Member Avatar for mckeeba3

Ok, I'm not the most technically inclined person but know a little about trouble shooting.

Here's my problem. My computer doesn't boot.

Here's what led to this problem. One of the cooling/exhaust fans, not on the motherboard itself but screwed into the side of the case, was making a LOT of noise. Being the intrepid person I am I tried to fix it. I didn't do that much but hit it a couple times with canned air. I tried to see if I could disassemble it and see if there was anything mucking up the works but didn't go too far (I thought) with that.

While I was in the chassis I used the can air (in short bursts) to get some dust that had settled there over the year. I then put the fan back on the case closed it up and turned it on.

It looked like all systems were go, but it hangs after it says "Verifying DMI Pool Data." I tried to reboot in safe mode but it hangs as soon as I hit the enter key.

It's a a PC, WIndows XP, built for me by ABS computers, approx 3 years old.

I tried rebooting 5 times with no luck, and while I was writing this tried for a 6th and it booted cleanly, the one fan still sounding labored and slowed. I'm backing up all my pix and such, but still would like some input as to what the problem is, how to adress it, and possibly where to go for help.

THanks in advance.

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Dani AI

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Short, practical checklist grounded in the thread: has already started backing up data — good move. As suggested, the canned-air step is a plausible trigger, but the real causes to consider are: a fan or cable causing a short/extra draw, liquid propellant or condensate fouling a connector or bearing, or a drive/BIOS detection problem that becomes intermittent after the disturbance. Work top-to-bottom, safe and methodical.

  1. Power off, unplug and ground yourself. Disconnect the noisy case fan from its power lead and try to boot with that fan removed.
  2. Reseat power and data cables (SATA/IDE, main 24-pin, 4/8-pin CPU power). Try a different data cable and another power connector to the drive.
  3. Reduce to minimal hardware: one RAM stick, CPU, GPU if needed, and the boot drive only. If it POSTs reliably you can add parts back one-at-a-time to find the culprit.
  4. Clear CMOS (power off, unplug, press and hold power button, remove the coin cell for a few minutes or use the CMOS jumper) and then check BIOS for detected drives and default settings.
  5. If Windows still fails, boot from external media (XP CD or a Linux live USB) to test the hard drive and run chkdsk or smartctl from another machine/enclosure. Intermittent boots often point to a failing drive, cable, or PSU rail.
  6. Inspect the board and PSU visually for bulging caps, burn marks, or a strong odor. If the PSU is old or the machine stalls at POST, the PSU is a likely suspect.

Notes and cautions: never spray a fan while it spins (canned air can squirt liquid propellant or overspeed the bearing), and avoid working inside while the machine is powered. If the fan feels rough or slowed after cleaning, replace it — fans are cheap and a failed one can cause more damage. If these steps are uncomfortable or inconclusive, capture exact BIOS messages, beep codes, and hardware model numbers before taking the system to a repair shop.

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Member Avatar for bobbyraw

i have seem so many people used can air wreak havoc on there pc it's not funny. did any of the liquid spray out while you were using the can? as for the error you are having it would seem like there was an update to the bios that the pc is not recognizing, did u change any thing in the bios?

Member Avatar for mckeeba3

Didn't change a thing in the Bios...

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