# Computer Won't Start (Major Problem) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 4, 2004, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-wont-start-major-problem/248668 "2004-06-04T18:11:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Duderdude2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cdc98d/32.png) [@Duderdude2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duderdude2)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2004, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-wont-start-major-problem/248668/1 "2004-06-04T18:11:45Z")
So I awoke this morning to find the older of my two computers won’t start up. Needless to say, this is a huge problem. The computer is only 2-3 years old (Sony Vaio, 1.6ghz P4, 80gig HD). Anyways, after I turn on the power button the “Sony” screen will appear, but then nothing else happens. “Sony” stays on the screen indefinitely. There’s also no sign that the computer is even attempting to access the hard drive, though it does seem to be checking my CD Drive. So am I screwed? What can I do? Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![larsenmtl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d78d45/32.png) [@larsenmtl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/larsenmtl)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2004, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-wont-start-major-problem/248668/2 "2004-06-04T18:34:09Z")
Can you get into your BIOS screen? I believe with a Sony Vaio, you press F2 during boot. Once there, I’d check to make sure you hard drive is still detected and listed and that your boot order contains your hard drive. If it’s not there, is it possible the IDE cable came loose? ---
**Author:** ![leenmi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f1d935/32.png) [@leenmi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leenmi)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2004, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-wont-start-major-problem/248668/3 "2004-06-04T18:41:44Z")
How very odd. My laptop just did this same thing last week. It’s off being repaired right now. I was playing around with other Linux distributions. I have a sneaking suspicion that I messed up the master boot record of the hard drive (MBR), but can’t say for sure. You don’t sound like you were messing with anything but, just in case, I thought I should mention it. I have very little experience with WIndows, but some things I found to try (but couldn’t because the damned laptop wouldn’t let me at the bios or boot from cdrom): - Boot from your Windows CDROM. - Use a rescue floppy (you can create one from your remaining PC) and try to troubleshoot. Something like [fixmbr](http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/bootcons_fixmbr.mspx) or [fixboot](http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/home/using/productdoc/en/default.asp?url=/windowsxp/home/using/productdoc/en/bootcons_fixboot.asp) . Before you assume it is the disk though, rule out other things. Hold the Esc key when you power on. Should go to BIOS. Maybe try holding the Tab key to do away with the picture and show you the messages at boot. If you see an error message, you can google it. good luck ---
**Author:** ![Duderdude2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cdc98d/32.png) [@Duderdude2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duderdude2)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2004, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-wont-start-major-problem/248668/4 "2004-06-04T18:55:16Z")
larsenmtl - The hard drive is still apparently listed (third device down). leenmi - I didn’t mess around with any of the computer settings, to my knowledge. I was able to get into the Bios, so that at least works. However, I’ve already tried sticking in a floppy disk (not the recovery one) to see if the system would even check that drive…Well it didn’t. Thanks guys for the help. ---
**Author:** ![robcaro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@robcaro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robcaro)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2004, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-wont-start-major-problem/248668/5 "2004-06-04T21:25:03Z")
Put your recovery disk back in the slot. Type Fdisk /mbr. Hope this works for you. ---
**Author:** ![Duderdude2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cdc98d/32.png) [@Duderdude2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duderdude2)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2004, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-wont-start-major-problem/248668/6 "2004-06-04T21:44:27Z")
> [@robcaro](#): > > Put your recovery disk back in the slot. Type Fdisk /mbr. Hope this works for you. Well, all I have are the Recovery CDs. I tried putting them in both of my CD drives, but they won’t start up, even after turning the computer on with them already in the drive… Is there something I need to do to get them started? Btw, I appreciate all the help guys. ---
**Author:** ![daffyduck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ec9cab/32.png) [@daffyduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/daffyduck)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2004, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-wont-start-major-problem/248668/7 "2004-06-04T22:46:19Z")
Are you getting beep codes? If you are not sure what I mean, most bios chips will beep error codes when booting up if there is a problem. Also, just as a sort of dumb guy test, when faced with a computer that won’t boot, I will power it off, open the case and put a finger on the hard drive and then power it back up. You should be able to feel the hard drive vibrate very slightly as it spins up. You can also verify that your internal fans are working, particularly the fan on the CPU as this may cause the system to not boot if it fails. It would also be a good time to check to see that your video card is seated correctly and that all ribbon cable connections are seated properly. ---
**Author:** ![Duderdude2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cdc98d/32.png) [@Duderdude2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duderdude2)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2004, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-wont-start-major-problem/248668/8 "2004-06-05T01:07:12Z")
No, I’m not getting any beeps upon start-up. Though i noticed in the bios that an option called “silent boot-up” was enabled. Could that be causing the silence? ---
**Author:** ![Duderdude2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cdc98d/32.png) [@Duderdude2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duderdude2)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2004, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-wont-start-major-problem/248668/9 "2004-06-05T01:08:13Z")
Also, how do I check if the fans are working. Just by opening the case and looking at them? ---
**Author:** ![Duderdude2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cdc98d/32.png) [@Duderdude2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duderdude2)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2004, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-wont-start-major-problem/248668/10 "2004-06-05T01:47:31Z")
Few more things. I can hear and feel the fan through the back of the computer, so I’m fairly sure that’s working. However, I can’t even get to the Bios anymore. I’m tried holding F2 on start-up, and the test “Entering” will appear on screen, but then nothing happen. This is the oddest computer problem I’ve ever had. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2004, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-wont-start-major-problem/248668/11 "2004-06-05T15:06:22Z")
This is a long shot. I’m essentially computer-illiterate. I had what sounds like the same sort of problem years ago. I unplugged the ancillary devices (printer, fax, etc.) and then was able to start up the computer. I plugged the devices back in and did a restart. All was well after that. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2004, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-wont-start-major-problem/248668/12 "2004-06-05T16:27:52Z")
When you see the Sony splash screen, hit the escape key. This should display the status of the power on self test. I suspect that it has encountered a memory error that it can’t recover from, and is hung. You can do a comptrehensive memory test witht the [Microsoft Windows Memory Diagnostic](http://oca.microsoft.com/en/windiag.asp): > [@](#): > > The Windows Memory Diagnostic tests the Random Access Memory (RAM) on your computer for errors. The diagnostic includes a comprehensive set of memory tests. If you are experiencing problems while running Windows, you can use the diagnostic to determine whether the problems are caused by failing hardware, such as RAM or the memory system of your motherboard. Windows Memory Diagnostic is designed to be easy and fast. On most configurations, you can download the diagnostic, read the documentation, run the test and complete the first test pass in less than 30 minutes. > > To run Windows Memory Diagnostic, you must reboot your computer with the disk or CD-ROM on which you installed Windows Memory Diagnostic in the drive. After the reboot, Windows Memory Diagnostic will load and its interface will appear. After loading, the first test pass will begin, using the default standard test suite, and continue until complete, unless Windows Memory Diagnostic is either paused or exited. Once the first test pass is complete, Windows Memory Diagnostic will begin a second test pass using the same settings as before. Windows Memory Diagnostic will continue to run test passes until you exit ---
**Author:** ![Duderdude2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cdc98d/32.png) [@Duderdude2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duderdude2)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2004, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/computer-wont-start-major-problem/248668/13 "2004-06-06T01:21:06Z")
Well, I got my computer working. My father actually suggested a method he used when he had a similar problem. So I hauled my computer down to the gas station, opened the case and blew the shit out of the interior with the tire pump. I have never seen so much dust fly out in my life. So I return home to try my dust free computer and sure enough, it finally turns on, infact, I’m typing this very message on it. Anyways, thanks everyone for the help…Friggen dust, who would have thought?