Is this a harddrive issue?

[Atomic Rooster]

Is the fan on the CPU spinning up?

You could also be having a power supply issue. It's not uncommon for them to fail, leaving just enough power to spin low draw devices up like fans and such, but not enough to boot the system. If you have another handy, you could try swapping them out.

Here's a good article on testing power supplies with some good links to follow: "How Do I Test the Power Supply in My Computer?"

 

[jasperwilcox]

Yup, the fan on the CPU is spinning normally. Power supply seems to be fully intact as best I can tell. The fan on the CPU goes, there's another fan that works fine, and the lights on the tower come on just like normal.

 

[wol-va-rine]

Yup, the fan on the CPU is spinning normally. Power supply seems to be fully intact as best I can tell. The fan on the CPU goes, there's another fan that works fine, and the lights on the tower come on just like normal.

it could still be the psu, what brand is it, how many watts, and how many amps on the 12v rails...?

 

[jarlmaster47]

Its not a PSU issue. I had the exact same problem you are describing. It is a hard drive issue. If it was a PSU issue there would be a beep. Get a new hard drive and you will be good to go.

 

[jasperwilcox]

it could still be the psu, what brand is it, how many watts, and how many amps on the 12v rails...?

My brother just informed me he actually had the PSU replaced about 3 months before he gave the computer to me (it's about 3 years old I think?). It's a 650w SilverStone.

 

[Atomic Rooster]

Nice power supply.

Try this. Disconnect the hard drive and reboot. If it is the drive, the system should at least boot to the BIOS menu.

 

[jasperwilcox]

Hmmm, just tried that and I got the exact same results. Power/fan on, no signs of life via the monitor though, still just blinking green LED or whatever at the bottom.

And I noticed my CD-ROM drive's "active" light flashes 6 times, waits a second, flashes 6 times, waits a second, and keeps repeating that (and there's no CD in there). No idea why.

 

[akira282]

beeping is important, there should be some audible sound if the HD component isn't working properly

 

[Atomic Rooster]

It's not the hard drive then.

These things are tough to diagnose over the 'net. I'm a "hands on" kinda guy you know. . .

I'm inclined to say it's either the power supply, motherboard, memory or CPU. What happens when you remove all the memory and attempt to boot? It should throw you some beep codes.

You could try clearing the CMOS. There's a small jumper on the mobo near the round battery. You move that jumper to the opposite pins for a minute or so. It's usually labeled something like CLR_CMOS. Make sure the computer is off and disconnected from the wall outlet.

Don't mind me, I'm just throwing things against the wall to see if any stick.

 

[akira282]

If you cannot even get to post that's not a good sign or BIOS, could mean a connection issue for one if your brother had been tampering with the motherboard etc.

Judging by the symptoms it almost sounds like a lightning issue lol. I don't know. I guess it would be totally dead if that was the case. I would check all connections like I said before though both inside and out. I've seen this problem before. I'm pretty sure it deals with the psu for some reason. Out of the blue, make sure the psu is set to 110v and not 220 assuming your in the US.