Computer fails to start

[Strychnine]

Hello, Overclockers

I came home today to discover that my PC has... died?

I press the power button and everything begins to start up, then everything dies, the furthest I have got into the start up process is windows telling me it did not shut down properly, which I guess is due to the power failure.

My PSU is around three years old now, could this be the problem? I did a little research and that is what every link said, although some friends of mine said it could also be my hard drive or motherboard? But in that case I would imagine I'd get somewhere in the startup process, please correct me if I'm wrong, I'm no expert when it comes to computers.

My PSU is 630W, and I've never had problems with it, I'm not sure of the make or model of my mobo.

Any help would be appreciated, thanks in advance!

- Mitch

 

[Strychnine]

Mobo: ASRock AliveNF7G-FullHD
HDD: Hitachi Deskstar T7K500 500GB SATA2 16MB 7200RPM
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ 3.0GHz
GFX: nVidia GeForce GT240
RAM: Corsair TWIN2X CM2X1024-6400C4
PSU: AXP powersupply ATX 630W SLI SATA 20+4 pin

Tried removing a stick of RAM and using the onboard graphics, no improvement, as for the second reply, would I have to use linux or would my windows disk work alright?

Thanks for your help so far guys, I hope I can get this fixed soon.

EDIT: This time my monitor didn't even switch on, my system switched off after a couple of seconds, earlier on it stayed on for longer but with no power to the monitor, any idea what this could mean?

 

[Strychnine]

Welcome to the forums

ie the fans and any leds come on for a few moments, no output to your monitor and then it powers down... correct?

Start from scratch to begin with. I had the same problem a little while ago, after moving one of my systems to a new case but the same simple checks can save wasting hard earned cash on needless replacement parts.

1. Check all PSU power connectors are correctly fitted and pushed fully home (20/24 pin & 4 or 4+4 pin)

2. Check that the motherboard is not touching the motherboard tray in your case anywhere. Arcing or shorting will cause a fail to POST.

3. Check no other leads are shorting out on the case ( the eventual cause of my problem)

that's a start then you can move on from here and check other things

That's exactly what happens, although occasionally I will get power to the monitor but it will then shut down once it reaches the "windows did not shut down" screen, or the case will power up but nothing else will.

I just did all the things you listed above, I got brief power to the monitor, the system started to boot up and then died again.

Thanks again guys, I've already planned out my day to go and fetch a new part, I just need to know what it is now .. Well I'm guessing it's the PSU but I'd rather know for sure hehe

EDIT: Took it into the shop, they said they'd test my PSU and replace it if needed for £60, came back an hour later and they think it's either the mobo or the cpu, so I've left it with them to deal with thanks for all the help guys, I had hoped it was just the PSU but there you go.

 

[Strychnine]

Please Please don't take the shops word for it. I have worked for repair shops in the past. It's a lot more money for them if it's a failing motherboard and or cpu. Your computer would never have reached the "windows failed to start correctly" screen if it was either. Honestly, do not trust these repairs shops. 99% are cowboys.

Well I wish I had spoken to you sooner, unfortunately they have it now, to be honest I really wasn't sure so that seemed like the safest option, there's only so much you guys can figure out by what I tell you, the good news is I have the money to pay them... Bad news is I may have been screwed over, oh well, at least I know for next time, thanks anyway guys

 

[Strychnine]

Well I'm told the CPU is being swapped out for an Intel, the CPU that was in my system was an AMD, and since he showed it all too me when I went to pay the deposit, he'll soon regret it if he screws over