Pc Will Not Boot

[SteveD]

Windows 10. Acer XC-605 desktop.

I have just returned from a week's absence during which the PC was turned off (router left on).

When I turned on the PC on my return, it will not boot. There is power to the tower (power light is lit and the fan is turning). There is power to the monitor (power light is lit and the circle of little balls is turning).

I have switched everything off and waited before switching on again several times but still nothing happens even after waiting 30 minutes or so.

I have checked cable connections.

Any suggestions, please?

[bhg481]

Can you see any activity on the system disc? I don't know your computer but all of mine have a light which indicates when the disc is in use.

[davebro]

does ctrl/alt/del bring up task manager etc options?

[Old_Geezer]

Any internal fuses ? The power supply seems a possible failure if lights are lit but the board doesn't come on.

I suspect it needs a poke around inside checking stuff. I'm unsure if the little balls are PC generated or monitor generated; if the former then sounds like it's trying to boot after all. Maybe a drive corruption then.

Try booting off a bootable CD/DVD/USB or whatever.

[Old_Geezer]

Do you hear disks whirring ? If so perhaps it's a graphics board error. Also check monitor and other cables then.

[SteveD]

Bhg: Yes, it flickers intermittently. The drive is a solid state one (SSD 500 WD Blue) so it makes no noise. It was installed in December last year. No problems since then.

Davebro: No, nothing happens

[SteveD]

OG: I'll try another monitor.

[bhg481]

If the light is flickering it shows that the system is trying to read the disc, so it could imply a problem with the SSD. Do you have a DVD you could try booting from?
As an aside, is there any significance in your avatar? I used to work with a Steve D with a Belgian wife.

[SteveD]

OG: Little balls do not appear if PC not switched on so they are presumably PC generated.

Bhg: No DVD etc.
Not me! Wife and I are both British & Belgian nationality having lived here since 1980.

[10ClarionSt]

Have you turned the monitor on? ;o)

[SteveD]

10ClarionSt: See original question!

[bhg481]

I've just looked up "Safe Mode". These are the Microsoft instructions for getting into safe mode from a black/blank screen.

Before you enter safe mode, you need to enter the Windows Recovery Environment (winRE). To do this, you will repeatedly turn your device off, then on:

Hold down the power button for 10 seconds to turn off your device.
Press the power button again to turn on your device.
On the first sign that Windows has started (for example, some devices show the manufacturer’s logo when restarting) hold down the power button for 10 seconds to turn off your device.
Press the power button again to turn on your device.
When Windows restarts, hold down the power button for 10 seconds to turn off your device.
Press the power button again to turn on your device.
Allow your device to fully restart. You will enter winRE.

Now that you are in winRE, you will follow these steps to take you to safe mode:

On the Choose an option screen, select Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Startup Settings > Restart.

After your device restarts, you'll see a list of options. Select option 5 from the list or press F5 for Safe Mode with Networking.

Give it a go.

The Steve D I knew was very computer savvy, so I would have been very surprised had you been the same person. Interesting coincidence, though.

[SteveD]

Tried another monitor: same problem :-(

[SteveD]

I'll take the PC to the computer shop this pm; the hard drive should still be under guarantee.

[Old_Geezer]

Probably the easiest way forward.

[10ClarionSt]

Sorry Steve. You said you turned the pc on. I assumed it was a tower with a seperate monitor.

[SteveD]

It is a tower with a separate monitor. Both power lights were lit and I could see the little balls turning on the monitor (and on the second monitor I tried).

The PC is now in the computer shop. The guy thought it was probably an update download it was stuck on and unlikely to be the hard disk. I'll post again when the patient is out of hospital.

[SteveD]

As suspected, it seemed to be an update download that had screwed everything up. They reinstalled Windows and everything works fine now.

[bhg481]

Thanks for getting back to us. Not everybody bothers and it is interesting to know if our suggestions were any good.