Question:
I don't know if anyone can help me but i'm having problems with my computer (not the one i'm on now though). When I switch it on it seems to want to start up but after a very short time it cuts out & then starts trying to start up again. I've been told that this sometimes happens if you aren't using a registered version of windows but mine is genuine and registered.
Any suggestions on how to sort this out would be most appreciated.
Thanks
Answers:
How long after the first switch on does it turn itself off again?
I had a similar problem when I first got my PC. It would be OK for about 15 mins and then switch itself off. Switch it back on and it oges off after a few minutes.
The fan for the CPU wasn't running and it was shutting down due to overheating.
Answers:
This wont be the reason.
We need more information
Do you hear any beeps?
Do you see anything?
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It has nothing do with your version of Windows.
the CPU fan is a likely cause as rmg1 suggests, take the side panel off and look at the fan, it should spin as soon as you press the power button.
Does the PC make any beeps when it powers up?
[edit] Too slooowww!!
Answers:
Thanks for your fast responses - the computer beeps when I first switch it on - it then goes throught the motions of starting up for maybe one or two minutes before it clicks off & then starts all over again. I never actually get to the point where I can actually use it.
Answers:
Did you look at the fans?? Take the left side panel off (as you look at it)
Try powering up and hitting DEL (or whatever you need to go into BIOS)
Just leave it at the main BIOS screen for a few minutes, this will tell us if it is through overheating or something more sinister.
Try hitting F8 after you have pressed the power button. Keep tapping F8 until you see a menu come up. Select SAFE MODE and hit enter.
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Thanks for your help - i'll give your suggestions a try when I get home from work later.
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It could be that you've had a virus that has deleted your hard drive including windows. My friend had a laptop that kept restarting before completely booting and it turned out this was the problem.
If you have your original windows cd try inserting and then rebooting and selecting boot from CD
Answers:
To stop the rebooting on error, if you can start in Safe mode:
Right-click My Computer and click on Properties.
Click the Advanced tab.
Click the 'Settings' Button in the 'Startup and Recovery' section and untick 'Automatically restart'.
Answers:
Usually overheating. As above, check the fan on the CPU.
If that's OK, have a listen near the power supply. Any sound from it?
I've had a few that have done this and have a "whistle". Change the power supply and everything sweet again.
Answers:
I'm getting a similar problem on my main PC at the moment (fortunately I also have a laptop so can still keep an eye on eBay etc when I'm at home). What's happening with mine is that it gets past the BIOS memory test, and checks for connected IDE drives. About 1 second after the IDE drives are listed, the system hard resets and goes through the same cycle again.
So far I've tried reseating the graphics card and disconnecting the DVDRW and CDRW drives (I know the CDRW is faulty) and the 2 SATA hard drives and that made no difference. The weekend was quite busy so I didn't get round to trying anything else. Next on my list is to disconnect the 2 IDE hard drives and if still no joy, I'll remove absolutely everything (incl each stick of RAM one at a time) and see if it still does the same thing. Then I'll start putting bits back in one by one starting with the essentials and see what happens. I can only pray that my 800GB+ of data is intact!
I've had numerous problems with it over the years, including having to buy a replacement CPU last year. I thought for a while that it would need a new motherboard (this one's quite rare nowadays) but I've just seen someone selling the exact same board on eBay ending this week and I'll snap that up so I've got a spare one handy.
To the OP - at exactly what point does it reboot? As it boots do you see any scrolling information on the screen?
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Is it a Medion by any chance?
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That all sounds a bit technical for me!! Maybe I need to take it to someone who is a bit more knowledgeable about computers than I am.
No it's not a medion computer. It does start scrolling and the Windows symbol comes up before it cuts out & starts again - i'm getting worried that it might be something serious & i'm hoping i haven't lost everything. Stupidly, i haven't backed up anything - kept meaning to but never got round to it!!
Answers:
That all sounds a bit technical for me!! Maybe I need to take it to someone who is a bit more knowledgeable about computers than I am.
No it's not a medion computer. It does start scrolling and the Windows symbol comes up before it cuts out & starts again - i'm getting worried that it might be something serious & i'm hoping i haven't lost everything. Stupidly, i haven't backed up anything - kept meaning to but never got round to it!!
OK, so it's getting as far as starting Windows before rebooting. That means you should be able to get a STOP error code if you follow what cwoodham suggested. Once you've got this, it's possible to search online and narrow down the cause of the problem. What's happening at the moment is Windows is crashing in a particularly way but it's set by default to reboot immediately if that happens. To get the code you need to stop Windows from rebooting automatically and that means going into Safe Mode.
Booting into Safe Mode is pretty simple, and safe. As soon as you see or are just about to see the Windows symbol, hit F8 lots of times and you should get a menu - one of the options should be to boot into Safe Mode. Choose this and then follow cwoodham's steps.
Your data isn't necessarily at risk and can easily be transferred to another computer if you have the right bits. Just don't do anything rash like formatting the hard drive or reinstalling Windows!
Unless you're really short on time, try to avoid taking it to a shop or paying someone to have a look at it just yet. It'll be a good learning experience to at least try to figure out the root cause of the problem yourself, and you may even be able to fix it!
Answers:
Is it a Medion by any chance?
Mine isn't a Medion either, it's a custom build.
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Thank you to everyone for your very helpful replies to my post. I haven't had a chance to try out any of your suggestions yet but will be working on the computer tonight to try and get it sorted - i'll let you know how it goes!
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It's already been mentioned that it may be a overheating problem. Also when you check the fan it may be worth checking that there isn't any dust that may have gathered between the fan and the cpu.
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Don't think its overheating. The PC isn't even booting up. OP has said it never gets to the point where it can be used.
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It's definitely not an overheating problem as the computer is not on for long enough for it to overheat before it cuts out. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it's something simple (like a build up of dust) rather than something that's going to end up costing me a fortune or causing me to loose all my data.
Answers:
If the CPU fan isn't spinning, it is almost definitely overheating.
It will only take about 5-10 seconds for the PC to switch off if the CPU fan has failed.
I remember sacrificing an old cpu once a few years back. I switched it on without a heatsink attached to see how long it would last (I was bored!!)
The result was an almost instantaneous flash as soon as the power switch had been pressed and half of the CPU Core had disintegrated!! Fantastic!!
The heatsink will buy you a few seconds but not too much more.
The biggest problem is that we still dont know at which point it is restarting.
Do you see BIOS information on the screen?
Does it beep?
Can you get into BIOS and leave it in the BIOS menus without it restarting?
Can you press PAUSE and halt the booting process without it restarting?
Can you get to the Menu screen (F8) and select SAFE MODE???
The answers to the question which have been posed will go a long way in determining whether it is a Hardware of Software fault.