Member Avatar for williamsc47

Hi all,

Ok, somebody may have an answer to this, but personally I cannot figure it out.

I turn the PC on and it seems to try to boot up but doest really seem to get there, the harddrive LED stays lit for a minute or so and then goes off, all the while the monitor is never activated...but not here comes the odd part, if I leave it for a few hours it seems to boot fine I can load up windows and all is well for as long as the PC is on, but then if I try to restart I have the same problem again.

So far I have been able to boot up the PC after a few hours wait, twice, but am unsure how long I will be able to do this for...but it just seems to odd to me, almost as if my PC thinks its time for retirement...lol...probably is in all truth

Anyway, here are the specs:

OS: Windows 2000 Pro
CPU: AMD Athlon 1Ghz
Memory: 512mb SDRAM
HDD: 60GB

Any ideas anyone?

Cheers, Craig

  • 3 Contributors
  • 6 Replies
  • 282 Views
  • 1 Week Discussion Span
  • Latest Post Latest Post by williamsc47

Dani AI

Generated

A short diagnostic note based on the thread: a system that fails to cold-boot but starts after sitting for hours most often points to marginal power delivery or aging components — commonly electrolytic capacitors on the motherboard or PSU, cold solder joints, failing front-panel connectors, or intermittent memory/slot faults. was right to suggest the PSU as a common cause; since reports a PSU swap with no improvement, ’s capacitor hypothesis becomes the leading suspect.

Recommended diagnostic sequence (in order):

  1. Minimal hardware POST: power the board with only CPU, cooler, one known-good RAM stick, power connectors, and video (remove drives and extra cards). Watch for POST beeps or any video.
  2. RAM isolation: test each DIMM alone in each slot to rule out a bad stick or slot.
  3. CMOS reset: clear CMOS (battery removal or jumper) and retry — bad CMOS can cause weird startup behavior.
  4. Visual inspection: check motherboard for bulging or leaking capacitors (domed tops, brown residue) and for cold solder joints near VRMs; visible damage points to recapping or board replacement.
  5. PSU verification: since a replacement was tried, confirm rail voltages with a PSU tester or multimeter (do not open the PSU).
  6. Bootable memory test: run a bootable memory tester (memtest86 or equivalent) for several passes once the machine will stay on.
  7. Other hardware: reseat front-panel power switch/header, try a different GPU or onboard video, and try a different known-good PSU only if rail checks are unavailable.

If visual capacitor damage appears, board recapping or replacement is the practical fix; recapping requires soldering skill and correct capacitor specs. If no POST after the minimal setup and voltage checks, the motherboard or CPU is likely failing. Data rescue is best done by connecting the drive to another system or using an adapter before major repairs. Safety note: avoid opening PSUs (high-voltage risk) and always disconnect mains and use ESD precautions.

Recommended Answers

All 6 Replies

Member Avatar for jbennet

this used to happen on a win95 olivetti pc i used to have. the monitor never came on and the LED stayed lit- it would boot every once in a while ok and have no problems but othertimes it would do this

It turned out to be a dodgy PSU

Member Avatar for williamsc47

Thanks for your reply......hmmm, guess it could be an odd isue with the PSU, although it does seem unlikely, however I think most most ideas for this would seem unlikely on the surface, might be worth looking into then, anymore ideas anybody?

Any help/ideas/advice is very much appreciated :)

Member Avatar for jbennet

bad ram?

there is a program (usually bundled with linux cds) called memtest86 that will check your ram

Member Avatar for williamsc47

bad ram?

there is a program (usually bundled with linux cds) called memtest86 that will check your ram

You never know, worth checking the next time I can get it to turn on...lol

Thanks for the suggestion...anybody else?

Member Avatar for caperjack

I have a Athlon 1000 here with simular problems ,and it was bad capacitors on the motherboard , i replaced board and now it workes fine .
also you don't need windows to boot to test ram with memtest it runs from dos ,copy to a floppyand start computer and it will run the test .if you do this let it run for a few hrs .
http://www.snapfiles.com/get/memtest86.html

Member Avatar for williamsc47

I have a Athlon 1000 here with simular problems ,and it was bad capacitors on the motherboard , i replaced board and now it workes fine .
also you don't need windows to boot to test ram with memtest it runs from dos ,copy to a floppyand start computer and it will run the test .if you do this let it run for a few hrs .
http://www.snapfiles.com/get/memtest86.html

Yeah, im thinking you may well be right, because I have now tried replacing the PSU and it has made no difference at all...I have still yet to try to memory test, but I have to get the thing to turn on again first...seems to be worse at the moment, wont turn on at all :(

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.