It's a really horrible way to start a day: press the power button on the computer and nothing happens; few computer problems are more frustrating than when your computer won't boot. While the first thing to think about is to bring the computer to the technician, there are actually still hopes of being able to fix it yourself, the important thing is to be patient and do the necessary checks.
There are in fact many reasons why a computer won't turn on, and often very few clues as to what the problem might be.
The only symptom is the simple fact that "nothing works", which is not much.
Below, let's see what to do when the PC no longer turns on, does not move, seems completely dead or otherwise loads nothing.
The following guide to fix a dead PC that won't turn on and won't start, applies to all computers, regardless of the system used, whether Windows 7, Windows 10 or Windows 8.1.
It can also apply to laptops, although in cases where replacement of parts is required, depending on the laptop it can be more or less easy, provided that it is possible.
The important thing is not to panic, because almost certainly the data inside the PC is absolutely not lost, it is only not accessible at the moment and it is still possible to recover it easily.
1) Adjust the computer if it no longer turns on and shows no signs of energy
In case the PC looks really dead and does not react in any way to pressing the power button, if no lights come on, if the fans don't move, there is almost certainly a power problem .
We assume that all the plugs are correctly inserted (and if attached to a multiple socket it is turned on) and that the main switch of the PC is turned on (on desktop PCs the switch is often located in the back.
If we are talking about a laptop, the solution is easy, it could be simply to replace the power cable with the transformer to solve.
In some cases it could be the fault of the battery, which depending on the model can be removable or not.
If we are talking about a fixed PC, we must definitely open it and check the integrity of all the cables and plugs on the motherboard, perhaps trying to detach and reattach them gently.
In addition to the cables, it would be appropriate to remove and put the CMOS battery, that small round one that looks like a button battery that is located above the motherboard.
The most likely cause of this problem is a failed power supply, which happens more often than you think, especially in the summer.
Those who have the means to do so could try to test the energy from the power supply using an external energy meter or meter.
It therefore becomes necessary to change the power supply which can be done by yourself, even if it requires some manual work and the purchase of a new part.
To follow a complete guide, I refer to the article on how to change the PC power supply and connect all the cables, which might seem difficult, but which, in reality, is really more simple than mounting a piece of furniture.
If even after changing the power supply it is still not possible to turn on the computer, the motherboard may have burned out, a remote possibility that necessarily requires the intervention of the technician for replacement if not the purchase of a new computer.
Other damaged hardware may also prevent the computer from turning on, such as RAM, processor or hard disk, but in these cases you should at least see the little light turn on and the fan spin.
On laptops, generally and depending on the model, you can try a hardware reset procedure.
Then disconnect all power and USB cables, hold the power button for 15 or 20 seconds and then reconnect the plug to try to turn it on.
2) The computer turns on, but it loads nothing and nothing appears on the screen
Here there are two things, or the monitor is badly connected or is broken, and then it is worth checking the cables and trying to turn it off and on again to see if the presentation screen with the manufacturer's logo appears.
If so, then the monitor definitely works.
There may therefore be a hardware problem inside, which in the vast majority of cases is the power supply again.
This time, it probably won't be broken, but it will be underpowered on the computer.
If this problem is happening after adding or changing some other parts, then you should definitely replace the power supply with a more powerful one.
In some cases, however, it can be the fault of the RAM or the disk .
You can try opening the PC, detaching and reattaching the disk plugs and then also detaching and reattaching the RAM banks, to see if it's just a matter of connections.
In case you can try to detach a disk or a bank of RAM selectively to find out the damaged one, provided that there are more than one.
Sometimes there can also be an operating system problem, if the black screen appears immediately after the POST screen, that is, the one where various writings appear as soon as you turn on the computer.
For this problem, I refer you to the guide on solutions to the black screen error when starting the Windows PC .
3) In case the PC turns on and then turns off
This is the case described in a previous guide, where we explained how if the PC shuts down by itself with a sudden stop, both during the start-up phase and during its use.
We also saw the causes and possible solutions to blue screen problems, shutdown or sudden restart of the computer.
We also wrote a specific guide to fix the computer if it continually reboots indefinitely.
4) If the PC turns on but Windows does not load
In this case the problem is with the operating system and you can intervene in various ways according to the guides on:
- How to turn on the PC if Windows does not start
- How to save all data if Windows doesn't start
Sometimes it may be that not even a system recovery can fix boot errors and then it may be that the internal disk is damaged.
In another article we have therefore seen what to do if the computer disk is broken to recover all the data and replace it.
