This guide deals with troubleshooting a PC that won't boot to the point where it at least starts loading an operating system (hardware related problem). This article is intended for a person who has a little knowledge of PC's and is comfortable opening up and working inside a PC. If this isn't you, then I recommend taking your PC to a qualified PC repair shop. This is meant as a general troubleshooting guide and by no means covers every scenario that can occur, any omissions or mistakes were not intentional and will be updated as necessary.
Keep it Simple
First and foremost, I cannot stress enough that when it comes to troubleshooting PC's, KEEP IT SIMPLE! You will save yourself a lot of time and effort if you start looking for the simplest and most obvious solutions first.
With that being said here is a list of a few things you should start checking first..
1. Check the Power Cable
(reason: ensure the PC is getting power and that the problem isn't simply a bad power cable)
- Is it plugged into the back of the PC tightly?
- Is it plugged into a power source?
- If it is connected to a power bar --- is the power bar plugged in and turned on?
- If possible try a different power cord and/or power bar
- Is a breaker blown in the building? Try a different wall plug
2. Check the monitor
(reason: make sure the monitor is still working. When you boot a PC you expect to see something on the monitor, if you don't, one may think their PC isn't working when in fact there is something wrong with the monitor)
- Is the power cable plugged in tight to the back of the monitor?
- Is the power cable plugged into a power source?
- If it is connected to a power bar --- is the power bar plugged in and turned on?
- Is the monitor turned on?
- Is the monitor's video cable plugged tightly into the video card on the PC?
- Are the contract and brightness settings of the monitor adjusted correctly?
- If possible try a different monitor.
3. Visually check the power supply
(reason: a PC may boot to a point with a failing power supply but can quickly overheat causing it to the PC to stop functioning)
- Does the fan turn when the PC is turned on?
- Does it feel hot to the touch?
- Do any lights come on when the PC power button is pressed?
4. Check the keyboard
(reason: a PC needs a keyboard to boot, most times if there is a keyboard problem a message will be displayed on the screen, however this may not always be the case and the computer may just stop booting)
- Is the keyboard connected to the PC?
- If possible try a different keyboard.
5. Check the floppy and CD drive
(reason: when a PC boots, by default it will try and boot from the floppy or CD drive first. If there is a disk in either of these drives even if it is not a bootable disk, the PC may try to boot from the disk. Most times an error is displayed when it can't boot from the disk but this isn't always the case)
- Is there a disk in the floppy drive?
- Is there a disk in the CD drive?
A person may think that it is a waste of time to check such simple things and want to skip the above checklist. I cannot count how many times I have been called to troubleshoot a PC only to find that a power bar was turned off or there was a disk in the floppy or CD drive. Take the time now to check the easy things--- I guarantee you it will save a lot of headaches and frustrations.
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