Help! Computer won't turn on and hums?

I wasn't exactly sure where to post this, but I'll give this board a shot. This site has saved my laptop before and I'm sure it can do the same for my boyfriend's desktop.

He has an Emachines with Windows XP on it, and has the occasional spyware problems but nothing major. A few days ago, he turned off his computer, and when he went back a couple minutes later to make sure everything was shut down before leaving the house, he heard a distinct humming sound. He sat down and took a look at his computer, and saw that instead of all lights being off, the power button (if anybody has an Emachines as well, it's the black 'e' button) was surrounded by a yellow light instead of the usual green one that is displayed when the computer is switched on. It was flashing, but after he reset everything, it just came back as a solid yellow light. Since then, it won't turn on. No Windows XP start-up, nothing. Just a blank screen.

The manual that came with his computer claims that the yellow light signifies file corruption, but he doesn't see what it could be. The only thing he did differently before turning it off the last time he was on it was deleting all of the music files he had ripped to his PC (about 200). Could this have affected the computer so much? Can a bootdisk help?

I don't see what we can do, considering the computer won't even turn on. Any advice is GREATLY appreciated! Thanks ahead of time, guys!

 

I am not familiar with Emachines so I don't really know what the purpose of the yellow light is, could be HD activity. Anyway just a few things to check.

Has he moved the computer lately? Have him check all the connections, especially the power supply and monitor.

When you turn the computer on, do you hear anything like fans running or getting any lights coming on?

Let us know. You will get other suggestions.

Steve

 

All of the connections are fine - he's checked multiple times. And about the noises - I told him that the low humming sounds like the fan, but he doesn't think so. He's taken a look inside the computer and he can't find anything noticeably wrong.

Other than that, no other noises or lights.

 

try plugging the PC's powercord into different outlets... it might sound stupid but one weekend i came home to find that my computer would not turn on... fearing something horrible happened to it, i decided to plug it into another outleg on the wall and voila, it worked again...

that one outlet on my surge protector no longer works...

 

Can you still boot? If not, try different a power supply, i've seen it working after that occasionally

 

He checked everything over again today with all your advice, and still nothing. He even plugged it all in in another room. Oh well.

He's getting a bit desperate and may buy another computer, which in my point of view is a waste of money if he doesn't go get it checked out at a computer store or something.

Any more advice? I know this is a strange one, but we really need some help here!

 

So, you are saying, that when he just plugs his computer in, yellow lights appear? Or does yellow lights appear when he turns it on? When he turns it on, does the EMACHINE logo appear? I work at a computer store and I've never seen this on any emachines that I've worked on. What happens when he turns the computer on, then hits the reset switch (if there is one)?

What model is his computer? Is it still under warranty? If you take it to a computer store, this could void the warranty.

 

When he plugs in the computer, a yellow light appears around the 'e' power button. He doesn't even attempt to turn the power on - the yellow light is already there and the computer hums. When he presses the power button, absolutely nothing changes. No logo, nothing. When he hits the reset button on the power strip, the light turns off and the humming stops, but once he puts the power back on, it's back to normal (light + humming). He has it unplugged at all times so he doesn't have to listen to it.

He bought the computer about 3-4 years ago, so the warranty is up.

Can a bootdisk work on a computer that won't even turn on? Do you think the selection screen would come up?

If none of that would work, I'm thinking that he should just take it into Circuit City, where I believe they have the Geek Squad computer guys ready to help out. I don't know what they'd do, but I figure they must know something we don't if they've been working with computers so long. It might cost him, but it's better than buying a new desktop.

Anything else, anyone?

 

I wonder how much the geek squad works for hourly.

So, it hums....where does the humming come from? The power supply unit (PSU), the hard disk drive (HDD)?

IF...nothing shows up on the screen, then one of ....wait....perhaps...maybe......

Take the modem out of the computer. Does the issue still come up? I have also ran into computers where the modem prevents the computer from booting up. Make sure when you remove anything from the computer you unplug the computer.

 

I almost sure that problem with Power Supply. About 1 year ago after voltage jump in my home electricity (light glimpsed) PC rebooted but not launched back, and some very quiet but buzz noise appear. My old friend - network administrator just asks me by phone to check smell closely to PSU, and I found there some smell of burning. At next day I bought Zalman Power Supply and my friend replaced put it instead of damaged - PC works fine since that time.

 

You might not believe this, but this exact same thing happened to me today.

blahblahblah I'd love to know if you got your system fixed. It's uncanny that the same thing happened to us only a couple of days apart.

I left for work this morning and my eMachines desktop was sittng quietly in the in the corner like it is 80% of the time. Turned off. I came home from work and it's still turned off - but the lights are blinking and it's making a fast humming... whirring... clicking... sound. It's hard to describe it to anyone unless you're there to see it, so I took video!

Small video (1mb wmv) located on Putfile.com I tried to shoot close and at different angles so you could hear the sounds/see the lights blinking, but in the end the lights don't really look like they're blinking - but trust me, they're blinking and fast.

Anyway, I have no clue what's going on. There's no burning smell. Trying a different power socket didn't change anything. The last shutdown was a couple of nights ago and all was fine at the time. The sound eminates from the front - and with the blinking lights/power button, I'm guessing this spells doom for the hard drive. There's a softer whirring near the back - which I'm guessing is the fan.

Depressing the power button does nothing. Holding it in for several seconds does nothing. Resetting the surge protector doesn't change anything. Unplugging and replugging doesn't change anything. The computer is off. The monitor is off. Everything is off. Only... not. On the upside, my wireless seems to be fine.

Does anyone have any ideas? THANKS in advance for assistance!

 

WOW! That is awesome!

I have never seen anyone actually make a video of their computer problem!


Anyway, one suggestion. Disconnect the hard drive, the cdrom drive, the floppy drives power cables and ide cables. Then try powering up the computer and seeing if the same thing happens....

 

This is a little dated, but sure sounds like the problem. http://www.consumeraffairs.com/computers/emachine_power.html

Steve

 

Thanks for the information. I always wondered......how expensive they were....

 

Steph1, my boyfriend's computer is the exact same, but the light that is green for you is yellow for him. Crazy coincidence.

All those consumer complains are horrible. I never even thought Emachines had any problems like that until now. This makes me nervous, considering I have one as well :/

Anyway, nothing seems to be helping. My boyfriend has disconnected/unplugged/checked everything possible, and his computer still won't start up. We're totally dumbfounded!

 

I've been shopping around locally for computer repair and everybody's pretty competitive with Geek Squad. So I guess I'll try them first since 1) they don't charge by the hour and 2) the estimate is free.

I spoke to the Geek Squad for about a minute and they thought right away it was the power supply, too. And that's what I'm inclined to think along with what you guys are saying. Power supply tripped and stuck the hard drive into this power loop where it's neither on nor off. So I hope the data on the disc is still good to go - if I can't get the computer back up, maybe I'll just buy an external hd next month and move everything over.

Darn, and I had an industrial-grade surge protector on this puppy, too. I wish I knew if the power on the house had been tripped. I can't really tell because any electronic appliances I do have that have time readouts on them, automatically reset themselves.

I will post updates as I know more about what's going on. Glad you all liked the video. It's sometimes not enough to say "it was flashing, and then it went whizz cha-boink!"

 

hi, this is the boyfriend. My girlfriend explained it a little wrong, but it is exactly how steph1's computer sounds. I'm at a public computer right now and it won't show visuals. The first time i saw it it sounded like steph1's, but the next time i turned it on it was a solid yellow "thinking" light and there was a very soft humming. I opened up the cpu and found that the fan was not moving and there was no visible problems. Hope this can help with anyone's ideas. please help me out.

 

Hello again! I've got an update for you guys, Steph1 in particular. My boyfriend went to the Geek Squad today and they told him that they're 99% sure that his hard drive crashed. We're not sure what to believe, considering we've heard everybody say it's the PSU. He's going to take a chance and purchase a hard drive that is on sale at Circuit City for $19.99 (after about $70 of rebates) on Monday.

So we've got a day to think it over. Any news on your computer, Steph1? Have you replaced the PSU or did you purchase an external hard drive?

 

Hey,

I work in Circuit City's knockoff of the Geek Squad, cleverly titled the "IQ Crew". I have had an eMachines computer come into the store with the exact same symptoms, and the problem was the power supply. I'm not 100% sure if it wasn't putting out enough voltage, but there was a definite problem with it. I would suggest changing the PSU. If you wish, you can try swapping the hard drive, but I doubt it would do much good (although for the $20 deal on the 80 gig hard drive, not a bad deal anyway). Even if you had a bad hard drive, you should at least see the eMachines startup screen or hear the computer POST.

That's just my 2¢ though

~corndog

 

Good Point, CornDog!
Dont need HDD to post.


Emachines are known to have cheap underpowered PSU's

 

blahblahblah, everyone I've talked to thinks it's the power supply unit when I describe the problem. I've been warned to keep the computer unplugged until I can get it looked at. I probably won't be able to take the computer anywhere until next payday (Aug. 1), though, as I've got a family crisis suddenly and blew a wad of cash travelling this weekend. The Geek Squad said they'd run a diagnostic for $40-ish to try and pinpoint the problem so I'm going to try that first. In the meantime, I guess I'll wait or hopefully see if your boyfriend gets his fixed and see what the problem was.

corndog, thanks so much. That gives me a lot of hope. I've got my fingers crossed that this is just a bum PSU and I can get it swapped and get the computer back on. If so, I'm definitely picking up another drive and doing an emergency backup. I'm normally insane-o about regular backups; I was a week away from the regular monthly backup this time. Urgh!

Okay. I promise to keep you guys updated when I find more out!

 

Thanks corndog! That really helped a lot. I think we're going to stick what everybody has diagnosed and buy a new PSU then. My boyfriend is kicking himself right now because he purchased one on sale at Fry's for about $30 and then returned it after what the Geek Squad told him. Oh well, I guess

I'll make sure to report back whenever anything new comes up.

 

Check to make sure that the fan is working too. I noticed that it was mentioned in a post that it was not turning. Best thing to do is use a can of compressed air to blow out all the fans and heatsinks. Make sure that all wiring and plugs are not touching any of the fans. Good luck!!

 

Great news! The problem has been solved. It was the PSU! My boyfriend purchased one for $50 at Fry's (supposedly Emachines takes a smaller one, so make sure you look out for that Steph1), installed it himself, and everything is up and working! What a crazy problem that was

Thanks to everybody for all the help!

 

Thanks a TON blah. I looked up the PSU the other night at emachines' site and got all the info I need to get the right one. I'm going to try to pick up a new power supply this weekend and install it. I'll report back whether it worked or not!