supply (among other things) could be causing the drive to drop out intermittently, which would explain chkdsk wanting to "fix" things.
  • edcentricedcentric near Milwaukee, Wisconsin Icrontian
    edited March 2007
    And after you check the HDD you need to run memtest.

    I have a box right now that is flaking out on me. These can drive you crazy.
  • ZephZeph In geosynchronous orbit.
    edited March 2007
    ****, tonight I accidentally yanked my USB mouse out of its port and that caused the computer to shut off again, in the middle of a paper, no less. It's currently in the throes of power madness. Suggestions?
  • profdlpprofdlp The Holy City Of Westlake, Ohio
    edited March 2007
    Have you done any of the things we've suggested thus far? :)
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