Computer won’t turn on: what to check before calling a technician
You press the button and nothing happens. Or the fans start but the monitor stays black. This is one of the most common reasons I get called out in Batumi. Some cases take five minutes to solve without a technician — start with the simple things.
First — five simple checks
- Socket and extension lead. Plug a lamp or a phone charger into the same socket. Extension leads with a switch are often off or blown.
- The switch on the power supply at the back of the PC — set to “I”.
- The monitor cable — plugged into the graphics card (the lower port), not the motherboard, and the monitor set to the right input.
- Drain residual power: unplug, hold the power button for 15 seconds, plug in again.
- After a power surge wait a couple of minutes and try again: the power supply protection may have tripped.
What the symptoms mean
- No reaction at all — power: socket, cable, power supply or the case button.
- Fans spin, no picture — monitor, cable, memory, graphics card or BIOS settings.
- Beeps when switched on — the motherboard reports an error; most often it is the memory (RAM).
- Turns on and switches off at once — power supply, overheating or a short circuit.
- Logo appears, Windows won’t load — a software problem: bootloader, update, drive. This is fixed on site.
The most common story — after cleaning or assembly
If the computer stopped turning on right after it was opened, the reason is almost always something left unplugged: the CPU power cable, the CPU fan, a memory stick not fully seated. I had exactly that case recently: after a cleaning by someone else, the CPU cooler had not been connected back.
What I do on a call-out
I check the power, memory, video output, drive and Windows boot and find the exact cause. If the power supply has died or a new drive is needed, I tell you what to buy and fit it: that is normal work for me, as in building a computer. Files from the drive are saved before any repair.
If the motherboard itself is faulty, that is a job for a service centre with soldering equipment; I will say so honestly and point you there. More: computer repair in Batumi.
What not to do
- Do not keep switching the computer on if there is a burning smell: pull the plug.
- Do not open the power supply: its capacitors hold a charge even after unplugging.
- Do not format the drive if Windows will not load — the data can almost always be saved.