Member Avatar for mjbones

I'm trying to help a friend of mine out who lives on disability.

A couple wks ago the power flashed several times, my friend was on her pc during this & stated she couldn't shut it down in between cause it was flashing so quickly. Anyways, since then her pc won't come up. I had thought maybe a video issue since it sounded like it was loading & just not displaying....I plug'd it into another monitor & it did the same thing. Then, I brought it home to mess with it....I had it on Friday to where it finally showed me that the system files were corrupted. I got the info from Microsoft on how to repair that.....yet, the pc wouldn't boot from cd no matter what. It showed it...even asked if I wanted to boot from cd but then would just reboot. This morning....it won't do anything. When you turn it on....the power just like cycles. Fan runs just a few seconds then it restarts....

I've unplug'd all the components (just power plugs), still does same thing. I haven't removed the modem card..... I'm at a loss lol

Thanks to anyone with any ideas what to try.

mjbones

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Quick aside for future readers: this Presario thread ended with the machine recovering after a faulty internal device was isolated — good troubleshooting by and a useful nudge toward removing add-ons from . The rest below gives a short, reusable diagnostic flow and safety notes for the same symptom (power cycles, fans spin briefly, no POST).

Why that symptom happens: modern PSUs and motherboards will shut down quickly if they detect a short or an overcurrent condition. A seized or shorting accessory, a frayed wire touching the chassis, failing capacitors, or a weak PSU can all produce the same “spin a few seconds, then restart” behavior. Corrupted system files are often a secondary result of repeated hard resets; first isolate the hardware fault.

Suggested troubleshooting (safe, ordered steps):

  • Power down and unplug the PC. Press and hold the front power button 10 seconds to discharge residual power. Do not open or probe an energized PSU.
  • Attempt a minimal boot: leave only CPU, one known-good RAM stick, GPU (if needed), and PSU. Remove optical/drives, PCI cards, USB devices and front-panel extras.
  • Disconnect case fans and front-panel connectors one at a time; try an alternate header or a molex adapter to see if a particular fan or header trips the system.
  • Visually inspect motherboard and PSU for bulging/leaking capacitors, burn marks, loose standoffs, or wires contacting the case. Reseat RAM and cards.
  • If available, test or swap the PSU (or use a PSU tester/multimeter) to confirm stable +12V/+5V under load.
  • If it POSTs, run memtest86 and SMART checks, repair filesystem errors, and back up important data.

Safety note: do not open the PSU—high-voltage capacitors remain dangerous. If you are unsure, have a technician handle PSU swapping or electrical tests. For low-cost prevention, use a good surge protector or UPS.

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Member Avatar for caperjack

I haven't removed the modem card.

if you are referring to a dial up modem,remove it ,it could have gotten damaged by the power serge

Member Avatar for mjbones

I fig'd it out. It had a 2nd fan mounted on the back of the case, unplug'd it....it came up to point for me to be able to fix the corrupted system files. Knew it was acting like something was down.....

Thanks!!

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