Strange pc issue

[Jazz Candy]

Hi all,

My friend all of a sudden found his pc wouldnt turn on one morning, i dont live near him ( or even same country )

he really knows 100% nothing about pc's..

so over a chat messenger, i got him to test his PSU with a fan, which turned out fine, then i explained to him where all the cables should be plugged and to make sure they are secure, which he did,

after which he tried to turn on the PC, it worked... but only when its on its side?!?! if he places the pc upright, it wont turn on.

at first i assumed this was a loose cable but ive gone over every possibility with him, the only thing i can personally think of, is the CPU isnt socketed properly and the weight from the heatsink when its on its side is pushing it in... but then hes used his pc for 2 years prior,

anyone have any clue why it would only turn on if the tower is placed on its side? its a baffle to me...

 

[BuddiLuva]

It might be shorting somehow, if the motherboard is touching the case when standing up it won't boot.

 

[Jazz Candy]

it was a pre built HP, he never moved or upgraded it, yesterday was first time he opened the case in 2 years, is it possible for it just suddenly start shorting?

 

[BuddiLuva]

Believe me anything is possible.

It could be parts of component touching the case somehow, or loosening when standing up.

Could be the motherboard has loosened.
Or theres a loose screw somehow touching one of the parts .

If he moves his computer does he hear any sort of rattling?

 

[Jazz Candy]

sorry late reply, no rattling or anything, think best solution is if i get him to just take it apart & follow a "how to build a pc" guide lol

 

[babytech215]

This isn't a reply, this is my own strange PC issue. I can't find where to make my own post and when I click on "ask community" it says it doesn't exist. So hopefully everyone can see this. I need opinions from seasoned techs. Okay, I gotta used Thinkpad T43. The issues are, the mouse cursor freezes and when you shake the computer or move it around certain angels it comes right back. Every now and then but not often the computer freezes completely. Okay and the main issue, it could easily take turning on and off the computer literally 50 times for the display to show. It comes on and runs, but a black screen. I plugged in an external monitor to rule out graphics. It came on even when the screen was black, but then it started doing it again even plugged into the external display. When I found that issue, I figured it was connected to the freezing issue and ruled out software as well. To me it seems like it's the system board. Does anyone agree?

Thank You for Reading All This!!!