Member Avatar for chauncey

This is a store bought system. The system was booting fine. Then the last 2 months it would boot successfully 4 out of 6 times without the scandisk error messages. Now it will not boot at all. No post, nothing.

Product recovery CD-Rom that came with system does nothing either. I could certainly use some help. Thank you. :confused:

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by Catweazle

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Brief summary and a focused plan. has an intermittently-booting retail PC that now produces no POST and the recovery disc will not boot. That puts the problem before the OS, so software fixes and event logs (as suggested) are not reachable. was right to point toward hardware diagnostics; below are safe, ordered checks to isolate the fault without assuming anything.

Start with quick external checks (no tools required)

  • Confirm the wall outlet, power cord and PSU switch are working. Try a different known-good mains lead or outlet.
  • Watch and listen when you press the power button: do LEDs light, fans spin, or the hard drive spin up? Any beeps? A completely silent, no-power symptom points to PSU or the front-panel power switch; spinning fans with no video points to POST/graphics/motherboard issues.

If you can open the case (voids warranty if OEM sealed—stop and contact support if still under warranty)

  • Disconnect everything nonessential (all USB devices, add-in cards, extra drives). Boot with CPU, one RAM stick, PSU and video only. Reseat the RAM and try each module alone in the recommended slot.
  • Clear CMOS using the motherboard jumper or by briefly removing the battery.
  • Inspect the motherboard caps and connectors for bulging, leakage or scorch marks (common failure mode in older machines).

When to call a shop or swap parts

  • If the machine still shows no POST after the minimal-boot test, suspect PSU or motherboard. A simple PSU swap or a PSU-voltage check with a multimeter/PSU tester often reveals the problem. If comfortable, attach the hard drive to another PC to check its health; otherwise hand it to a tech.
  • Note the exact symptoms for the repair shop: whether fans/light/beeps occur, what you removed/reseated, and that the recovery CD never booted. That speeds diagnosis.

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Member Avatar for kc0arf

Hello,

There could be a variety of things wrong. My gut guess is that something bad is happening to the hard disk.

See if you can boot into safe mode, and access the logs. They may be able to tell you what is going wrong with the computer. The logs are found in My Computer --> Manage

Christian

Member Avatar for chauncey

Christian,

I have tried booting in safe mode. I have booted up holding F8 key as well as booting up repeatedly pressing F8 key. If this is not correct procedure for booting up in safe mode please let me know.

Any other suggestion??

Thank you

Chauncey

Member Avatar for Catweazle

Sounds like a hardware problem. The pinned topic at top of page will explain how to strip it back to basics and identify where the problem lies. If it sounds too tachnical or 'hands on' for you, then take the system to a technician for attention.

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