Computer stopped booting...I think?

[Repetes3]

Hoping that wise heads can give me some steps that I might try to try and bring my desktop PC back to life? I was just using a browser when the screen when black, the monitor went to its power saving mode and didn't come back to life as it normally would when I move the mouse.

I then had to hold the power button down for a hard reset, at which point the fans spun up, though sounding slightly different. The monitor still didn't display (no idea whether booting proceeded to the desktop). The light on the wired, USB-connected keyboard didn't come on at all.

Another hard reset produced the same again, though this time not even the "power-on" LED on the chassis lit up, only the sound of a fan or fans and possibly the HDD spinning.

Power supply? Motherboard? Are there ways to test them in isolation to definitively find the culprit? It's a self-built thing that's almost five years old now, should boot to a much newer SSD with Windows 7, and is fairly well-maintained, cleaned, etc..

Thanks in advance,
Sarah.

 

[Ketchup]

Unplug the computer from its power source ( wall, power strip, etc). Hit the power button (This should drain the power supply). Plug it back in and hit the power button. Any changes?

If not, open the side of the case and turn the computer on again. See if any fans, most notably the CPU cooler fan, are not spinning.

 

[Repetes3]

Thank you, Ketchup!

I had unplugged everything and left only the CPU cooler and case fans attached to try again this morning. All fans spun up as normal, and the power button's decorative LED lit up as it should.

After reconnecting components one at a time, testing for another failure after each one, it seems to be working as normal again, touch wood. I've only the CD/DVD drive to reconnect but that can wait until I next need it.

I'm wondering if it was a heat issue given that time seems to have fixed it for now? I do clean it from time to time and it didn't look bad on opening the case to investigate. I'll look to see of there's a way for me to log temperatures and keep an eye on it from now on.

Thanks for taking the time to reply, much appreciated!

 

[Ketchup]

Yes. I use CPUID Hardware Monitor, but there are others. I am wondering the same about temps. A power supply on its way out can do similar things.

 

[Arshad Hussain]

It's better to go step by step tries reinstalling each PC component again. In this way, you will be able to know which part of your pc is malfunctioning.

 

[Ankur Saxena]

Change your RAM and then try

 

[techmanc]

if it were me I clear the bios that usually help when my pc wont boot.