Boot problems - something in my system is dying/has died!

[northlondon01]

Hi chaps,

I've had a few issues when booting recently, not that I've had my desktop on much, but when turning it on I've definitely had some issues...

I've got a five year old, pre going bust Evesham, with the original 350w (maybe 400w) PSU and Foxconn mobo/Q6600 in it. It's got 4GB of RAM that's about 18 months old. The boot HDD is about four years old and has seen a lot of use as it was on every day for work.

Recently, when turning it on, it's not been getting past the Foxconn startup screen, the HDD light flickered for a couple of seconds and then it just stayed on the screen and wouldn't load Windows. Then the next time it would. I assumed my C: drive was on the way out, so today ordered a 120GB Samsung 830 SSD (even though my mobo is SATA II, I'll upgrade the mobo/processor at some point soon) and was quietly happy about having an excuse to do this!

When I got home today, my gf had had the PC on during the day to check email/browse and it had been working ok, but when I got home it seemed to be sleeping, but the fans (processor, PSU, GPU and case) are going, power light it on, but there is nothing. I switched it off at the front switch and came back to it a few minutes later and it seemed reluctant to switch on, but it did, the fans kicked in, but there is nothing happening - nothing appears to be coming up on the monitor, nothing accessing. I switched it off and left it so not to risk further damage.

So my question is this... do you guys think my mobo/processor is knackered, or the PSU. I'm really hoping (and assuming, as the problems with it even turning on the last time seem to point in that direction to me!) it's the PSU, as that's going to be so much cheaper to replace (especially as I've just spunked nigh on £80 on a SSD that I probably didn't need immediately!), and I'll be able to get something better that will enable me to get a better graphics card in the next few months!

Your input will be, as ever, massively appreciated.

Cheers.

 

[Lee]

Your problem is one that is going to require a great deal of trouble shooting. As old as the PSU and the MBO are the first thing to do is to attempt to get a hold of a program that can run a diagnoses on your system (google is your friend). Also check the tutorial section of the forum Brink has a huge amount of information in the tutorials that might help.

If you can get a hold of a copy of Linux (any favor) and set up a Linux start disk to recuse any information you want to keep/save.

Personally I would start with the PSU. Good Luck.

(Will keep an eye on this thread, and also look into some possible salutations.)

 

[northlondon01]

Thanks Lee,

I tried it again, and it will barely switch on, I held the power button down for a couple of seconds and it sputtered on. Fans working, but nothing booting/accessing at all. It's all pointing towards a power problem - I can't even get as far as foxconn screen to even think about running any diagnostics!

I've seen a pretty cheap Coolmaster GX-Lite 500w for about £30, so that might be worth a punt anyway, and I think will work with a 6870 too, which I've had my eye on. I assume that will all be ok with my old foxconn 775 mobo too!

Thanks again.

 

[Dave76]

It's hard to diagnose a system that won't start, best thing to do is get a bootable app or a Linex version and put it on a DVD or USB stick.
If that won't run then you'll know it's hardware.
You can try one of these:
Memtest86+
Partition Wizard, Bootable Flash Drive or Bootable CD

Check the CPU cooling fan, if it's not working the system won't start, safety feature for the CPU.

From your description it sounds like the PSU, most OEMs don't put very good PSUs in their systems.
If you can find a supplier with a good return policy, in case it still won't boot, you could return it or keep it for your upgrade as you mentioned.

Other possibilities are HDD, motherboard or CPU.

 

[northlondon01]

Hi chaps,

Well it looks like it was the PSU. I bought a GX Lite 500w for about £30 and plugged all that in and it's all working perfectly. Well the power light on the front of the PC doesn't seem to be working, and I'm sure I got all the little front panel connectors in the right places!

Now got to shrink my C partition down so I can fit it on the SSD via a system image! I'm going to get a new mobo etc soon, so I'm saving my Windows activations for that!

Thanks for the advice though, it was so difficult to diagnose as it wouldn't turn on at all, but I guess it had to be either the PSU or the mobo/wiring from the power switch, I'm 99% sure it must've been the former.

 

[Lee]

Hi chaps,

Well it looks like it was the PSU. I bought a GX Lite 500w for about £30 and plugged all that in and it's all working perfectly. Well the power light on the front of the PC doesn't seem to be working, and I'm sure I got all the little front panel connectors in the right places!

Now got to shrink my C partition down so I can fit it on the SSD via a system image! I'm going to get a new mobo etc soon, so I'm saving my Windows activations for that!

Thanks for the advice though, it was so difficult to diagnose as it wouldn't turn on at all, but I guess it had to be either the PSU or the mobo/wiring from the power switch, I'm 99% sure it must've been the former.

It is good to see that things are working good again. . .