Gaming Computer not starting..

[67birdman]

Hi guys,
I have recently experienced yet another error with my older PC.
When I start it, it is just stuck at the first IBM screen.
How do I fix it, do I use the live CD?
Thanks

 

[Originality]

There are any number of possible causes.

Things that can help:
- Press the reset button (works on one of my comps when it sticks on the logo screen occaisionally)
- Try a minimal setup - 1 stick of RAM, no HDDs, no ODDs, no FDDs and no GFX card (unless it has no IGP, in which case you have no choice). This covers many possible problems, including lack of power to the machine.
- Try having a boot CD/DVD in the ODD. Sometimes it'll push things along. If that doesn't work, try the motherboard driver CD/DVD (works in one of my older computers for some reason).
- Try dusting out the computer to let it breath easier.
- Try reseating the various parts/cables. All of them. A small bit of static could stop it from working, or in worse cases, kill it irrecoverably. I've not seen the latter yet, but it's a common cause of dead parts (especially DoA).
- Try swapping parts in/out to see what it could be. At worst, it could be the MoBo (or just BIOS) that died.
- Try praying to the God of Technology to bless you with a miracle. You never know...

 

[FAST6191]

http://www.bioscentral.com/beepcodes/ibmbeep.htm and http://www.bioscentral.com/postcodes/ibmbios.htm might also help although you might have to press escape or tab to see what is happening (some computers hide the info screen in favour of a pretty image).

 

[67birdman]

Alright, I'll try those out and report back.
THanks
Edit: There are no beeps, so I think it is the power supply..
..Could it be the actual power supply or like the AC adaptor or something?

 

[Originality]

Generally the way to know if it's the PSU is to check if the fans are spinning. If they are, the motherboard is getting enough power (although it's harder to check if the 12V rail is stable - a failing 12V is one big cause in computers not turning on). If not, you could try switching AC cables (or power ports) but they rarely cause problems (unless they're not plugged in properly or visibly damaged) so it's a fair bet to guess the PSU. Either way, low-end PSUs are very cheap, even branded ones.

If it's not beeping but the fans are spinning, then it's probably not POSTing, or the speaker may be damaged/disconnected. Easiest way to check is to remove all RAM and see if you get 4 rapid beeps (I think it was 4 anyway) which is the "no RAM" error. If that doesn't work, it's likely the power supply but could also be a seriously screwed up motherboard (as in, the only computer I've seen that didn't beep for that simply had no speaker plugged in).

There really are far too many reasons why a computer might not start properly.

 

[_Chaz_]

Start up in Safe Mode and disable some start up programs. Perhaps run a virus scan while you're at it.

 

[Originality]

"Safe Mode" assumes he gets as far as loading the OS. From what he describes, it's stuck on BIOS.

Rereading the thread, it shouldn't be the PSU if you can actually see the IBM logo on the screen. That implies both the PSU and the GFX are both working. If it was the HDD, then removing all drives would at least get you as far as a prompt saying something along the lines of "insert boot disk to continue". If you can't get that far, it's likely the motherboard, or a weak/failing 12V on the PSU (more likely the PSU). It could still be caused by static, a blown component (typically a capacitor), a corrupt BIOS, and several other things.

 

[I am r4ymond]

I somewhat recognize this problem. At most, it should be a virus that's causing this kind of problem. That problem cost me my Windows XP computer.

Now, when I first start up my Windows XP computer, it goes past the first screen and then it goes onto the Windows XP logo screen to load. Once it finishes loading, it goes to a black screen and then supposedly moving onto the Welcome screen, but it did not go onto the Welcome screen. It just stood in the black screen. I've also tried replugging every plug I could find as the problem, but it did no good. I was forced to switch to an older Windows that's probably 50 times slower.

It helps to make daily virus scans, at least daily quick scans.

 

[67birdman]

Well, I don't think it could've gotten a virus--I haven't used it at all for a month or two, and there is no internet on it..I think it could be the motherboard, because when I started it up before and tried to use the USB ports, it didn't work while trying to copy MP3 files to an MP3 Player..

 

[Originality]

@r4mond, you're describing a corruption, either in the MBR or in one of the boot files (typically MUP.sys). The IBM logo is the system manufacturer logo, which normally appears before the OS boots and hides all the complexities of the POST screen that nobody inexperienced liked to look at. There's normally a button you can press to hide the logo and look at POST, but it's different from system to system (usually one of the F keys). If 67birdman had such a problem (i.e. with the OS MBR instead of the MoBo BIOS), it would be far easier to fix than the one he describes, which is most likely a dead MoBo and/or BIOS.

@67birdman, USB ports failing is actually a fairly common problem, resulting from worn contacts, foreign substance/dirt, damaged connections (from too many aggressive insertions) or simply not enough power supplied (which could be a weak 5V rail or the Southbridge growing old). It could also be a problem with the USB device itself (which, of all possible causes, is by far the most common).

On a side note, failing components can often be interpreted as the God of Technology's way of telling you that it's time to upgrade ;p

 

[67birdman]

Thanks Originality for the info.. thats the next thing i'll look into hopefully

But the problems fixed for now, turns out the ac input was faulty, so I just replaced it..

 

[Originality]

Unlikely but true it seems, and at least it saves you having to buy new parts for now. Gratz ;p