Serious Startup Snags - Please Help

[RKeaton]

For a couple of months now my computer has had a hard time starting smoothly and it's just getting worse and worse. I have no idea what part of my computer is in need of replacement or repair.

When I push the power button it comes on with a high rpm sound and then (when working normally) settles down, gets very quiet and Windows starts.

Lately what happens is I push the power button and it comes on loud, fans spinning fast but then gets stuck right there and just stays like that. If I push and hold the power button til it powers off it usually doesn't turn off but tries to restart. Only it still doesn't start, it just gets stuck again with that high rpm fan sound.

After multiple tries, unplugging it and plugging it back in, doing various rain dances, etc it will start. This used to take an extra 5 or 10 minutes but now it can take an hour or two. In other words, it has gotten ridiculous.

Naturally I've just stopped shutting it off altogether to avoid the problem. But very occasionally it will freeze (crash) or a friend will unwittingly shut it off or, for example, on Christmas Day we had a storm and the power went out and it took me forever to get it back up and running.

I also can't put it into sleep mode because when it tries to wake up it gets stuck again.

I have no idea where to start and don't really want to go replacing every major part like an idiot. It's only about 2-3 years old and I have no intention of chucking it in the trash. Please help.

Some system details

HP m7330n
Vista Home Basic
DualCore AMD Athlon 64 X2, 2200 MHz 4200+

 

[Atomic Rooster]

You may have a bad power supply. I had a similar problem with one of mine. I had to press the power button many times before it would start and it got progressively worse over time.

Something like a bad power circuit or capacitor in the PSU will cause it no not push out enough power to get through the booting process. Since it's 2-3 years old, I'm sure it's out of warranty.

Do you have another power supply you could try? If not, the Antec Basiq BP-350B 350W Power Supply would be a nice choice for only $19.99. It's a high quality unit and you can't beat it's price.

 

[RKeaton]

I'm anxious to get some helpful insight before it crashes again and I can't get it started, thus losing access to the internet. Worst case scenario, but it could happen.

Sounds like a cheap option, I'll look into that. Is the power supply easy to change out?

 

[Atomic Rooster]

They're not too bad if you're handy with a screwdriver. Just pay attention to where all the connectors go and your should be fine.

 

[RKeaton]

I'm handy enough, just haven't done it before. Should I turn the power off first? Just kidding...

 

[RKeaton]

Does anyone else have any suggestions besides a new power supply? Is this message board helpful at all?

 

[rohan23]

Is this message board helpful at all?

It is. Atomic Rooster has given you the best advice. It's your choice if you listen or not.

 

[RKeaton]

Don't get uppity, it was a fair question. I'm sure you've heard of the phrase "second opinion". I'll take yours as just that, so, thanks. Sort of.

 

[RKeaton]

Well I got a new power supply at Fry's today, installed it very excitedly thinking it was going to power up nice and smooth, but...nope. Still the same thing. After an hour or so I got it to boot up. And here I am.

Next likely culprit? Or could I have screwed up installation of the new ps somehow? The multiple plugs was a bit confusing but overall it seemed fairly straightforward. I plugged in the two optical drives, my one hard drive and then a big plug to the motherboard and a small, 4-pin plug also to the mobo.

 

[ACES WILD]

IS your computer displaying anything to the monitor? Posting anything at all? You only implied that the fans are coming on..... But anyway, I had a problem similar to this happen with my old Socket A system a while back My PC would post but freeze at post and If it did get through it wouldnt pick up any Hard drives or optical drives, but if I restarted it enough eventually it would get into windows (sometimes taking 20-30 tries). Turns out all I had to do to fix it was unplug everything and reseat it, and away it went never froze on post again. So I'm curious to know where your computer is freezing at if it is displaying a post, or Is it freezing at the windows loading screen, which could indicate something corrupted with your OS and not a hardware thing at all. Also is your computer beeping on startup and have you noticed any irregular beeps (IE: many long beeps short beeps or some combination)? The beep sequence could also give us a hint as to what might be wrong.

*Also, so much jealousy that you live near a Frys *