We have all been there. You get home and go to sit down at the computer and when you press the power button… nothing. Why has this happened? My computer was running great before? But now it is completely dead?
Or how about another scenario where you get a new system and take it out of the box and set it up and get nothing. Or you take your computer over to a friends house and when you get there all it does is stare at you with that blank look in its screen.
This is not completely uncommon, and it can happen for a number of reasons. The purpose of this guide is try and determine why it happened and how can we fix it.
The guide will be presented in a linear fashion, with step by step checks to try and rule our why the computer refuses to behave. Follow the steps in order to rule out any possible hardware issues before you decide the parts are bad.
If the system was built and tested by CPU Solutions, we will stand behind our work and will ensure that the customer is taken care of. We provide this guide to help determine common problems that can arise once the system is shipped to the customer for issues that are out of our control.
[Issues which can include ship damage, incorrect setup, general issues, etc.]
If your system was not assembled by CPU Solutions, you will need to check the other guides listed below to ensure your hardware is faulty before applying for an RMA. 90% of the time “defective” items sent into us from a “no POST” situation work great when we test them. Cover all your bases to make sure items are in fact defective before applying for an RMA.
If this is a new system that was built and tested by CPU Solutions or a system that was working for a period of time and then stopped booting the following steps will help you in resolving what may be causing an issue. This guide is also a good source for those who are running into a no POST situation and need more generalized tips for troubleshooting the problem.
Steps to Troubleshoot a Computer that will not Power On
01. It’s a simple question, but they say always start at the beginning. Is the computer plugged in?
02. Check to make sure the power cable is securely connected to the end that goes into the power supply and check to make sure the other end is firmly plugged into the AC outlet in the wall.
03. Is the AC power outlet that the computer is plugged into operated by a switch on the wall? If so make sure the switch is turned on.
04. On the back of most power supplies there is an On/Off switch. It is a little black switch that is designated by a 1 and a 0. The 1 is “ON” and the 0 is “OFF”. Make sure the power supply switch is set to 1.
05. It is very unlikely but the AC power cable may be bad. This is VERY rare but if you have a second power cable you could try it doesn’t hurt to check. Since we are just trying to get the system to boot up we do not need the display at this point. You can always borrow the power cable from you monitor to try with your system.
06. Are you using a power strip or surge protector and if so is it set to the “ON” position. Power strips normally have a light in the switch or on the bar somewhere to designate they are getting power.
07. Is the outlet and / or power in the room working properly? Do you have any other devices plugged in near the system that are working. A lamp or clock is usually a good thing to verify this with.
08. When you press the power button does the system attempt to boot at all? Do you hear any fans spin inside it and do any lights come on in the front of the case.
09. Is the monitor plugged into the correct VGA connection on the system. If you have a video card inside your computer and onboard video on your motherboard make sure you are plugging your monitor into your video card. A video card disables onboard video by default when it is installed into a system. If you are plugged into your onboard video you will most likely only get a black screen. The video card VGA connection is usually located near the lower portion on the rear of your system. [Near your PCI slots]
10. If you have a window kit or side panel you can remove, peek inside the system and see if you can see an LED lit up on your motherboard. Some motherboards have an LED located near the PCI slots or the memory slots that emits a green glow. If you have one in the system and the motherboard is getting power from the power supply you should be able to see a little green light inside the system.
11. In some computer cases, parts can get bumped loose during shipping. The most common part this can happen with is the video card and this is usually in cases that use a retention arm system to hold in PCI cards. If you are comfortable going inside your system check to make sure your video card did not get bumped loose. It’s always a good idea to try reseating the card even if it looks like it is firmly installed. I had a customer who called once, who was very upset his computer was not turning on. I asked him if he had tried reseating the video and he claimed he had already done that. [Thinking the problem was with our parts.] He then called me a couple days later and told me when he finally calmed down he “actually” reseated the card several days after I recommended doing so. His system began to POST immediately after doing this.
12. Does the computer boot at all? I have seen some computers that go through the POST and then hang. Or seem to freeze during boot up. After trying everything, some customers walked away when the system seemed to have locked up and came back an hour later to find the system had booted into Windows. We were able to resolve these as a software based problem, which our tech department can walk customers through a fix. And a downloadable version of the fix can be found here:
13. Look inside the system and verify that the 20/24 pin ATX power adapter and the 4 pin power adapter did not come out of the motherboard during shipping. It is very unlikely but we are covering all our bases that could cause a power related problem.
14. The power supply in the system may be bad. One way to check for a power supply failure is to smell the vent on the back of the power supply where the fan is. If the power supply failed 50% of the time it will emit a burning or metallic smell from the power supply. If you have an extra power supply in the house you can try that with the system to ensure the power supply you received is faulty and contact our tech department for an RMA. If you do not have an extra power supply, contact our tech department for an RMA.
15. Another thing that could be causing the problem is possible bad memory. This is another one of those unlikely things but we are trying to be thorough and cover everything. If you have extra memory you could try with the system it would be advisable. The power supply and memory are volatile parts of the system and can sometimes get damage during the shipping process, in spite of how gentle UPS is with packages ;)
Those are the general steps you want to take to try and resolve any problems that may have occurred to keep a system from starting up.
Or how about another scenario where you get a new system and take it out of the box and set it up and get nothing. Or you take your computer over to a friends house and when you get there all it does is stare at you with that blank look in its screen.
This is not completely uncommon, and it can happen for a number of reasons. The purpose of this guide is try and determine why it happened and how can we fix it.
The guide will be presented in a linear fashion, with step by step checks to try and rule our why the computer refuses to behave. Follow the steps in order to rule out any possible hardware issues before you decide the parts are bad.
If the system was built and tested by CPU Solutions, we will stand behind our work and will ensure that the customer is taken care of. We provide this guide to help determine common problems that can arise once the system is shipped to the customer for issues that are out of our control.
[Issues which can include ship damage, incorrect setup, general issues, etc.]
If your system was not assembled by CPU Solutions, you will need to check the other guides listed below to ensure your hardware is faulty before applying for an RMA. 90% of the time “defective” items sent into us from a “no POST” situation work great when we test them. Cover all your bases to make sure items are in fact defective before applying for an RMA.
If this is a new system that was built and tested by CPU Solutions or a system that was working for a period of time and then stopped booting the following steps will help you in resolving what may be causing an issue. This guide is also a good source for those who are running into a no POST situation and need more generalized tips for troubleshooting the problem.
Steps to Troubleshoot a Computer that will not Power On
01. It’s a simple question, but they say always start at the beginning. Is the computer plugged in?
02. Check to make sure the power cable is securely connected to the end that goes into the power supply and check to make sure the other end is firmly plugged into the AC outlet in the wall.
03. Is the AC power outlet that the computer is plugged into operated by a switch on the wall? If so make sure the switch is turned on.
04. On the back of most power supplies there is an On/Off switch. It is a little black switch that is designated by a 1 and a 0. The 1 is “ON” and the 0 is “OFF”. Make sure the power supply switch is set to 1.
05. It is very unlikely but the AC power cable may be bad. This is VERY rare but if you have a second power cable you could try it doesn’t hurt to check. Since we are just trying to get the system to boot up we do not need the display at this point. You can always borrow the power cable from you monitor to try with your system.
06. Are you using a power strip or surge protector and if so is it set to the “ON” position. Power strips normally have a light in the switch or on the bar somewhere to designate they are getting power.
07. Is the outlet and / or power in the room working properly? Do you have any other devices plugged in near the system that are working. A lamp or clock is usually a good thing to verify this with.
08. When you press the power button does the system attempt to boot at all? Do you hear any fans spin inside it and do any lights come on in the front of the case.
09. Is the monitor plugged into the correct VGA connection on the system. If you have a video card inside your computer and onboard video on your motherboard make sure you are plugging your monitor into your video card. A video card disables onboard video by default when it is installed into a system. If you are plugged into your onboard video you will most likely only get a black screen. The video card VGA connection is usually located near the lower portion on the rear of your system. [Near your PCI slots]
10. If you have a window kit or side panel you can remove, peek inside the system and see if you can see an LED lit up on your motherboard. Some motherboards have an LED located near the PCI slots or the memory slots that emits a green glow. If you have one in the system and the motherboard is getting power from the power supply you should be able to see a little green light inside the system.
11. In some computer cases, parts can get bumped loose during shipping. The most common part this can happen with is the video card and this is usually in cases that use a retention arm system to hold in PCI cards. If you are comfortable going inside your system check to make sure your video card did not get bumped loose. It’s always a good idea to try reseating the card even if it looks like it is firmly installed. I had a customer who called once, who was very upset his computer was not turning on. I asked him if he had tried reseating the video and he claimed he had already done that. [Thinking the problem was with our parts.] He then called me a couple days later and told me when he finally calmed down he “actually” reseated the card several days after I recommended doing so. His system began to POST immediately after doing this.
12. Does the computer boot at all? I have seen some computers that go through the POST and then hang. Or seem to freeze during boot up. After trying everything, some customers walked away when the system seemed to have locked up and came back an hour later to find the system had booted into Windows. We were able to resolve these as a software based problem, which our tech department can walk customers through a fix. And a downloadable version of the fix can be found here:
13. Look inside the system and verify that the 20/24 pin ATX power adapter and the 4 pin power adapter did not come out of the motherboard during shipping. It is very unlikely but we are covering all our bases that could cause a power related problem.
14. The power supply in the system may be bad. One way to check for a power supply failure is to smell the vent on the back of the power supply where the fan is. If the power supply failed 50% of the time it will emit a burning or metallic smell from the power supply. If you have an extra power supply in the house you can try that with the system to ensure the power supply you received is faulty and contact our tech department for an RMA. If you do not have an extra power supply, contact our tech department for an RMA.
15. Another thing that could be causing the problem is possible bad memory. This is another one of those unlikely things but we are trying to be thorough and cover everything. If you have extra memory you could try with the system it would be advisable. The power supply and memory are volatile parts of the system and can sometimes get damage during the shipping process, in spite of how gentle UPS is with packages ;)
Those are the general steps you want to take to try and resolve any problems that may have occurred to keep a system from starting up.
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