PC not booting-what might be the basic cause

Asked By 10 points N/A Posted on -
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I doubt that the RAM has gone bad but I might be wrong. I cannot carry the Desktop computer to service centre and hence would like to make my own hands dirty as one step to find the root cause. Whenever I power the PC it simply turns on the fan, some LEDs blink and monitor goes back to sleep again. I am unable to see booting process itself. I could do verify that hard disk is intact by connecting it to other PC in slave mode. What else might have gone wrong? SMPS is okay because mother board is powering up. How to verify RAM?

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Answered By 590495 points N/A #194214

PC not booting-what might be the basic cause

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I don’t think the problem on your computer is the physical RAM. Because if the cause is a defective RAM module you should still see something on your monitor but in your case, it seems the screen is black. Try these. Open the CPU case then plug your CPU to the power outlet then turn on the CPU. Verify that the processor cooling fan is working.

If the processor cooling fan is dead, make sure the power supply is connected properly to the motherboard. Once the processor cooling fan is working, turn off the CPU. Remove all RAM modules from the memory slots then turn on the CPU. If your motherboard is working properly, you should hear beeps after starting the CPU. This means the board can still detect the memory slots if none is inserted.

But if you don’t then the board is dead. To further verify if the problem is the motherboard, with all the memory cards removed, remove also the processor. Make sure to power down the CPU first before removing the processor. Once the processor is removed, turn on the CPU. This time, you should hear several long beeps on your CPU.

This means the motherboard can detect that there is no processor connected. But if you don’t hear anything both the processor and memory cards removed then your motherboard is really dead. There’s nothing to fix here but to replace the motherboard with a new one. On the other hand, if your motherboard seems to be powered up with the processor cooling fan working, try connecting only 1 memory card.

If you have 2 memory cards, try inserting only 1 memory card in the memory slot then start the CPU. You should be able to see something on your screen. If it doesn’t work, try the other memory card.

Answered By 0 points N/A #194215

PC not booting-what might be the basic cause

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Hello,

Most computers failing to start or boot up can be considered in four folds and these are: Bad electrical connection, Power supply failure, Operating system failure and Hardware failure.

Based on your question I will talk about only few aspects out of the four categories listed above.

            The first one is the possibility of bad connection between the mother board and the memory card or the video card. In situations where at least one of the pins on the module do not connect in the slot located on the motherboard, your PC will not start. It is likely you will not see any text appearing or even hear a beep as you press the power button to boot or start the Computer. In situations like this, the best thing to perform a re-seat of the Memory Modules. The following steps are guide:

  1. Take out the power cord from the Computer 
  2. Open the case and take out the memory modules
  3. Place them back in position
  4. Repeat the process for a number of times

NB: The presence of dust, dirt or even slight corrosion can cause a bad electrical contact between the memory module and the motherboard. The bad electrical contact occurs as a result of a gap opening up, or a bit of corrosion or dust getting between the electrical contacts

There is a possibility of having a loose cable connection giving rise to your current computer’s condition. Predominantly when your PC is usually moved about it is possible to encounter such challenges. It is also likely that the opening of your computer case can cause a loose cable connection.

In solving this challenge, it is at all times important to verify by removing and reconnecting each cable in turn. Your focus should be on the cables connecting the hard drive to the motherboard as well as those connecting to the power supply unit which also connects to the motherboard. The following steps aid in checking your computer’s RAM:

  • To view the total RAM in use, click on My Computer on Desktop or from the START BUTTON.
  • Select GENERAL after clicking on PROPERTIES. (This will display a numerical data besides a pie chart of the memory in use) NB: the total RAM
  • You can also press on the CRTL + ALT + DELETE keys concurrently to gain access the Windows Task Manager. To check the amount of RAM in use by each app [as well as knowing the very app causing your PC system trouble] by clicking on the PERFORMANCE TAB.

Regards

Brenda Cruise

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