Member Avatar for BT5150

I have an old HP Pavillion 7955 that I got from my Dad that I was trying to add some memory to. I encountered a couple of problems in the install and now the whole machine will not boot up. When I was inside the case, I was using an air blower can to blow out the dust. There was a lot of dust in and around the fan directly on top of the heat sink for the processor, so I tried to unlock the clips holding the fan on to the heat sink when one of the clips broke. Now the fan sits rather loosely on top of the heat sink, it is still held in place by one of the clips. When I tried to install the memory, I realized it wasn't the correct type for that PC, so I aborted the install. I put everything back together and now the PC won't boot up. When I press the on/off button on the front of the PC, it will sound like it is beginning to start up and the led below the on/off button will light up for maybe 10 seconds and then will go off and nothing happens, nothing appears on the monitor at all.

Does anyone have ANY ideas to try in this situation? I could really use to get this thing going again, thanks!

  • 5 Contributors
  • 4 Replies
  • 260 Views
  • 1 Day Discussion Span
  • Latest Post Latest Post by Problem Solwer

Dani AI

Generated

Brief, practical next steps and things to inspect that go beyond the replies so far from , , and .

Start with safety and a dryness check: disconnect mains, hold the front power button for 10–15 seconds to discharge capacitors, then open the case and do a careful visual inspection. Look for bulging or leaking capacitors, scorch marks, loose screws or metal fragments that could short the board, and any broken plastic/metal that might contact traces. If any smudged burn marks or leaking caps are found, stop — the board is likely faulty.

Power and POST diagnostics: the LED lighting then dying is commonly a PSU foldback or short rather than a simple RAM issue. With the system unplugged, reseat the 24‑pin ATX and the 4/8‑pin CPU power connector; if safe and able, try the PSU alone (or a known‑good spare) to confirm it runs steadily. Attach a small chassis speaker or watch motherboard LED blink codes during power attempt — no beep and immediate shutdown is a different class of fault than a POST error. If comfortable, try powering the motherboard outside the case on cardboard to rule out a case short.

Cooling and temporary fixes: do not run the machine long with a cooler that isn’t firmly contacting the CPU. A temporary, nonconductive way to hold a fan in place (nylon cable ties or a purpose‑made bracket) is acceptable short term, but the proper long‑term fix is a replacement cooler or the original clip assembly and fresh thermal compound. When using canned air in future, hold fans so they don’t overspin and blow from a short distance.

If these checks don’t restore POST, the likely culprits are a failing PSU, damaged motherboard components, or a cooling‑related protective trip. At that point either swap in a known‑good PSU/motherboard for isolation or consider professional servicing — older systems are often inexpensive to test and repair but can require component replacement.

Recommended Answers

All 4 Replies

Member Avatar for Phaelax

You might have knocked the cpu loose. I'd open it back up and check every connection. Also, if that heat sink isn't sitting properly on the cpu, it could overheat very quickly.

Member Avatar for BlackFetus

..try to check the cpu and heatsink settings..also, check the wired panels in your motherboard..^_^..

Member Avatar for PcTestCard.com

Try reseat the CPU and fix the loose heatsink.

PC will power off if CPU is overheated.

Hope this helps!
Bill
Tech manager

Member Avatar for Problem Solwer

You only check the memory chip which is instaled correctly or not.
Olso chek the wires of hardDisk are conected or not then conect them.

Be a part of the DaniWeb community

We're a friendly, industry-focused community of developers, IT pros, digital marketers, and technology enthusiasts meeting, networking, learning, and sharing knowledge.