Most shops will diagnose it for nothing or a small fee $10-$25 and give you options to repair.
My funds at the time are very limited, best buy said they will take a look at my power supply if I just take it in. That may be the easier thing to do.
IMO it kind of sounds like a hard drive if it was a grinding noise. But what you should do, if you haven't already is unplug your PC and open the case and look inside for cut wires by the PS or any other fan. Because like posted above, your computer could've been bumped at some time and a wire got moved and then chopped up by a fan.
But I did have a hard drive fail on me this past summer and my computer didn't turn on, I did get an error though. But if you have a custom built pc you should know your way around your computer fairly well and should check out any and everything and try to narrow down the culprit.
If you can't tell from that well, just turn on your computer plugged in with the case off and see if you get any activity from the PS/HDD (I know it may not be the smartest thing but you can tell easier what's struggling to run).
Haha, it was custom built, but not by myself. Anyways, I checked the wires there were none cut, When I say my computer won't turn on there is no activity at all.
The grinding sound was probably either a fan with the bearings going out of it or alternately your hard drive dying. If the machine will not boot likely the former more so than the later... to test disconnect hard drive entirely and attempt to boot the machine, if it boots at least as far as trying to find an operating system at that point it's likely the hard drive. If it still refuses to boot then likely it's the power supply.
It might also be worth verifying that the cpu and chipset fans are still able to spin before replacing anything, fans make an awful noise when a cable falls into them.
Also try pulling power out of machine for at least 30s and then plugging it back in and trying again.
Grinding Noise is often a Hard Disk However a Fan can do it also.Depending on how comfortable you are with hardware you could tear it down to a minimum to post configuration.
Remove the Cables for the Drives CD/DVD and Hard Disks
Remove all Dimms accept for the First DIMM
if you running a SLI configuration remove all but the Primary Video card
Remove any extra NICs, Sound cards, Etc.
Turn the PC on Watch the CPU fan does it jump when you hit the power button or stay completly still?
If it does happen to come up then you just need to troubleshoot by adding components in one by one until it fails again.
If it doesnt come up I have many times in the past seen a Power supply fail yet still allow the light to turn on in some cases it would even spiIn the fan for a second on the PSU itself. A power supply is an easy test also just get one that has the matching connections from bestbuy or frys (somewhere with a return policy) Plug it in the ports will all be Keyed to only allow connection one way.
its most likely your psu, if the computer is not posting but your board is showing power through it, then most likely u have a dead rail. I just had almost the exact same problem. Even with a dead harddrive your comp will post with a good psu. Do you have a spare psu u can test? or know someone who does, so u can pin point the issue.
Most idiots say more ram or check ram or psu. There is more inside a computer then those 2 things. Simple having a backup parts to interchange to test and see what the real issue is would go a lot farther down the road. For example I had an issue with my computer. I tested everything and in the end it was nothing more then a simple little 3 dollar sata wire that needed changed. Dealing with electronics got a lot of moving electricity cycling through. If you hear strange grinding or clicking noises I would look more so at the harddrive. Little spec of dust or dirt can cause that inside a harddrive. Because inside a harddrive is more or less a CD or optical disk but it is all setup to encode and store/hold data. Plus I would also recommend defragging your computer next time you get it up and running. Faulty data can be prevented with an ounce of prevention.
Would also recommend routine data backup even on a simple cd or portable harddrive.
When did you start playing "old school" MMO's. World Of Warcraft?
Given the symptoms you describe it was most likely the CPU fan dying, and you now have a burnt out cpu (or graphics card fan and dead gpu). A dead hard drive would not prevent the MB from posting (starting up and going through initial checks), so you can forget all the posts claiming it is drive related, the posters do not have a clue. The fact power appears to be present but the system refuses to post discounts a number of other problems posters have suggested also.
If you have a replacement graphics card handy, I would try switching that first, or alternatively if the mb has a built in graphics card, unplug the main graphics card and see if the system will post. If it will not, you need to look at checking the cpu fan, even a case fan will do, attempt to start up the system, if it starts to boot kill the power if you are testing with a case fan to prevent the cpu burning out and buy a replacement. If it starts to post but starts beeping with a new fan present, the cpu was dead too, and need to replace it, although I would advise trying another cpu, or your cpu in a friends system to ensure that it is the cause of the problem.
There is a long shot, that the power supply is at fault, and a number of rails have died, a cap popping will make a hell of a racket and could be mistaken for a grinding noise I suppose. It is unlikely that the power supply fan was the problem; if that were the cause, safety cutouts would mean you would see no light at the front of the case. Clearly, you would need access to a spare supply to test if dead rails are the cause.
Of course my suggestions assume you would rather try to hunt down the problem yourself and do not have access to the proper test equipment. Should you try and track down the fault yourself, examine the motherboard while swapping things in and out and look for any signs of overheating or scorching about the motherboard. Pay particular attention to the capacitors close to the point you plug your primary power supply lead into the mobo, there is a chance one of the mb caps died, and in that instance a new mobo is in order.
Now for the advice I should really have started off with, if you are in any way unsure of what you are doing, take the machine to a reputable repair shop and have them examine the system.
My Colour Is Vomit green, I puke on the tards with stupid colour sigs. My symbol is ,,!, O ,!,, My enemies are any prat with a colour sig, a meaningless personality test, or a pointless list of games and classes.
When the power supply is malfunctioning, it is possible it sends enough power to light up some LEDs, but not enough to get your motherboard started.
I've seen a lot of different cases where a power supply stops functioning properly: huge sparks, burnt odor, rattle noises, or nothing at all...
If it was your HD (or any plugged component), your motherboard would at least kick in and run a quick summary of what's plugged in. I believe it would do the same if your CPU though I might be wrong. Getting your power supply checked out is the first step of a winning strategy.
Wow... Are you all only reading the first message and not the rest of the story? He can't get the computer to post... Obviously its not the hd. I'm fairly confident in saying the grinding noise was from the fan on the psu as it fried.
It appears my problem has been solved, I bought a new power supply and my computer not only works, but it is not longer lagging in performance like it was earlier. It seems the failing power supply was the source of all my computers short-comings, and ultimately all my grief. Apparently the power supply if it is broken still has enough power to light the green light but not the motherboard, replacing it also solved my system's problem of not being able to shut down. Thanks guys for your help! And now I may play FFXIV once again, well I'm saving it for the 22nd now.
It appears my problem has been solved, I bought a new power supply and my computer not only works, but it is not longer lagging in performance like it was earlier. It seems the ailing power supply was the source of all my computers short-comings. Thanks guys for your help! And now I may play FFXIV once again, well I'm saving it for the 22nd now.
Wow, I was reading this and thoguht it was the hard drive. When my psu went bad I didn't have a grinding noise. It just shut off out of nowhere. It would turn back on but eventually shut off again.
It appears my problem has been solved, I bought a new power supply and my computer not only works, but it is not longer lagging in performance like it was earlier. It seems the ailing power supply was the source of all my computers short-comings. Thanks guys for your help! And now I may play FFXIV once again, well I'm saving it for the 22nd now.
It's good to hear you got it fixed and without any more parts being damaged in the process. Over the years I have had about 5 PSU's die on me, It tends to be a trend for me. That's why I only buy Corsair PSU's now.
Velika: City of Wheels: Among the mortal races, the humans were the only one that never built cities or great empires; a curse laid upon them by their creator, Gidd, forced them to wander as nomads for twenty centuries...
It appears my problem has been solved, I bought a new power supply and my computer not only works, but it is not longer lagging in performance like it was earlier. It seems the ailing power supply was the source of all my computers short-comings. Thanks guys for your help! And now I may play FFXIV once again, well I'm saving it for the 22nd now.
Wow, I was reading this and thoguht it was the hard drive. When my psu went bad I didn't have a grinding noise. It just shut off out of nowhere. It would turn back on but eventually shut off again.
Yeah it was a mystery, but now it has been solved, possibly temporarily. Who knows my computer MAY start acting up again cause I shut it down, it does that sometimes. It's a lemon, but I love it like a temperamental child whom does really well when he/she is not dragging him/herself down.
Wow, I was reading this and thoguht it was the hard drive. When my psu went bad I didn't have a grinding noise. It just shut off out of nowhere. It would turn back on but eventually shut off again.
Both are pretty common with crappy PSUs. That is why getting an quality one (like Corsair) is a good idea even if they cost a few bucks extra. Crappy PSUs also tends to use more power, be louder and not as reliable.
It appears my problem has been solved, I bought a new power supply and my computer not only works, but it is not longer lagging in performance like it was earlier. It seems the ailing power supply was the source of all my computers short-comings. Thanks guys for your help! And now I may play FFXIV once again, well I'm saving it for the 22nd now.
It's good to hear you got it fixed and without any more parts being damaged in the process. Over the years I have had about 5 PSU's die on me, It tends to be a trend for me. That's why I only buy Corsair PSU's now.
I bought the exact same kind, I was considering taking it back for a corsair 750 instead of sticking with a 650. That's funny that you say that! Right now I have Antec, and it seems to work okay for a while, but then they go haywire. Anyways...
Antec also makes some dependable power supplys. But wear and tear over years they are bound to give in, it's just the nature of the beast telling you its time to upgrade lol.
Yeah, I do believe it's an issue with the power supply. My computer wouldn't turn off from the system or front button so we were having to turn it off from the switch on the power supply. I believe that caused the supplies failure, but I could be wrong. That is a best case scenario because that means we sourced the problem, if it's NOT the power supply then that means it's something vital to the system, like the motherboard. From what I read it could be blown capacitors on the motherboard causing the grinding, but the computer would still turn on, it would just be kinky. It's not turning on at all.
you can visually inspect for blown capacitors, their tops will be pushed up into a little dome
To the caterpillar it is the end of the world, to the master, it is a butterfly.
Always pick a PSU to match your system so the psu will be at 40% - 60% at max load.
System total watts - PSU' watts (also make sure it has enough Amps on the rails).
And keep the computer dust free as possable (causes heat load, and dust screws up bearings in fans )
Velika: City of Wheels: Among the mortal races, the humans were the only one that never built cities or great empires; a curse laid upon them by their creator, Gidd, forced them to wander as nomads for twenty centuries...
A fan dying doesn't automatically mean a dead power supply. You can get power supplies that are fanless, even. It's not like a CPU or GPU with a tremendous amount of heat in an infinitesimally small area. But yeah, you do want airflow through the power supply to help get the heat out.
What power supply was it before? If you were having problems with your computer before, it might just have been an erratic power supply causing problems. The new power supply would fix such problems if the old one didn't permanently damage anything other than itself.
Don't go for excessively high wattages that your system doesn't need. The Corsair TX650 that you probably got (there's also an HX650 that costs more) is massively overkill for most gaming systems, which would be better off with a high quality power supply rated at around 400-500 W. It is more appropriate for most people with massive processor overclocks, SLI/CrossFire setups, or a GF100-based video card, though. Getting too much wattage is a waste of money and electricity, but not otherwise problematic. (I realize that a 650 W power supply doesn't usually use 650 W, but it will likely use 10-20 W more than a 400 W power supply of comparable quality at idle.)
Corsair doesn't actually make their own power supplies. They put their own stickers on power supplies made by other companies, mostly Seasonic and Channel Well. They do, at least, reliably avoid junk power supplies, unlike companies like Cooler Master and Thermaltake that will sell both some very nice power supplies and some that are absolutely awful. Too bad Corsair's SSD division doesn't do the same.
ive only read one page of this thread, but if you havent fixed it yet, i had the same problem with my pc couple of months ago.
the problem with mine was the graphics card, when you turn it on, it would make a grinding noise like yours, not sure about the light though, what you might want to try is to take out the graphics card, then reslot it back in. the noise was made from the fan being spazy, that worked for me anyway, but it could have been a mother board problem at the root.
ive only read one page of this thread, but if you havent fixed it yet, i had the same problem with my pc couple of months ago.
the problem with mine was the graphics card, when you turn it on, it would make a grinding noise like yours, not sure about the light though, what you might want to try is to take out the graphics card, then reslot it back in. the noise was made from the fan being spazy, that worked for me anyway, but it could have been a mother board problem at the root.
I fixed the earlier problem so I thought, now my computer won't turn on but it made no grinding noise this time. Replaced my old supply with one EXACTLY like it.
Comments
My funds at the time are very limited, best buy said they will take a look at my power supply if I just take it in. That may be the easier thing to do.
The guys down at my local computer store did diagnostics for free, and the repair was what cost like 5 dollars to do. It all depends on where you go.
Haha, it was custom built, but not by myself. Anyways, I checked the wires there were none cut, When I say my computer won't turn on there is no activity at all.
The grinding sound was probably either a fan with the bearings going out of it or alternately your hard drive dying. If the machine will not boot likely the former more so than the later... to test disconnect hard drive entirely and attempt to boot the machine, if it boots at least as far as trying to find an operating system at that point it's likely the hard drive. If it still refuses to boot then likely it's the power supply.
It might also be worth verifying that the cpu and chipset fans are still able to spin before replacing anything, fans make an awful noise when a cable falls into them.
Also try pulling power out of machine for at least 30s and then plugging it back in and trying again.
Shadus
Grinding Noise is often a Hard Disk However a Fan can do it also.Depending on how comfortable you are with hardware you could tear it down to a minimum to post configuration.
Remove the Cables for the Drives CD/DVD and Hard Disks
Remove all Dimms accept for the First DIMM
if you running a SLI configuration remove all but the Primary Video card
Remove any extra NICs, Sound cards, Etc.
Turn the PC on Watch the CPU fan does it jump when you hit the power button or stay completly still?
If it does happen to come up then you just need to troubleshoot by adding components in one by one until it fails again.
If it doesnt come up I have many times in the past seen a Power supply fail yet still allow the light to turn on in some cases it would even spiIn the fan for a second on the PSU itself. A power supply is an easy test also just get one that has the matching connections from bestbuy or frys (somewhere with a return policy) Plug it in the ports will all be Keyed to only allow connection one way.
its most likely your psu, if the computer is not posting but your board is showing power through it, then most likely u have a dead rail. I just had almost the exact same problem. Even with a dead harddrive your comp will post with a good psu. Do you have a spare psu u can test? or know someone who does, so u can pin point the issue.
Most idiots say more ram or check ram or psu. There is more inside a computer then those 2 things. Simple having a backup parts to interchange to test and see what the real issue is would go a lot farther down the road. For example I had an issue with my computer. I tested everything and in the end it was nothing more then a simple little 3 dollar sata wire that needed changed. Dealing with electronics got a lot of moving electricity cycling through. If you hear strange grinding or clicking noises I would look more so at the harddrive. Little spec of dust or dirt can cause that inside a harddrive. Because inside a harddrive is more or less a CD or optical disk but it is all setup to encode and store/hold data. Plus I would also recommend defragging your computer next time you get it up and running. Faulty data can be prevented with an ounce of prevention.
Would also recommend routine data backup even on a simple cd or portable harddrive.
When did you start playing "old school" MMO's. World Of Warcraft?
Given the symptoms you describe it was most likely the CPU fan dying, and you now have a burnt out cpu (or graphics card fan and dead gpu). A dead hard drive would not prevent the MB from posting (starting up and going through initial checks), so you can forget all the posts claiming it is drive related, the posters do not have a clue. The fact power appears to be present but the system refuses to post discounts a number of other problems posters have suggested also.
If you have a replacement graphics card handy, I would try switching that first, or alternatively if the mb has a built in graphics card, unplug the main graphics card and see if the system will post. If it will not, you need to look at checking the cpu fan, even a case fan will do, attempt to start up the system, if it starts to boot kill the power if you are testing with a case fan to prevent the cpu burning out and buy a replacement. If it starts to post but starts beeping with a new fan present, the cpu was dead too, and need to replace it, although I would advise trying another cpu, or your cpu in a friends system to ensure that it is the cause of the problem.
There is a long shot, that the power supply is at fault, and a number of rails have died, a cap popping will make a hell of a racket and could be mistaken for a grinding noise I suppose. It is unlikely that the power supply fan was the problem; if that were the cause, safety cutouts would mean you would see no light at the front of the case. Clearly, you would need access to a spare supply to test if dead rails are the cause.
Of course my suggestions assume you would rather try to hunt down the problem yourself and do not have access to the proper test equipment. Should you try and track down the fault yourself, examine the motherboard while swapping things in and out and look for any signs of overheating or scorching about the motherboard. Pay particular attention to the capacitors close to the point you plug your primary power supply lead into the mobo, there is a chance one of the mb caps died, and in that instance a new mobo is in order.
Now for the advice I should really have started off with, if you are in any way unsure of what you are doing, take the machine to a reputable repair shop and have them examine the system.
My Colour Is Vomit green, I puke on the tards with stupid colour sigs. My symbol is ,,!, O ,!,, My enemies are any prat with a colour sig, a meaningless personality test, or a pointless list of games and classes.
Regards Hexcaliber
When the power supply is malfunctioning, it is possible it sends enough power to light up some LEDs, but not enough to get your motherboard started.
I've seen a lot of different cases where a power supply stops functioning properly: huge sparks, burnt odor, rattle noises, or nothing at all...
If it was your HD (or any plugged component), your motherboard would at least kick in and run a quick summary of what's plugged in. I believe it would do the same if your CPU though I might be wrong. Getting your power supply checked out is the first step of a winning strategy.
Wow... Are you all only reading the first message and not the rest of the story? He can't get the computer to post... Obviously its not the hd. I'm fairly confident in saying the grinding noise was from the fan on the psu as it fried.
It appears my problem has been solved, I bought a new power supply and my computer not only works, but it is not longer lagging in performance like it was earlier. It seems the failing power supply was the source of all my computers short-comings, and ultimately all my grief. Apparently the power supply if it is broken still has enough power to light the green light but not the motherboard, replacing it also solved my system's problem of not being able to shut down. Thanks guys for your help!
And now I may play FFXIV once again, well I'm saving it for the 22nd now. 
Wow, I was reading this and thoguht it was the hard drive. When my psu went bad I didn't have a grinding noise. It just shut off out of nowhere. It would turn back on but eventually shut off again.
"When it comes to GW2 any game is fair game"
It's good to hear you got it fixed and without any more parts being damaged in the process. Over the years I have had about 5 PSU's die on me, It tends to be a trend for me. That's why I only buy Corsair PSU's now.
Velika: City of Wheels: Among the mortal races, the humans were the only one that never built cities or great empires; a curse laid upon them by their creator, Gidd, forced them to wander as nomads for twenty centuries...
Yeah it was a mystery, but now it has been solved, possibly temporarily. Who knows my computer MAY start acting up again cause I shut it down, it does that sometimes. It's a lemon, but I love it like a temperamental child whom does really well when he/she is not dragging him/herself down.
Both are pretty common with crappy PSUs. That is why getting an quality one (like Corsair) is a good idea even if they cost a few bucks extra. Crappy PSUs also tends to use more power, be louder and not as reliable.
I bought the exact same kind, I was considering taking it back for a corsair 750 instead of sticking with a 650. That's funny that you say that! Right now I have Antec, and it seems to work okay for a while, but then they go haywire. Anyways...
The Mystery of The Failing Computer: SOLVED
Antec also makes some dependable power supplys. But wear and tear over years they are bound to give in, it's just the nature of the beast telling you its time to upgrade lol.
you can visually inspect for blown capacitors, their tops will be pushed up into a little dome
To the caterpillar it is the end of the world, to the master, it is a butterfly.
Always pick a PSU to match your system so the psu will be at 40% - 60% at max load.
System total watts - PSU' watts (also make sure it has enough Amps on the rails).
And keep the computer dust free as possable (causes heat load, and dust screws up bearings in fans
)
Velika: City of Wheels: Among the mortal races, the humans were the only one that never built cities or great empires; a curse laid upon them by their creator, Gidd, forced them to wander as nomads for twenty centuries...
That's good to hear that you got it fixed
I'd run a complete chkdsk just in case, since power supply problems may cause some bad sectors on your hard drives.
A fan dying doesn't automatically mean a dead power supply. You can get power supplies that are fanless, even. It's not like a CPU or GPU with a tremendous amount of heat in an infinitesimally small area. But yeah, you do want airflow through the power supply to help get the heat out.
What power supply was it before? If you were having problems with your computer before, it might just have been an erratic power supply causing problems. The new power supply would fix such problems if the old one didn't permanently damage anything other than itself.
Don't go for excessively high wattages that your system doesn't need. The Corsair TX650 that you probably got (there's also an HX650 that costs more) is massively overkill for most gaming systems, which would be better off with a high quality power supply rated at around 400-500 W. It is more appropriate for most people with massive processor overclocks, SLI/CrossFire setups, or a GF100-based video card, though. Getting too much wattage is a waste of money and electricity, but not otherwise problematic. (I realize that a 650 W power supply doesn't usually use 650 W, but it will likely use 10-20 W more than a 400 W power supply of comparable quality at idle.)
Corsair doesn't actually make their own power supplies. They put their own stickers on power supplies made by other companies, mostly Seasonic and Channel Well. They do, at least, reliably avoid junk power supplies, unlike companies like Cooler Master and Thermaltake that will sell both some very nice power supplies and some that are absolutely awful. Too bad Corsair's SSD division doesn't do the same.
and Mystery of The Failing Computer 2 begins! It shut down while playing FFXIV and won't come back on, same thing, no grinding noise this time.
ive only read one page of this thread, but if you havent fixed it yet, i had the same problem with my pc couple of months ago.
the problem with mine was the graphics card, when you turn it on, it would make a grinding noise like yours, not sure about the light though, what you might want to try is to take out the graphics card, then reslot it back in. the noise was made from the fan being spazy, that worked for me anyway, but it could have been a mother board problem at the root.
I fixed the earlier problem so I thought, now my computer won't turn on but it made no grinding noise this time. Replaced my old supply with one EXACTLY like it.
This is what I would do, your computer doesn't need everything to start up. Unplug harddrive, unplug dvd/cd, printer what ever.
just leave the keyboard, cpu, memory. Does your motherboard have a video card built in?
Does it start? Also i find unplugging power cords from the outlet for a few mins will help too.