Dead Computer

[computerdim]

I turned on my computer this morning and nothing happens. The light comes on and flickers but it does not seem to boot up. I know nothing about computers so would be very grateful for any suggestions!

[fo3nix]

does it sound like anything is happening inside? normally can you hear the hard drive spining away, and if so is it still doing it when you switch on?

does the monitor show anything, even just a flashing underscore like this: _ ?

basically it's a process of elimination. it could be your power supply, in which case nothing will work. it could be your monitor (try a differnet monitor), or could be your graphics card.

[The Big Gill]

Which light? Is it a laptop or a desktop computer?

[computerdim]

Thanks for your replies.

The computer is a desktop. When I try to turn it on there is a slight whirring sound (sounds like a fan or something - would that be the sound of the hard drive?). It has two small lights on the front, one shows a picture of a light bulb (this one just stays off completely) and the one below has a picture of a cylinder on its end (???) and this one flickers in orange. Sorry I am completely ignorant, as I said! Nothing else happens - no life at all.

The monitor says "no video input".

[The Big Gill]

Check your cables. The cable connecting the pc to the monitor may have come unattached.

[sinnoc00]

Suggestion: Go to the library and learn about computers ?

[fo3nix]

sinnoc: how on earth does that help right now?

computerdim: the lightbulb is usually just power, and the cylindar icon is for the hard drive (the hard drive is like a load of stacked up cylindars, made from magnetic tape like in a VHS).

if the monitor says "no video imput" then it sounds to me as though the monitor is fine, and it isn't getting a signal from the graphics card inside the computer. so, check your wiring as said above (make sure the cables haven't come a bit loose or anything). if it doesn't help, then you may have a dud graphics card.

as much as i hate to recommend them, one idea is to go to a local PC world and have their help desk check it over. if the computer is still under warranty, see if anything can be done that way first.