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Welcome to the SClark Consulting show. This is the podcast to help you achieve more productivity for your personal and professional life through technology and a little bit of common sense.

I’m your host Stuart ClarkR

Today, in Episode 7 of the podcast I am going to talk about some troubleshooting steps when starting your computer.

If you are having computer problems, a few simple steps may find and solve the problem before having to call someone. If it doesn’t solve it then at least you can describe what you tried to your support person.

Here are several common situations that can occur with your computer.

Computer will not power up.

Is the power cable for the computer plugged in tightly to the power strip or wall socket?
Is the other end of the power cable plugged into the PC?

If so then try plugging the computer into another wall socket. This isolates if the problem is with the power strip or wall socket.

Is there an on/off switch by the power supply? Make sure it is in the on position.

Many power supplies will have a red voltage switch, make sure it is on the correct setting. In North America, this is usually 115 / 120.

Get another power cable that you know works and connect it to see if works. If it does you need to replace the power cable.

Unplug any external peripherals such as printers or scanners (except the monitor) and try to power the computer on. If it powers on, connect one peripheral at a time to try and isolate the issue.

If the above does not work you will have to contact a technician for further diagnostics.

Computer turns on but will not boot up into Windows or Mac OS X.

Is there a bootable USB key / external drive or CD/DVD drive connected to the computer? Is there a DVD or CD in the drive?  If so the computer may be trying to boot from it.

Make sure no CD’s/DVD’s are in the drive.

Disconnect all external drives / USB keys and try restarting the computer.

Do you hear a clicking sound from the hard drive? This could be a sign the drive is damaged and will need to be replaced. (You did make a backup right!)

If the above does not solve the problem, contact a specialist who can investigate.

Computer powers on but nothing is on the monitor.

Is the power light for the monitor on? If not then check if the power cable for the monitor is plugged in tightly to the power strip or wall socket. Is the other end of the power cable plugged into the monitor tightly?

If so then try plugging the monitor into another wall socket. This isolates if the problem is with the power strip or wall socket.

Get another monitor power cable that you know works and connect it to see if works. If it does you need to replace the monitor power cable.

Check to see if the signal cable (the cable that goes from the monitor to the computer) is plugged in firmly at both ends.

Try with another known good cable to see if the problem is with the original cable.

Replace the monitor with another one that you know works. If you still don’t get a picture the problem is likely with your computer’s video card and further diagnostic from a repair technician will be needed.

You will notice most of the solutions involve checking the cables.  Most times the problem is usually there.

 

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Do you have any other tips? Let us know in the comments or on the Facebook page.

 

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If you have any comments, suggestions or questions please email me at feedback@sclarkconsulting.ca .