Hp Desktop Failure

[top_driver]

hi. ih ave a hp tower pc tonight it failed started flickering at the home screen but now it turns on doesn't start up and also none of the usb or anything responds what could be wrong with it first time i'v ever had a problem diagnosing a computer

[Buenchico]

If it's completely dead then it's almost certainly a PSU fault.

If the fan runs but nothing else happens it's more likely to be a motherboard (or processor) problem.

If you get the initial screen displays (generated by the BIOS), but Windows won't load, then it's either a hard drive failure or a problem with your Windows files.

So how far do you actually get?

[top_driver]

hi i got it back on to home screen again it didn't flicker or anything until after i log in the hard drive is flashing like crazy and the screen is flashing equally as hard i cannot click on restart or anything

[top_driver]

i had plugged another hard drive into the computer in order to get some files onto it and on start up it said re configuring windows and that is where the problem starts

[Buenchico]

Model of HP machine, and operating system, please?

[Buenchico]

>>> i had plugged another hard drive into the computer in order

How? By using the internal connectors or by using a USB caddy? Is the secondary drive still connected?

[Hypognosis]

Is anything inside the box greater than 5 years old?

HDDS used to go phut first. Now it's PSUs, as Buenchico mentioned.

I have also had a mobo fail but that was 8, possibly 10 years old.

Even electrical components age. Resistors and capacitors go out of tolerance, eventually and there are some mighty capacitors to go wrong in a PSU.

Do modern HDDs need a jumper to set master/slave or are they all auto nowadays?

[top_driver]

sorry i left out the model it is a hp pavilion 500-081ea i have control panel open so little accessibility trying to get a restore somehow but so far no good.. i took out the other hard drive and kept original in it to give best chance of a recovery

[Hypognosis]

I think my premise was that the PSU load was up to its eyeballs before the 2nd drive was plugged in. That would hardly ever be the situation; even a power hungry graphics card should leave oodles of headroom for two, three drives and USB ancilliaries.

Windows config should restore to "last known good" if you just unplug the offending HDD?

[top_driver]

the brother asked me to put some files onto his 6tb hard drive so i used my internal connection ye i definitely removed the offending hard drive the screen keeps flickering and going crazy

[Hypognosis]

Clarification: getting windows to offer "last known good" config usually requires an "abnormal" shutdown, as follows

Do NOT use the Windows Start button (your OS is ______?) Use the outer case power button: press and hold for ~10 seconds, until forced shutdown completes.

EXCEPT: avoid this technique if your HDD light is active.

Some cases have a reset button at the power button, which is just as good for forced reboot but some glitches manage to bypass the reset mechanism. Also, full power-down and 30-60 seconds of non-use was a technique to assure (supposedly) no virus load could lurk in RAM in a way which could survive the reset button.

[top_driver]

sorry os is windows 10 this happened earlier so i tried all turn off methods nothing worked i managed to get it do start a system restore i hope it works

[top_driver]

i'm good with physical repairs on computers but i would be very average when it comes to any software just that im willing to try anything

[Buenchico]

Try booting into Safe Mode (via pressing F8 repeatedly during the boot-up process). Windows should then load with minimal drivers. If the flickering has disappeared you'll know that it was being caused by a corrupt display driver. If not, it's far more likely to be a hardware fault.

These links might be relevant:
http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_8-hardware/flickering-screen/7299a56b-8ae6-402e-8491-dca2c2b7d852?auth=1

http://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c03513214

[top_driver]

unfortunately the screen i'm using does not work until it has booted to log in screen

[Buenchico]

Crossed posts!

I'm actually surprised that you've got System Restore available (because, for some inexplicable reason, Microsoft has decided to disable it by default in Windows 10!).

I hope that it works for you though as it will almost certainly prove that it was a software problem. (Even so, I'd still recommend running a disk check, in case the problem came about due to faulty sectors).

[Hypognosis]

@top_driver

I should be asleep and haven't read this article (below). Meanwhile post your Operating System and whether 32 or 64 bit. Buenchico'll sort it out. Sorry for butting in, Buen.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/2581408

[top_driver]

i had upgrade from windows 8 i have a restore date of the 10th so i hope that works but i think it reconfigured setting to that other hard drive that doesn't have an operating system i'm starting to think a re-installation of windows is required

[top_driver]

i'd say most systems have 64 bit these days but ye it's 64 bit

[top_driver]

system restore failed some sort of error prevented it

[Jackdaw33]

Chico, I did a system restore three weeks ago for the first time ever as I had managed to lose all sound whilst trying to fiddle about, not really knowing what I was doing. It worked perfectly and I got my sound back (W10).