A door recently fell on my pc and it caused the screen to freeze. I could not move the mouse and pressing ctl alt delete would not do anything. I turned the computer off and then tried to turn it back on but it would not. It powers up and I can get the cd rom to open and close but nothing shows on the monitor. There are two lights on the front of my pc one has a light bulb symbol below it and the other has a cylinder symbol below. The light with the light bulb symbol blinks red. Does anyone know what the problem could be and how to fix it? Thanks.

Also let me add that I have tried another monitor that I know works and still nothing would boot.

More than likely the motherboard has sustained some damage. Take it to a tech shop for a diagnosis.

I'm affraid, however, that the operator word here might be "paperweight."
It depends on what was damaged and how badly. If it were mine I'd take it to a tech.

There is no external damage to the computer and it was only a slight bump

I'd open the case up and reseat everything in the case. Take out the RAM and reseat it. Take out the video card and reseat that. Unplug all the ribbon and power cables and reattach them and then try starting it up.

IF it is no longer under warranty, you could open the case and look for any loose connections. I once moved a computer from point A to point B in my car, and the lead IDE cable came loose on the way.

Just a thought.

Edit: Looks like Steve beat me to the punch. Actually, I'm impressed that I was thinking along the same lines as Steve...:)

Well, if there's is not external damage, then there probably couldn't be much in the way of internal damage. . .you said a door fell on it. . .that's sounded to me like your whole sytem, uh. . .crashed :D

I go with steve and fastlearner, just the simple jostling of shipping can cause ribbon cables to become unseated. Follow Steve's advice. You have nothing to loose.

Does anyone know why the light is flashing red?

It would be more helpful if you let us know what you have done/not done thus far. also, since you are going to open the case to check the connections, see if it needs to be cleaned out--dust and dirt not good, and VERY unhealthy to breathe--let me know and I'll post my tipsheet on cleaning out. . . :D

Does anyone know why the light is flashing red?

That could be any number of things. The thing is that if we want to narrow down the possible causes, we have to investigate the inside of your system case to look for any loose cable or wire connections. This could very well be the cause of your lights flashing. No guarantees, but we're all optimistic at this point.

Im sorry but I really dont have the expertise to open my computer up as I will only cause further damage.

We do know how to fix your pc. But unfortunately the first step involves opening it up. If you won't do that, I'm afraid we won't get very far.

The red light blinking is either your power or harddrive light. The power supply could be damaged but more likely some cable came loose. Also if it is your harddrive light, it may have damaged the disk reader which would more than likely involve replacing the drive and reinstalling your operating system.

So you really need to see if it is cables first.

Also, what is this pc? Dell etc? Or a custom built? Laptop?

Is this easy or would i need to be technically saavy?

Here's (http://www.pcguide.com/vb/showthread.php?t=25502) a good read to familiarize yourself with pc-innards. Look that through and you'll see that it is just connections of differrent types of cables to various parts. We'll guide you step by step as was done for me when I joined.

Again, what is your pc? Sometimes just opening the case is the hardest part! :eek: :D

Go into the chatroom if you want realtime help.

My pc is a Compaq Workstation Ap550 with a pentium 3 and 18.5 gb hard drive.

And again I am a noob when it comes to the inner workings of computers, I cant tell a mother board from a micro chip.

ticketfan1310,

It's a wise man who knows his limitations. If you don't feel comfortable under the hood, take the computer to a shop or knowledgeable friend and let them look at it.

You did well contacting the PCG Forums as a start. Get your computer fixed up and stick around. You can pick up quite a bit of info here, in case you have problems in the future.

:)

Met with ticketfan in chat and he's read Pete's component thread and I linked him to the pdf manual at the HP site for his Compaq. So he's on a good road to getting started.

hopefully he posts here as he progresses.

I will post updates

Dropped the pc off at a tech to see what is wrong with it. Hopefully the warranty will cover any expenses.

Turns out you were right Frus Tray Ted something was loose inside the pc. The tech fixed it for free. Thanks everyone for your help.

Hey, no fair. We were all right...:D