There are many reasons why a computer won’t work properly. The reasons can range from a variety of hardware or software failures. Normally, by following the steps given below, your computer should be able to start properly.
For more: FAQ – Computers how-to.
Signs and solutions:
| Parts | Signs of failure | Desktop PC | Laptop/Tablet |
Power supply |
No power
Power on then shut down |
Check whether the power socket is properly connected
Swap a different power cord Check whether the cooling fan is working properly |
Connect the power adapter first
Check the status of the power indicator(On the edge of the adapter or Laptop LED indicator) |
Monitor/Display |
Power on but with power-saving mode
Power on with black screen |
Check the monitor power connection
Select the right signal source(VGA/DVI/DP/HDMI) for the monitor Make sure that the display cable is always connected to the graphics card rather than the onboard video outputs Switch to a different type of cord(VGA/DVI/DP/HDMI) |
Connect to an external monitor |
External Hardware |
Boot loop
Randomly freeze |
Remove the external hard drive
Remove external USB devices(except mouse and keyboard) Remove external Ethernet cable |
Remove the external hard drive
Remove external USB devices(except mouse and keyboard) Remove external Ethernet cable |
OS |
Blue screen
Boot loop |
Turn on both secure boot and legacy bootable
Try operating system recovery mode Try bootable USB live operating systems Reinstall operating system |
Turn on Secure boot and Legacy bootable
Try operating system recovery mode Try bootable USB live operating systems Reinstall operating system |
Bootable Drive(hard drive/SSD) |
Slow booting
Blue screen or boot loop No bootable drives message |
If it has a slow booting or no bootable drivers message, it might be a drive failure, the old hard drive/SSD needs to be replaced
The boot loop might be incompatible between the motherboard and hard drive/SSD |
If it has a slow booting or no bootable drivers message, it might be a drive failure, the old hard drive/SSD needs to be replaced
The boot loop might be incompatible between the motherboard and hard drive/SSD |
Graphics Card |
Power on with black screen
Vertical Stripe Lines Image Artifacts |
Remove the graphics card and try to connect to an onboard video output
Check graphics card cooling fan is running Vertical Stripe Lines and image Artifacts are signs of dead graphics card |
Connect to an external monitor
Vertical Stripe Lines and image Artifacts are signs of dead graphics card |
Memory sticks |
Power on with black screen
Power on with beeps |
Reconnect memory sticks
Swap memory sticks Remove extra memory sticks leave one instead |
Reconnect memory sticks
Swap memory sticks Remove extra memory sticks leave one instead |
Bios/UEFI |
No power
Boot loop |
Replace motherboard battery
Boot loop might be Bios/UEFI corruption |
Boot loop might be Bios/UEFI corruption |
CPU/Motherboard |
No power
Randomly freeze Randomly shut down |
CPU failure might cause computer random freeze
Motherboard failure might cause the computer randomly to shut down or no power |
CPU failure might cause computer random freeze
Motherboard failure might cause the computer randomly to shut down or no power |
Cooling fans |
Power on with beeps
Randomly shut down Randomly freeze/blue screen |
Check CPU/Chassis fan status
A CPU/Chassis fan failure might cause the computer to shut down or blue screen |
Check CPU cooling fan status
A CPU fan failure might cause the computer to shut down or blue screen
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