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Computer wont start

Hi, my computer wont start, the blue light comes on and then 20 seconds later it turns off and it does this continually. I have checked all the cables and nothing seems amiss. I notice that the orange reset light is not on and it flickers on for a second when it shuts down. Any ideas, I have an alienware alx58
9 answers Last reply
More about computer wont start
  1. Could be hardware failure. How old is the system?
  2. Is this a prebuilt OEM computer or homebuilt? It could be a boot loop caused by a faulty motherboard or a boot loop from a dying HDD. I've had both happen on me. The first was boot loop that was caused by a faulty motherboard out of the box when I was building a computer. The other boot loop was on an OEM HP computer. The computer worked fine for months then one day when I turned it on it went into a boot loop. I called HP and they said it was the HDD. I replaced and that solved the problem.
  3. Prebuilt - I have two one tb hard drives and only one works. When it was working, it took about 15-20 minuter to start up and every second day I had to use system restore . Another thing it was doing was starting up after I had shut it down, I had to turn off the power. I have already had a hard drive failure before and replaced both.
  4. I think it's a failing HDD. When you did the system restore did it do anything? If the HDD is failing because of a serious mechanical problem the system restore should not have fixed the problem. Also did you check your BIOS to see if there is any HDD diagnotic tool. For HP it was called HP SMART Test.
  5. rds1220 said:
    I think it's a failing HDD. When you did the system restore did it do anything? If the HDD is failing because of a serious mechanical problem the system restore should not have fixed the problem. Also did you check your BIOS to see if there is any HDD diagnotic tool. For HP it was called HP SMART Test.



    Yes - it did restore, but I had to leave the computer on, as every time I shut it down, it would need restoring again.
    As stated - it just surges and then stops and this is continuous - there is no beep. I cannot get in to check the bios, but I have recently checked and everything seemed fine. I too think it the hard drive, but I just wanted confirmation or some ideas on this from someone with more knowledge than myself
  6. So the system restore didn't fix the problem, as i said it wouldn't if it was a problem caused by a mechanical failure. I would replace the HDD and see if that fixes the problem. I really think the HDD is dying it sounds like the exact same problem I had with my HP.
  7. yeah, I will replace the hd - any ideas on what brand or quality of Hard drive. I have been having a lousy run. Is two better than one - size etc...
    Thanks for all of your help - appreciate
  8. Like any thing with computers everyone has their favorites. I really like Seagate Barracuda. All the Western Digitals I have had were flops. The first was a WD Cavier Black ( the one mentioned above in my HP) that only lasted a few months before it died. I then got another WD Cavier Black from HP and that one was screwed up out of the box. I thought maybe it was a bad batch of Cavier Blacks from HP so I didn't bother going through HP for a replacement. This time I bought another Cavier Black from New Egg. That one was also screwed up out of the box. At that point I switched to Seagate Barracuda and have had no problems at all. From my expierence I'm done with Western Digital and will probably never buy another one of their hard drives again. Another company that gets good comments is Hitachi.
    As for size I've always gone with a 1TB HDD. As for is it better having two smaller drives over one large drive I can't say. As I said I've always gone with one - 1 TB HDD. I've never needed more than that. I have I don't know how many games installed on the 1 TB HDD and it's no where near full.

    One more thing I would get a HDD that runs at 7200 RPM. The 5000 RPM are to me to slow. If you can afford a 1 TB HDD I would get that if not get the highest amount of storage you can afford.
  9. rds1220 said:
    Like any thing with computers everyone has their favorites. I really like Seagate Barracuda. All the Western Digitals I have had were flops. The first was a WD Cavier Black ( the one mentioned above in my HP) that only lasted a few months before it died. I then got another WD Cavier Black from HP and that one was screwed up out of the box. I thought maybe it was a bad batch of Cavier Blacks from HP so I didn't bother going through HP for a replacement. This time I bought another Cavier Black from New Egg. That one was also screwed up out of the box. At that point I switched to Seagate Barracuda and have had no problems at all. From my expierence I'm done with Western Digital and will probably never buy another one of their hard drives again. Another company that gets good comments is Hitachi.
    As for size I've always gone with a 1TB HDD. As for is it better having two smaller drives over one large drive I can't say. As I said I've always gone with one - 1 TB HDD. I've never needed more than that. I have I don't know how many games installed on the 1 TB HDD and it's no where near full.

    One more thing I would get a HDD that runs at 7200 RPM. The 5000 RPM are to me to slow. If you can afford a 1 TB HDD I would get that if not get the highest amount of storage you can afford.


    I replaced the hard drive but I am still getting the surging and power off and it does this continuously. Could it be the motherboard?
    I have run out of ideas - can I try something else?
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