My computer refuses to boot up... =(

nfe0007

nfe0007

nfe0007

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So, after a freeze, i turned off my computer. I turned it on, booted it normally, and the computer froze on start up. I restarted again, did a system recovery, the computer restarted and i got a blue screen. I restarted again, and it froze on the first start up screen, before it loaded windows. Now, the computer will not boot at all. I press the on switch, the computer whirrs a little, my graphics card lights up, but instead of the regular little beep and the computer turning on like usual, with input going to the monitor, the computer just powers down again.

Any ideas what is going on?

Also, this is the hard drive, right? The on button is the other side of that on the external of the case, which pushes directly into that. It has power, it just fails to boot the rest of the computer. So is it a hrad drive error?

http://i150.photobucket.com/albums/s88/nfe0007/IMG00125-20100103-0953.jpg

And lastly the specs of my system are just a stock packard bell imedia Q6600, with an asus eah 4850 graphics card and a fatal1ty 550w PSU, but both of these appear to be wired up fine and working fine.
 
Try resetting the CMOS and reseating all the major components and motherboard connections/cables.

The above is always worth trying first before troubleshooting proper.
 
unplug your pc from the wall, take the battery out, its on the mainboard, leave it out for about 10 seconds and put back in.
you'll have to set the date in the bios again if it boots up.
if it wont boot up, take all components out ram, gfx etc make sure no dust is in the ram slots and pci slots too.
test each component 1 by 1 if their is a fault
 
nfe0007 said:
What is a CMOS?
Click to expand...

If you unplug the PC and take the battery out the motherboard for 5 minutes then put it back and try again this will force the BIOS to use default settings.

Have you changed anything or added any hardware recently?

As well as clearing the CMOS another tip is to take the RAM out and try booting with just one stick in.

That is the hard drive you have identified but the machine should still POST with a faulty hardware.
 
nfe0007 said:
What is a CMOS?
Click to expand...

It's the BIOS (firmware that initialises system devices/hardware) - it can become confused/corrupt and sometimes a simple reset can solve random problems such as the above.

I would follow J.B's instructions (as it's the safest and easiest solution for a novice) - or you could locate and touch the CMOS reset pins, both at the same time, with a screwdriver for a few seconds making sure the PC is unplugged.
 
Thanks for all the help so far guys, i really appreciate it.

I am currently looking for the battery on the motherboard. Any common places it is, or could it be anywhere on here?

Trying to find it without removing the motherboard, but i dont know if it could be on the back, behind the fan and such. Also, will it always look just like a standard circular silver battery?
 
It should look something similar to this:

cmosbattery.jpg


Or alternatively look for the 'Clear CMOS pins' (they're usually near/next to the battery) and either use a screwdriver as suggested already or a jumper block to cover the pins - it will do the same thing as removing the battery (but remember to unplug the PC.)

EDIT: What is the model/name of your motherboard?
 
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Thanks Plec, i googled my motherboard, got the picture of it up.

Turns out the battery was underneath the graphics card slot, hidden by the fan of my graphics card. Time to remove that then.
 
Damn it, now the graphics card won't come out. The part that inserts into the clip on the motherboard is getting stuck. i have pushed the clip in to release it, but it isn't coming out. I don't want to use force to remove it. Any ideas how to get it out?
 
Have you remembered to unscrew the screw that attaches the gfx card to the case and removed the cables from the back of the card (it's easy to forget the obvious when troubleshooting)?

If you have and you have released the clip properly then it probably is a case of applying more force...

What's the MB model i may be able to identify the clear CMOS jumpers for you? (Post the link up of the MB if it's not a competitor.)
 
God knows how i unclip the graphicsa card from the mother board, it is well and truly stiff, and it is impossible to get a hand on the clip, since there is a graphics card in the way =(
 
Can you see the red 'CLR_CMOS1' pins by the battery with the gfx card in place? (see below)

instr_intconn_denver10.jpg



If you can the you could clear the CMOS without removing the battery.
 
Alas, that is blocked even further by the fan than the battery.

EDIT: The graphics card now refuses to slot back into place. It is out one side, and in on the other. It refuses to push down on this side, but refuses to pull out on the other.
 
nfe0007 said:
The graphics card now refuses to slot back into place. It is out one side, and in on the other. It refuses to push down on this side, but refuses to pull out on the other.
Click to expand...

Do you mean that one end of the card is out (the slotted motherboard end) and the other end (where it meets the case) is still firmly stuck in?

If it is then you should be able to press down on the released end and hopefully get a wiggle action started - which will hopefully release it.

Additional: Is the 'case end' of the gfx card wedged between the motherboard and the case (the metal end) - if it is you may need to loosen the motherboard. It would be unusual -but - if the guy who built your PC had trouble fixing in your card he may have slackened the MB, fitted the card and then re-tightened the MB - this may have locked/wedged the card in place.
 
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Ahh should have kept an eye on this thread.

Basically just do what Plec says.

I normally try to get the graphics card out again when it does something like this. Take it right out and look at the clipping mechonism and try again. That is assuming you can get the graphics back out!
 
I finally managed to get the clip off, tight angles and are strong clip was hard. Got the graphics card out, pulled the battery out for 10 minutes, and still no avail. The computer still refuses to boot up. I also tried starting it without the graphics card in, that wasn't the issue. How do i reset the CMOS without taking the battery out? I see the red clip, just don't know what to do with it.
 
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