Computer starts but nothing happens

[joeschmo88]

hi, my neighbor is asking me if i could fix his computer. this is a great task for me because im majoring in the computers and its a good way to get some pc support skils in handy. so they told me that their computer is powered and turns on......but nothing appears in the monitor. just a blank screen. they told me it just "humms". so what should i consider first? operating system? display problems? its also a pretty old computer. what should i do first?

[dzee]

if i were you the first things i would do is:

try a different monitor just to make sure, this never works but its worth a try might be something really simple like a loose cable connecting the monitior.

are they usin a graphics card? if so switch to onboard video & see if that works. if theyre using onboard already try switching to a graphics card & see if that does anything.

that would be my first things to try.

[DallasDon]

Take the cover off before powering up. If there truly is nothing on the screen, which includes the BIOS screen, and it "humms", the number one cause is a weak power supply.


Notice if the cooling fans start up when you press the power button.

take it outside and blow the dust out of the case and PSU. Unplug, clean the contatcts, and reseat any memory or expansion cards.

Try a known good power supply if none of this works.

[joeschmo88]

thank you...i'll try those first. i'll update you as soon as i get to test things out at their place.

[stroyal]

Just to expand on what DallasDon said, the only real way to find out what is wrong with a computer is try the parts from the broken computer in another computer or trying known good parts in the broken computer. This is how a computer shop would do it. Manufacturers have test equipment, but it is just for their products and are not available to most people.

[brickhead248]

I bet their RAM is fried, try their RAM out in another computer, if it works, put it back in, its not the RAM, but if i dosent, get some new RAM. if its an old computer, manifacturers probably wont sell the computer's type of RAM, so look on ebay.

[joeschmo88]

alright thanx guys...i'll try all the advice. about taking things out of the computer, i still have no experience in doing that kind of stuff. so im a little iffy about removing parts and putting them back in. something i need to experience, but i dont want to start with someone elses comp.

[mrniceguy]

it's not difficult, just gotta remember 2 things:
1: remember to turn off the computer I usually physically unplug it

2: never touch anything if you're not in contact with the case(grounded)

[dr_roberts49]

It's a process of deduction. Try to eliminate everything that does work. When you come to the component that doesn't work, try it in another system. If it fails there, you know you've found the problem. That's exactly what we did in the service dept I worked in for several years, and it is now what I do on the computers I work on for myself and my family and friends.

Robert

[dwillis77]

Hey guys.

This same thing happened to me today. For months my computer has been working fine, running games well, etc. etc.

Then today after playing some battlefield I decided for the first time I would put the computer on stand-by. Came back an hour later and could see and hear the computer was on but nothing appeared on the monitor.

I have already swaped out the video card, monitors, etc. etc. Was working fine until I did stand-by...any other suggestions, this is very frustrating.

[stroyal]

Hey guys.

This same thing happened to me today. For months my computer has been working fine, running games well, etc. etc.

Then today after playing some battlefield I decided for the first time I would put the computer on stand-by. Came back an hour later and could see and hear the computer was on but nothing appeared on the monitor.

I have already swaped out the video card, monitors, etc. etc. Was working fine until I did stand-by...any other suggestions, this is very frustrating.

You should start your own post, you will get more response.

If you have a Video Card that won't start after going on standby, it is usually not hardware related. I can't tell you exactly what, but it has to do with the software and operating system, and maybe BIOS.

My 2 main computers have been clean installed several times over the years, and both have had the standby mode work perfectly on about half of these installs. Of course the other half of those installs it didn't work at all with the same hardware. Both don't work at this time. I had this same problem 10 years ago, with my 440BX computers. Some installs it worked, some installs it didn't. This is a common problem, when it was discussed here before, I think most people had the same problem and didn't use it.
In all the cases I have seen, the video card won't restart.

Welcome to TechIMO

[-Chris--]

my computer gave up on me yesterday, it turns on & there is power in the sockets as it charges my i pod but the monitor says no signal input. i have not changed any thing to cause this, after it happened i tried lots of things changing power supplies with an other computer, removing ide hardware but nothing. i am not sure how a bios works but i think when it starts in scans the hardware and i don't think that is happing as the hard drive does not make the usual noises and the key board and mouse don't light up why would this have happened and how could i correct it?

[CodeNameD]

Im having the same problemwith my computer that a relative gave to me. It turns on and everything seems to be working but nothing displasy on teh monitor. But the CD drive doesn't open. I press the button and it makes the spinning sound from wihtin, but it doesnt open. Any idea what the problem is? Also, this relative has taken this computer in for repair to a preson who says he knows a lot about computers and he said the problem was a virus. Could a virus possibly interfere with teh computer being turned on? Can viruses alter hardware parts? Or is this so called "professional" lied and stole their money?

[-Chris--]

its been a year since that happened i have since learnt alot, a virus cannot affect anything other than the operating system so no its not the problem, my problem was the motherboard had shorted out so power was in it just not going to where it should have been, i got my motherboard replaced, kept my ram, hard drive, cd drive ect, and it been working fine since, i would recommend doing the same. and also get your money back

[hurd2find]

I'm having the same problem... my computer is on and nothing happens and I can't hear any humms its like a hang... it's on but its not responding.. pls help me with this... tnx

[Jimmeh]

its been a year since that happened i have since learnt alot, a virus cannot affect anything other than the operating system so no its not the problem, my problem was the motherboard had shorted out so power was in it just not going to where it should have been, i got my motherboard replaced, kept my ram, hard drive, cd drive ect, and it been working fine since, i would recommend doing the same. and also get your money back

But a virus can corrupt the operating system or the HD and basically render booting the computer useless.

[krishna2293]

somedays ago i was having the same problem but i solved it without any cost. this problem is because of a program or virus which is not suppoted by the motherboard due to which it freezes the bios of the motherboard all you have to do is reset your bios. this can be done by reseting the jumpers on the motherboard. when u will open ur computer you will find two jumpers on the motherboard these tumpers are connected in two pins and a pin is left alone all you have to do is just remove the jumpers and connect into the pin which was left.now connect the wires of pc and try to start your pc. according to me your pc will not start now if u have done it correctly now the reseting of bios is completed. now reconnect the jumpers where teh were and start your computer this time it will start but it will give bios settings error now enter the bios and select restore to defaults now your computer will start. next step is that format ur wholw computer if u want to get rid of this problem.

sorry for my english i am in 8th class thats why my english is not so good.

if u have to ask any other questions then contact me at krishna2293@live.in

[Xiga05]

Alright, same thing happened with my aunt's old computer; power light comes on, fans engage, but no activity on the screen. I opened it up and found that it had two different sticks of ram (of size and mhz). Swapped it for one stick and it booted up normally. Not sure if the different sticks had anything to do with the failed booting but atleast one of the sticks went bad and swapping it solved the problem.

Goodluck!

[stigy111]

Hi i have a similar problem with my pc. it has been working fine for years and yesterday it froze and and there was a high pitched sound coming from the psu i think. then when i turned it back on the was no display the fans came on and it usually makes a beep sound after a few secs but it didnt beep. there has been nothing changed on it or any new parst.

any advice would be great.

[Psytech1336]

[QUOTE=dwillis77;1969565]Hey dwillis77......

im also a gamer and the same thing happened to me in the middle of world of warcraft. i replaced my power supply unit and it fixed everything. Replacing the PSU can solve alot of problems at once so im not sure what was totally wrong but im 2 months into the replacement and still no problems. the PSU cost me about 70 bucks in a local store. if you are a gamer i would recommend a 400 watt PSU min depending o the needs of your graphics card though too much can never hurt. especially when needing to upgrade all the time to keep up with the latest games.