PC will not boot up

[SMOKEU]

This has happened to me before, it's usually the motherboard which is fucked that causes this problem.

[cs363]

Another vote for hard drive failure here, especially with the characteristic clicking....
I'd recommend a visit to the big smoke and drop it off with a reputable computer repair place, hopefully they can salvage some/all of your data as well as replacing the drive.

It's not uncommon Mom, especially if the PC is a few years old.

Best of luck with it, bloody frustrating things 'puters when they don't want to play nice.

[BoristheBiter]

How can the hard drive fail while it is sitting there doing nothing?

You said that it was not shut down so i was guessing that it was in sleep mode so it would have to restart/come out of sleep mode; so thats when the hard drive is running at full noise and is most likely when problems occur.

if it is just clicking not beeping then it does sound like the power supply but both problems do make simlar sounds.

[p.dath]

How can the hard drive fail while it is sitting there doing nothing?

I wouldn't call spinnng around 5,400 times every minute doing nothing ...

[Slyer]

I am not taking my PC to bits for anyone. I am happy to pay someone to fix it for me. Tailormade, OK so you can relate to my issues with IT in this town then

It's seriously two screws and a thing you can unplug. If you didn't want to do anything yourself why would you post here?

[steve_t]

If it was the hard drive, it would still POST, and you would still be able to access the BIOS. I'm going with power supply or motherboard too, however, the not coming out of sleep mode properly is also a good suggestion. Which version of Windows have u got? Win7 apparently has/had some issues with waking from sleep mode

[Monkeynz]

If worse comes to worse and you need to look at replacing your computer, don't go past an Apple, I will never go back to a PC now. Just awesome and so easy to navigate around.

[YellowDog]

If it was the hard drive, it would still POST, and you would still be able to access the BIOS. I'm going with power supply or motherboard too, however, the not coming out of sleep mode properly is also a good suggestion. Which version of Windows have u got? Win7 apparently has/had some issues with waking from sleep mode

Agreed:
If you are not even getting a system beep or ram boot then it is most likely the power supply. A very cheap and easy fix. It could also be the RAM (unlikely) or some dry solder on your mainboard (not good). From the information you have provided, it is unlikely to be your hard drive. If you don't have a local volunteer and you are heading down to Auckland North Shore I'd be happy to sort it out for you on a parts only basis.

Good luck.

[sosman]

I've had this issue (pic not posting ) a couple of times now on different systems & each time its been the ram that needed replacing

[Mom]

I've had this issue (pic not posting ) a couple of times now on different systems & each time its been the ram that needed replacing

I cant turn the computer on mate, it is off at the shop getting a new power supply.

[centaurus]

If you say you can hear the fans, that means it's not the power supply.
If nothing appears on the screen, that means it's not the disk either. If the disk was the cause, it would start showing numbers on the screen and then stop with the message that it can't find system disk or something similar.
If you hear multiple beeps when you turn on the pc, that means the it's the RAM (the memory) or the video card.
If you don't have any beeps, it it the CPU or the motherboard broken.
However, in some rare cases, it happens to be an imperfect contact on the motherboard that causes the problem, especially if you say this has happened before.

What I recommend is the following:
Remove the power cable, take the cover off and gently push all plugs on the motherboard and the RAM in the slots, making sure it is properly connected. Make sure you TOUCH THE METAL FRAME OF THE PC before touching anything inside to prevent an electrostatic discharge damaging your pc.
Sometimes excessive dust can create conductivity between two parts that should be separated or go inside contacts and degrade connections. if you see excessive dust, either blow it with compressed air or a pump or try cleaning it with the hoover (more tricky). However, remember - no touching any parts with the hoover hose and NO WIPING THE DUST with anything.

Edit:
One more remote posibility (considering you hear the clicks) is that the power supply is not powerfull enough to drive all the stuff and the disk is turning on and off. I've seen this happening when new components were installed of if the power supply was at the limit. In time, power supplies decrease in max output power. If this is the case, unplugging a few of the devices connected (like the CDROM or even the disk in the first stage) would see the pc come to life. This scenario however is not often encountered.

[Slyer]

If you say you can hear the fans, that means it's not the power supply.
If nothing appears on the screen, that means it's not the disk either. If the disk was the cause, it would start showing numbers on the screen and then stop with the message that it can't find system disk or something similar.
If you hear multiple beeps when you turn on the pc, that means the it's the RAM (the memory) or the video card.
If you don't have any beeps, it it the CPU or the motherboard broken.
However, in some rare cases, it happens to be an imperfect contact on the motherboard that causes the problem, especially if you say this has happened before.

What I recommend is the following:
Remove the power cable, take the cover off and gently push all plugs on the motherboard and the RAM in the slots, making sure it is properly connected. Make sure you TOUCH THE METAL FRAME OF THE PC before touching anything inside to prevent an electrostatic discharge damaging your pc.
Sometimes excessive dust can create conductivity between two parts that should be separated or go inside contacts and degrade connections. if you see excessive dust, either blow it with compressed air or a pump or try cleaning it with the hoover (more tricky). However, remember - no touching any parts with the hoover hose and NO WIPING THE DUST with anything.

Edit:
One more remote posibility (considering you hear the clicks) is that the power supply is not powerfull enough to drive all the stuff and the disk is turning on and off. I've seen this happening when new components were installed of if the power supply was at the limit. In time, power supplies decrease in max output power. If this is the case, unplugging a few of the devices connected (like the CDROM or even the disk in the first stage) would see the pc come to life. This scenario however is not often encountered.

She already said she doesn't want to touch the thing. :P

[Madmax]

power supply
blown cap probably
fan is on the 24 volt side so will still work

[davebullet]

If you say you can hear the fans, that means it's not the power supply.
If nothing appears on the screen, that means it's not the disk either. If the disk was the cause, it would start showing numbers on the screen and then stop with the message that it can't find system disk or something similar.
If you hear multiple beeps when you turn on the pc, that means the it's the RAM (the memory) or the video card.
If you don't have any beeps, it it the CPU or the motherboard broken.
However, in some rare cases, it happens to be an imperfect contact on the motherboard that causes the problem, especially if you say this has happened before.

What I recommend is the following:
Remove the power cable, take the cover off and gently push all plugs on the motherboard and the RAM in the slots, making sure it is properly connected. Make sure you TOUCH THE METAL FRAME OF THE PC before touching anything inside to prevent an electrostatic discharge damaging your pc.
Sometimes excessive dust can create conductivity between two parts that should be separated or go inside contacts and degrade connections. if you see excessive dust, either blow it with compressed air or a pump or try cleaning it with the hoover (more tricky). However, remember - no touching any parts with the hoover hose and NO WIPING THE DUST with anything.

Edit:
One more remote posibility (considering you hear the clicks) is that the power supply is not powerfull enough to drive all the stuff and the disk is turning on and off. I've seen this happening when new components were installed of if the power supply was at the limit. In time, power supplies decrease in max output power. If this is the case, unplugging a few of the devices connected (like the CDROM or even the disk in the first stage) would see the pc come to life. This scenario however is not often encountered.

centaurus is on the money.

You mentioned this has happened before? Did it fix itself / what did you do / get done?

How old is the thing?

I think it is worth popping the cover and just reseat everything (wobble the connectors, push down on things, vacuum all the crud out).

[R6_kid:Me]

I think the problem is obviously user error.