Booting-up problem

[Stella]

I have Vista Ultimate and for the last couple of days have been having problems getting the computer to come on. It has taken me 2 or 3 attempts to get it to boot up. The mouse and keyboard light up and then it goes off. Any ideas what the problem could be please. It makes 1 beep then goes off.

[gvbarnard]

Anything displayed on the screen?
If it's in the first stages of boot-up, probably something failing on the main board.
If it has AMI BIOS, I think one beep indicates a memory problem, so try checking and re-seating the memory modules.

HTH,

George

[Stella]

George, it doesn't get as far as the screen showing anything.

[gvbarnard]

OK, then POST (power on self-test) is finding a problem on the main board. First off I would try removing and re-seating the memory modules.. If you don't feel confident with delving into your PC you will have to take it to a repair shop.

George

[Stella]

OK George, no definitely don't feel confident. So will do that if it keeps happening (take it to the shop). Thanks.

[gvbarnard]

OK, so you get it to boot up eventually? Do you then get any other probs. whilst using it? Does Vista sometimes freeze up, or give a blue screen or re-boot? My PC started doing this before eventually dying. Turned out to be the Graphics Card, which is one of the commonest causes of failure (they clog with dust and overheat). You can get a budget replacement card for £20-30.

[Stella]

No George, once it's on I get no other problems at all. Oh dear, hope I haven't tempted fate now!

[gvbarnard]

No, that's good, the gfx card must be OK!

It's def. looking like a slightly flaky contact on the motherboard. Prob. just needs a spring clean and all the cards & connectors removing and re-seating, esp. memory cards as mentioned.

[Stella]

Thanks George. I will definitely have to get the experts at the shop to give it a spring clean then. Cheers.

[rbere]

May pay you to run a chkdsk.

You can help solve some computer problems and improve the performance of
your computer by making sure that your hard disk has no errors.

Click to open My Computer.

Right-click the hard disk drive that you want to check, and then click
Properties.

Click the Tools tab, and then, under Error-checking, click Check Now. If
you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the
password or provide confirmation.

To automatically repair problems with files and folders that the scan
detects, select Automatically fix file system errors. Otherwise, the disk
check will simply report problems but not fix them.

To perform a thorough disk check, select Scan for and attempt recovery of
bad sectors. This scan attempts to find and repair physical errors on the
hard disk itself, and it can take much longer to complete.

To check for both file errors and physical errors, select both Automatically
fix file system errors and Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors.

Click Start.

Depending upon the size of your hard disk, this may take several minutes.
For best results, don't use your computer for any other tasks while it's
checking for errors.

Note
If you select Automatically fix file system errors for a disk that is in use
(for example, the partition that contains Windows), you'll be prompted you to
reschedule the disk check for the next time you restart your computer.

This will happen prior to booting into windows just let it do its thing.

Regards

[gvbarnard]

Stella said "it doesn't get as far as the screen showing anything" - so it hasn't read anything from the hard drive at this stage, not even the MBR.

Regards,

George

[Stella]

Well the computer has started up fine all day today. I have come to the conclusion that perhaps I am holding the button in too long and that is causing it to switch off again. Hope I'm right. What do you think?

[gvbarnard]

Don't hold the start button down, OK? Just press and release.

Make it a New Year Resolution...

LOL

George

[Stella]

OK George, will do!:D Now you will understand why I go on the Dumbo's section on this Forum! Thank you though for trying to advise me.