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  Troubleshooting

The following are a few questions to ask yourself to help narrow down the probable cause:
•  Was the computer recently moved?
•  Have you recently installed any new hardware or software?
•  Did you recently reconfigure or upgrade any software?
•  Has this happened before?
•  Have you noticed any little issues lately that may have led up to this point?
•  Are you getting an error message or beep codes?
If the answer to each is no, continue on and check out the following topics to see if you can narrow down or figure out the problem.  Remember, we start with the easiest checks first, then work toward the more complicated.  Again, if you're not sure about the cause you've defined or not confident about getting inside your pc, seek out a pro.

My Computer seems dead
• Check to ensure you have powered on both the computer and the monitor.
• Are there any lights lighting up on the computer case?
   If yes, it may a video or monitor problem.
• Is the power cable plugged into both the back of the computer and the wall outlet or power strip?
• (Laptop) Is the light on on the power supply?  If no, could be unplugged, plugged into a bad outlet, or needs to be replaced.
• Is the power strip on?  Do you know for sure it's working?  Try another strip or outlet.
• Does anything smell like it's burning?
• Is there a switch on the back of your computer power supply (where you plug the power cable in)? If so, is it set correctly?  (It should be set on 110 or 115)
• Does the power supply fan run at all when you press the power button? If yes, but computer does not do anything, the system board and it's components may not be getting power.

(Let's look inside the computer case.  Don't forget your precautions.)

• Everything look and smell right?
• Are all of the cables and connections plugged in tight?
• Is the inside full of dust, dirt, hair, etc.?  Use your canned air to blow out dust and dirt that can cause system overheating.
mobo• If possible, swap the power supply for one from another computer.  For testing you will only need to plug the connectors in that go into the system board.  (Could be more than one connection that goes into the system board so pay close attention when you unplug the original power supply.)  Then plug into the electrical outlet and turn on the power. If it works, the other power supply is bad.  If it doesn't work, try the power supply from the problem computer in the other computer.  If it works in that one, then your problem computer may have a bad system board, expansion card, or component that is pulling down the system.
• Ensure that all expansion cards, RAM, and CPU are seated tightly.
• Pull out the expansion cards.  Does it work now?  If so, one of the expansion cards is bad and pulling the system down.  You can install the cards one at a time and check to see if the computer comes on.  When the computer won't boot, you'll know that's the bad card.  If not...
• Pull out the RAM and reseat the CPU.  Anything?  You may have a bad system board.
• Time to decide whether to consult a pro or invest in a new machine...

Hard Drive (Windows operating system) does not boot up
(Hopefully you've kept up with backing up your files)
• You may have corrupt or missing system files.  Can you boot up in Safe Mode or Last Known Good? (Press F8 key intermittently while computer is starting up and choose one of the startup options.)
• Try booting up from a floppy or CD and then try to view the hard drive.
 
(Let's look inside the computer case.  Don't forget your precautions.)
• Ensure that the power and data cables are connected tightly.
• If possible, swap the data cable with another.
• Swap the hard drive with one you know works.  If it boots up, your other hard drive is the problem.  If it doesn't, see if the problem drive works in the other computer.  If it does, you know the problem is likely with your system board.  If it doesn't...
• Change the jumpers on the drive to "slave" and try it in the other computer in addition to that computer's drive.  Then boot up and see if you can salvage any of your files from the problem drive. 
(Then you have a decision to make.)
If you were able to get anywhere with the Windows installation disk, you can reinstall Windows (with the drive back in the problem computer).  However, that's no guarantee all will be well when it's reinstalled.  If the drive is on it's way to pasture you will have the problem again and it may not be salvageable next time.
If you cannot access the drive and you need to salvage some files, you may need to seek out a pro.  If you don't need anything from the drive and you're good with your diagnosis, you can purchase a new drive to replace the problem one.

My Computer is running really slow
• Have you changed anything recently?
• Is it just slow when you're on the internet?  If so, that's an internet issue.
• Have you kept up with your computer's maintenance (ie. defragged the drive, antivirus and
   spyware up to date, etc.)?
• Do you have too much on your hard drive? (I've run across drives before that were completely full, believe it or not.)
• Are there a lot of programs starting up and running in the background when your computer starts?
• You could have some corrupt Windows files.  After backing up your data, try reinstalling Windows.
• Your hard drive could be damaged or about ready to die.