intermittent problem with boot up

[vernerbongo2]

Hi folks

I have an intermittent problem when booting my pc.
When I turn it on the lights come on and the fan starts, there are no beeps (it usually beeps) and the fan just keeps running, nothing else happens.
I could try booting it a few times and the same thing happens, then when trying a few days later it boots ok.
Also one night while browsing the pc just stopped completely and went in to the faulty boot up problem.
Does anyone have any idea

 

[Deluks]

Impossible to say, could be any number of things. First thing I'd check is that the fans aren't clogged up with dust and fluff.

Another likely culprit is a cheapo or knackered power supply. What make is it, (the PSU) and how old is it?

 

[vernerbongo2]

Impossible to say, could be any number of things. First thing I'd check is that the fans aren't clogged up with dust and fluff.

Another likely culprit is a cheapo or knackered power supply. What make is it, (the PSU) and how old is it?

Hi, very little dust and no fluff.
psu make is, fsp group inc and the computer was bought in 2005

By the way it wouldn't boot up just now, tried it twice before it booted

 

[dave.m]

Three years is not very old for a computer but the first thing to do next time it is running is to back up all your files and folders to some external storage (not a flash stick) either external HD or burn to CDs or DVDs.
Does it beep when it finally starts up? If so are they just the normal beeps or are they different sequence to normal?

 

[vernerbongo2]

Does it beep when it finally starts up? If so are they just the normal beeps or are they different sequence to normal?

Yes beeps as normal

 

[dave.m]

It is not stuck in a corner with all the vents blocked or obstructed, is it?

A couple of suggestions for the problem are failing RAM or failing HD.

You could check the condition of the HD by attempting to get into safe mode(hit F8 repeatedly before the windows logo shows up, when it has loaded go to "My Computer then right click your hard disk and click "Properties" a box should appear click the "Tools" tab at the top then click on "Check now" in error checking in the box that appears tick both boxes and click "Start" this will take AGES but will fix any file system errors and mark off any bad sectors. if you have bad sectors(it probably wont tell you even if you have but does sometime)you will eventually need to replace the hard disk as it is failing.

Do you know how many and what size RAM you have installed?

dave

 

[vernerbongo2]

Do you know how many and what size RAM you have installed?

dave

160gb hdd & 512mb ram
its in a corner but has 12" gap at the side 8" at the back!
I was just looking at my receipt and my pc was bought 28/12/05 not even 3 years old.
Things started going wrong a few months ago after some sort of virus but all scans come up clear now.
Started with computer booting but with a blank screen, then I done a complete system restore to factory default. Then this new boot problem appeared a few weeks later.
Goes ok when up and running though, except for one time when it just stopped and went into faulty boot problem.
I don't know alot about pc's to be honest

Could it be anything to do with the bios settings? my bios keeps the correct time and date.

 

[Deluks]

Check your graphics card isn't loose, AGP cards without the small plastic 'lock' were notorious for this.

 

[vernerbongo2]

Check your graphics card isn't loose, AGP cards without the small plastic 'lock' were notorious for this.

I had the card out for a clean and back in again already.
I did read on another site that a dead graphics card has these symptons but it doesn't mention that it would be intermittent

 

[vernerbongo2]

Ran a packardbell diagnostic disc to check my hdd & ram and it came back as everything working ok!
The snapsys system on my computer shows every item connected is working correctly!

 

[Deluks]

Try this, next time it won't boot.

Turn power off at the back using the switch on the PSU. Then press the front power button a few times, to flush out whatever's left in the PSU, the lights/fans might come on for half a second.

Switch back on and power up again. It might work straight away. (Let us know)

 

[vernerbongo2]

Try this, next time it won't boot.

Turn power off at the back using the switch on the PSU. Then press the front power button a few times, to flush out whatever's left in the PSU, the lights/fans might come on for half a second.

Switch back on and power up again. It might work straight away. (Let us know)

Yea I have done that a couple of times when it didn't boot first time(reset), it sometimes works and sometimes doesn't.
When it doesn't boot I would turn off and try booting it straight away,(without holding in the power button & power off) again sometimes it boots and sometimes it doesn't.
It will work eventually but its a wee bit annoying and i'm sure it won't do the pc much good turning it off and on so many times?

Thanks for all who gave me there input for now

 

[Softus]

I've just noticed this topic and am dismayed at the appalling advice being offered. This site is supposed to be providing expert help, and is not just another Internet forum where people sling ideas at each other with as much value as chimps throwing turds.

This symptom in an off-the-shelf PC invariably has a curable fault, and is likely to have arisen in one or more of the following components:

1. PSU
2. GPU
3. Motherboard
4. CPU.

Without specialist (and quite expensive) equipment your only realistic hope of finding the faulty component quickly is to substitute with known good ones until it works. This isn't difficult, but if you don't know what you're doing you could do more harm than good.

A lot of people have access to another PC with a usable PSU, but GPUs now have a welter of potential incompatibility issues that make it less likely that you have a suitable one knocking around.

If it's the motherboard and/or CPU, you have little hope of diagnosing it without significant expense and frustration.

So, if you don't have the necessary resources and/or skills to do that, then you'll save yourself lots of heartache, and possibly money, by taking it to a repair shop.

The other option is to buy a working identical machine from something like eBay, and swap your disk into that machine.

 

[vernerbongo2]

Just wanted to see if it was a common problem with a simple fix!

Guess not and I will take it to an expert eventually

 

[Softus]

There's nothing wrong with you asking, of course.

The problem isn't rare, and the fix might be simple - it's just finding out which thing to fix that's the difficult part, and the "try this random action" brigade should be barred from commenting on problems like this.