Problems

[Legend]

Well time to summon some help.

My computer won't power on. On occasion when I press the power button the fans and lights will turn on for a fraction of a second then everything will die off. I thought it was an issue with the powersupply so I got a new one (which I was going to do anyways regardless of this) however after I installed the new one I still have the same problem.

I unplugged everything and started plugging things in one by one to try and isolate the issue. When both of my hard drives are unplugged the computer powers up no problem. I don't know how the hard drives could have anything to do with the computer not even turning on, but I am completely lost for what to do next.

Ideas?

 

[Scortch]

Download Ultimate Boot CD and start running diagnostics on all of your hardware. You burn it to a CD and boot into it, so you can run the diagnostics without your hard drives plugged in. Go to http://www.ultimatebootcd.com to see all of the different diagnostic tools that are included in the disc. I'd run a test on your CPU and Memory, as these will put stress on your system. My guess without seeing anything would be that the hard drives aren't the problem. If you run CPU and Memory stress tests you will probably get errors and crashes, which might allow you to narrow down where the issues are. I'd also pop those hard drives into another system and run a scan on them. SeaTools is a HDD diagnostic program that is really good and is included on the Ultimate Boot CD. Otherwise you can go to the website of your HDD manufacturer and they will have a diagnostic tool that you can download that is specific for your brand of hard drive. Also, if you have another spare hard drive you can pop it into your system and see how it reacts. Is it those specific hard drives that are the problem, or will any hard drive cause the system to not boot? When I was working as a Tech, these would have been my first steps in diagnosing the problem. 99% of the time you'll get hints from these tests/steps that will allow you to determine what exactly is causing the issue. Just my opinion based on my experiences. Somebody else may have better advice.

 

[Cloakedsphere]

Well time to summon some help.

My computer won't power on. On occasion when I press the power button the fans and lights will turn on for a fraction of a second then everything will die off. I thought it was an issue with the powersupply so I got a new one (which I was going to do anyways regardless of this) however after I installed the new one I still have the same problem.

I unplugged everything and started plugging things in one by one to try and isolate the issue. When both of my hard drives are unplugged the computer powers up no problem. I don't know how the hard drives could have anything to do with the computer not even turning on, but I am completely lost for what to do next.

Ideas?

Does your motherboard have a built in flash for the bios? It could be worth trying to flash your bios. Personally, it sounds like your motherboard is going bad. The hard drives could be the problem but I highly doubt it as I dont see how they would cause your entire system to shut down within 1 second of hitting a power button.

 

[_Sushi]

Download Ultimate Boot CD and start running diagnostics on all of your hardware. You burn it to a CD and boot into it, so you can run the diagnostics without your hard drives plugged in. Go to http://www.ultimatebootcd.com to see all of the different diagnostic tools that are included in the disc. I'd run a test on your CPU and Memory, as these will put stress on your system. My guess without seeing anything would be that the hard drives aren't the problem. If you run CPU and Memory stress tests you will probably get errors and crashes, which might allow you to narrow down where the issues are. I'd also pop those hard drives into another system and run a scan on them. SeaTools is a HDD diagnostic program that is really good and is included on the Ultimate Boot CD. Otherwise you can go to the website of your HDD manufacturer and they will have a diagnostic tool that you can download that is specific for your brand of hard drive. Also, if you have another spare hard drive you can pop it into your system and see how it reacts. Is it those specific hard drives that are the problem, or will any hard drive cause the system to not boot? When I was working as a Tech, these would have been my first steps in diagnosing the problem. 99% of the time you'll get hints from these tests/steps that will allow you to determine what exactly is causing the issue. Just my opinion based on my experiences. Somebody else may have better advice.

I doubt he can get into that, it sounds like he isn't even POSTing.

 

[Cloakedsphere]

I doubt he can get into that, it sounds like he isn't even POSTing.

This.

It could also be your RAM causing the issue. I know when I got my first sticks of RAM my computer wouldnt even post. It would boot up and shut down 2-3 seconds later with nothing on the screen. Have you tried removing the RAM and HDD's all together and just booting it without those 2 things?

 

[Scortch]

He's saying that without the HDDs he "powers up no problem". I guess I took that to mean that he's powering up with no problem. If it's a RAM issue you'll usually hear a series of beeps, depending on the MB manufacturer. If he has access to alternative RAM sticks, sticking some different RAM in there and seeing if it'll boot would be a good test, but most people don't have easy access to spare RAM. I'll just wait until he posts again and see what he says. I agree with Cloakedsphere that it's probably the motherboard, but I'd still run the diagnostics if I were him. Replacing a MB on a hunch is an expensive way to go.