# [SOLVED] My computer wont stay on...



## ahardy14 (Jun 15, 2008)

The fans on my computer will kick on when I hit the power button but they only stay on for a few seconds before they kick back off. It just started doing this out of the blue. At one point today I was able turn it on and it worked fine. I shut it and down and tryed to turn it back on and for a while it worked great. Then I, on a whi, tryed to turn it on to make sure it was still working but it was being fickle again. 

The only thing I can tell you that may help is that the vga slot on the mobo has stoped working. I do not have another video card for it yet but the computer should still come on shouldn't it? When I did get it to kick on I put a video card in it from my other computer and everything seemed fine. Please help me to troubleshoot this problem.

Talk to me as if I were in kindergarden...


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## dai (Jul 2, 2004)

*Re: My computer wont stay on...*

what
video card
cpu
m/board
power supply
brand
wattage
are you running
any error message
check your tempretures and voltages in the bios and post them


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## ahardy14 (Jun 15, 2008)

*Re: My computer wont stay on...*

Windows XP Home Edition
AMD Athlon XP Processor 2000+ with Quantinspeed Architecture
Power Supply - SPI 250 watt
CPU speed - 6026 RPM
Sys fan speed - 2636 RPM
CPU Voltage - 1.76 V
Temp. - 42 c / 107 F

It took forever for the computer ro cooperate so that I could get the temp. 

When it is shutting off it is doing so within seconds of me turning it on. There are no error messages and no beeps when this occurs and you cannot access the bios because it does not boot. The only thing that happens is that the fans will begin to spin and then they shut off just a few seconds later. There is no video card I put my AGP video card in it to look in the bios. The VGA port is broken.

Thanks...


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## Crespo PC Serv (Jun 16, 2008)

*Re: My computer wont stay on...*

if I am understanding correctly ur saying when u hit the power the fans turn on for a bit then they die down. my first response would be ur power supply is failing. anyway u know a person or place that has a power supply tester? that can rule out a possibility. asking because i had that problem on a client computer and it turned out to be a dying PSU.

would turn on the power and the fans would start up for a couple secs and then die down. mobo light was working but that was it.


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## ahardy14 (Jun 15, 2008)

*Re: My computer wont stay on...*

Really? But then why does it start up complelty sometimes? Right now I have it running like nothing was ever wrong...


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## dai (Jul 2, 2004)

*Re: My computer wont stay on...*

your psu needs to be putting out a min of 18amps on the 12v+ line
check for leaking or swollen capacitors on the m/board


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## Pharaohz (May 10, 2008)

*Re: My computer wont stay on...*

When a psu dies, it doesnt have to die all at once. It can in fact, die a slow and painful death taking other pieces of hardware with it. 

The PSU you have is a very weak psu anyways. Id guess its also pretty old. For that build Id bump it up to a 400-500watt psu.

Also... looking at your fan speeds... your cpu fan speed seems VERY fast... I might be wrong but I thought they for the most part stayed around 2400 rpm. Anyone confirm this?


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## ahardy14 (Jun 15, 2008)

*Re: My computer wont stay on...*

Thanx for the help, I am currently looking for new a new PSU. I was petrified that my CPU was dying or something worse. I am a novice but I so any assistance I can get on how to purchase a power supply would be great. Info like how do I know it will fit in my case? Will it have enough conecters for my harddrives and both cd-roms? Things like that would help greatly.


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## ahardy14 (Jun 15, 2008)

*Re: My computer wont stay on...*

There are no leaky or swollen capaceters that I can see.


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## dai (Jul 2, 2004)

*Re: My computer wont stay on...*

one of your friends who upgrades may have one lying around you can use
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139003&Tpk=corsair+450w


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## Crespo PC Serv (Jun 16, 2008)

*Re: My computer wont stay on...*

what size case do you have? small or midtower? depends on size and fitment.


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## ahardy14 (Jun 15, 2008)

*Re: My computer wont stay on...*

Okay I replaced the PSU and things seem to be fine so far. But its hard to tell because it was fine at times before. I have another question though. A friend of mine gave me the PSU I needed for my machine and when I turn it on it is making a whistling noise. Is this a normal occurance?

Colorcases

500 Watt


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## dai (Jul 2, 2004)

*Re: My computer wont stay on...*

no,is it coming from the fan
you don't have a power hungry system if it's running stable you should be fine


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## ahardy14 (Jun 15, 2008)

*Re: My computer wont stay on...*

Well I spoke to soon. The strange sounds coming from the PSU were very bad. It is no longer working and is in my floor ready for a burial. I took my PSU out of my Dell to make sure it the computer would work right if I had bought a power supply and guess what, it worked perfect. No funny noises or anything. And it has been coming on everytime I push the button for the last hour or so. So I am going to buy a new PSU. Thank you all for your help I really appreciate it. I have learned a lot already, not only from this area but from other forums as well.


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## dai (Jul 2, 2004)

*Re: My computer wont stay on...*

glad you have found the fix


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