PC wont start up

Power Supply
A common problem is the System mysteriously shutting down, especially when playing games. This is often caused by the Power Supply being Overloaded, these safety measures ensure that it automatically shuts-down.
Over-voltage Protection
Short-circuit Protection
No-load Operation
Over-current Protection
Over-temperature Protection (Optional) Not all PSU's support this feature

If you are experiencing these problems you can test your PSU using the instructions below or purchase a more adequate Power Supply. Do a Google for Antec brand PSU's as they are by far the best quality.

http://www.driverheaven.net/guides/testingPSU/

http://www.ochardware.com/articles/psuvolt/psuvolt.html

http://www.journeysystems.com/?powercalc

Central Processing Unit
Faulty Fans, Dust and Grime build up on the Heatsink restricting air flow. Remove the Power cable from the rear of the System and disconnect the Video cable. I would give the inside of the case a blowout with compressed air. When blowing air through the fans make sure that you physically stop them from spinning, as they may generate power and damage something. Use an Anti-Static Wrist Strap to ground yourself or by placing the back of your hand on the Power Supply Unit and not moving your feet. This will prevent electrostatic charge from building up and by not taking this precaution it is possible that you could inadvertantly cause damage to the PC from an electrostatic discharge.

Then remove the Heatsink, giving it a thorough clean and reseat the CPU applying new CPU grease. If the Fans spin freely when you give them a spin they are probably OK. If there is resistance replace them.

Clean the golden edge of each memory stick with a soft rubber/eraser, remembering not to touch the golden edge of the memory stick. Check with one stick at a time, remembering to disconnect the power from the PC.

Also check the Capacitors around the CPU for swelling or bulging.

As the capacitor ages, its capacitance decreases while its equivalent series resistance (ESR) increases. When this happens, the capacitors no longer adequately serve their purpose of filtering the direct current voltages on the motherboard, and system instability results. Some common symptoms are:

* Not turning on all the time; having to hit reset or try turning the computer on again
* Instabilities (hangs, BSODs, kernel panics, etc.), especially when symptoms get progressively more frequent over time
* Vcore or other system voltages fluctuating or going out of range, possibly with an increase in CPU temperature as the core voltage rises
* Memory errors, especially ones that get more frequent with time
* Spontaneous reboots
* In case of onboard video cards, unstable image in some video modes
* Failing to complete the POST, or rebooting before it is completed
* Never starting the POST; fans spin but the system appears dead

Hi

There may be problem with your SMPS (switched-mode power supply). Plz try to check that.

I have an older laptop that worked fine until it would just turn off as soon as I powered it on. I checked several things some were
1. The power supply - does the light come on? Swapped power supply
2. could I hear the fan just before it shuts off - hard to test if it's on for just a few seconds but do your best.
3. The battery- remove it and plug the power supply in and turn on laptop.
4. The hard drive - remove and test on another computer.... also copy over your info while doing this...Test with other hard drive if you have one.
6. The wireless card... This turned out to be the problem....I have used this wireless card for a long time and my best guess is because it got faulty and was causing the an overload on the system...Took it out and the laptop was fine...that is until it dies of old age...

...hope this helps.