Fact is, PC’s can fail to turn on for a variety of reasons, which can be related to software or hardware. The former is probably easier to identify, while the latter may require some time. Here are things you should check if your computer fails to power up.

Recently Installed Drivers

Remove any drivers which you have recently installed, particularly for your video or audio card. These may be responsible in causing incompatibilities with other software, so it is worth checking on. Uninstall and restart, and see if it makes a difference. You can also use the rollback features of your particular operating system.

Check the Power Supply Unit

Is the power switch at the back on? Is the PSU connected properly to the motherboard? Check both to make sure. If your PC has powered down while a particularly intensive application was running, i.e. video editing program, photo editing, a game, the computer might have shut down as a security measure. Make sure your PSU supports dual-rail, and has an ample Wattage for your whole system.

Check the Motherboard

With the computer off, try removing components one by one, and restarting each time. For instance, remove a video card, then an audio card, then try removing different combinations of your RAM sticks to determine whether they might be a problem. Running utilities like MemTest or ChkDsk to find/fix possible problems with your drive or RAM.

Listen for Beeps at Start Up

Your motherboard’s BIOS will have a beep-code, which is usually in the Motherboard’s manual. Listen to the beep when you power up your PC, and determine what they mean by checking the manual. This is actually a quicker way than checking for specific components, and may help you determine your hardware-related problem quicker. For instance, a continuous beep may indicate a power supply or motherboard problem, while 3 short beeps may indicate a graphic-adapter error.

In the case where you get no beeps at all, something may be wrong with your CPU, or you may have PSU or motherboard problem. If you are unaware of what to do after these tips, it is always better to contact a technician.

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Broadly speaking, hardware and software problems can be differentiated by the following symptoms or effects;

Hardware

Total lack of response from the PC; no discernible activity from lights, fans, sounds or onscreen information
Unusual mechanical noise
Visible mechanical damage
Excessive temperature, or PC randomly stopping and/or restarting by itself

Software

Slow responses
Individual programs fail, but others continue to work

Since a software problem with the PC’s operating system can affect all programs, one strategy for differentiating this from a hardware problem is to restart, or boot, the PC from a CD or floppy boot disk. If it works properly from this, it suggests the hardware is in order, and that some repair or replacement of the installed operating system is called for.

If you suspect a hardware problem, then repair is usually a matter of removal of the faulty part, and replacement. PCs are modular devices, and unless the core component – the motherboard – has failed, ancillary components are easy to remove and replace. Replacing a power supply is merely a matter of unplugging various power leads within the PC (noting which is which), unscrewing the power supply, and replacing it. Other elements which plug into or connect directly to the motherboard – optical devices, RAM memory, graphics cards – are merely unplugged and replaced, in the main.

For software, any problem will usually be resolved by reinstallation, either from an install disc, or from an executable that you’ve downloaded. If you’ve purchased the software, it will be found on the install disc that came with the package. If you downloaded, you should use the executable install package, or download it again.

As a regular routine, you should be taking backups of any data that you store on your PC, as insurance against any software or hardware failure. Most crucially, you need to copy any data – documents, spreadsheets, music files, photos – from your primary hard disk to another location. This could be a secondary drive within the PC, an external device, or both. Many commentators suggest that backups of critical data should be kept in more than one remote location.

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Think of your computer as if it were your body. Your Anti-Virus package is your computer’s immune system. It fights off things that want to do it harm, and keeps an eye out on what’s going on inside to make sure nothing snuck by when it wasn’t looking.

Anti-virus packages are very sophisticated these days. Back in the dim and distant past before the internet was invented (yes, there was a time before the internet) the only way of passing a virus then was on a floppy disc – an ancient predecessor of the memory stick.
Now a virus can even attack you on your phone, and they can range from simply annoying through inconvenient to downright malicious. A nasty virus can make your computer or phone unusable, delete critical data, or even send information back to someone that could help them withdraw money from your bank. They can even help someone steal your identity.

So today Anti-Virus programs have to be much smarter. A modern package will protect you from internet threats, threats while you are web browsing, threats from transferred files, and can even help protect your kids. A good anti-virus package can block access to sites that are known to have inappropriate content. Everybody worries about kids getting access to pornography, but what about sites that promote violence, or preach race-hate? A good package can block all of these.

To make them as efficient as possible, you can’t just buy an Anti-Virus tool, install it, and ignore it forever. They have to update themselves regularly – so they are aware of all the new viruses that have been detected – and so they are normally bought as a subscription rather than a one-off payment. There are free versions, but they don’t always offer the same features.

Although they do a good job right out of the box, the more you learn about your Anti-Virus, the more you can get out of it, and the safer you can make things. For child protection features especially, it’s important to know at least as much as your kids do. It’s no protection for them if they know how to disable it and you don’t.

So in a nutshell, Anti-Virus is an essential part of your computer. Don’t skimp on it, or you really will end up with a headache.

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Being Taken In By Fraudulent Emails

As with anything new, everything can seem interesting and exciting when using a computer for the first time. This can lead to problems, however, when it comes to opening emails. New computer users can be too trusting, and can be taken in by, for instance, a fraudulent email that seems to be an official email from their bank. The email will probably ask for personal details. Rolling over the link with a mouse will reveal that the link provided doesn’t lead to their bank at all, but is an attempt at deception. Another mistake a computer novice may make, when opening emails, is to open attachments, which supposedly offer something interesting. Sadly, these attachments may carry viruses.

A Lack Of Organisation

The new computer user will often be inclined to save more files than they really need. Consequently, the first few emails that they receive will be left in their inbox, and then the amount of messages will grow and grow until finding the important emails become hard to find. This problem will be the same regarding files on the computer itself, when there are no specific folders for the files to go into.

Problems With Connecting Devices

Connecting devices don’t always go smoothly for experienced computer users, but this can be really frustrating for the computer novice. A problem may occur and just be a cable that’s not fitted securely enough, but for anyone with little experience of using a computer the problem may seem more serious. They are more likely to think that there is a problem with the device itself. A failure to understand the instructions can be another problem for the computer novice.

Installing Too Many Programs

Because the computer novice doesn’t have experience of what are the best and most relevant programs for them they will tend to install many more programs than they actually need. Though many modern computers now have a great deal more disk space than they had even a decade ago, it’s never a good idea to have too many programs on a computer – especially when a great many will never be used. This is one common mistake that those new to computers will often make.

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