Starting Computer

[krick1320]

Hello,

My computer will turn on and there are lights on...how ever theres no power to my keyboard. i can not get into safe mode at all.. After awhile the Dell sign pops up and then its supose to go to the which User Name to pick to login into windows. That also does not show up. When i turn my computer on their is a strange ticking noise as the computer tower is running. The monitor is still orange until a few mins before turning green . When it turns green a _ begins to blink in the left corner. and then the monitor just stops there and stays blank.

Any help would b greatly appreciated...I have Windows XP.

[Rick]

The clicking sounds like a hard drive failure

You should open the case and listen to where the clicking is coming from

[krick1320]

i have no power to my keyboard and ijust tried switching to another keyboard..and still no power to the keyboard to get into safemode..im absolutly out of ideas..i turn the power on..and the CD rom light blinks thru out the entire process...i have nothing on the monitor..and nothign to work with i dont kno how to bring it back...

[Rick]

Open the cd-rom and make sure it is empty
If the eject button doesn't work then use the manual mode below

Using a pin ( paper clip ) open the cd-rom drive
There is a small hole in the front
Push the pin into the hole till the drive opens

make sure nothing is in the drive
Then boot it up again

If the system has a failed drive the bios may not be completing the boot process

[krick1320]

Yeah i can open the CD Rom drive and there is nothing in it...i re booted it up again and im still stuck in the same problem.....i cant use my keyboard or nything to get into safemode cuz theres no power to the keyboard....my guess is with you i think my hard drives messed up..nd idk how to fix that

[krick1320]

is there a way of Getting anything workin on the screen like a BIOS test or sumthing ..the keyboard is helpless so idk wat else to do to run a test?

[Sylvander]

When the PC was working normally, did you at some point hear the single short beep that indicated the POST had completed successfully?
If so, your internal speaker was, and probably still is, functioning.

So do you now at any point hear that same single short beep?
Or not?

"After awhile the Dell sign pops up"
That means that the POST has reached the fairly advanced stage where the video has been initialized and you get a display on the monitor.
When you see the Dell splash screen, hit the "Esc" key on the keyboard and see whether the splash screen closes to reveal white test on a black background that tells you what the BIOS is doing.

If you can see the text...
Watch carefully what it is saying, and see at which point it halts.

[krick1320]

well c im not on my desktop computer im on my brothers laptop here....cuz my computer will not Start up ....wen i turn ont eh computer..the light to the CD rom..begins blinking and continues blinking....then there is a ticking..kinda like a clock...iit goes tick....tick...tick..real steady..not rapid....after that..about 4 mins mayb after it urned it on..the DELL logo will pop up and stuff....then after that u kno ur suppose to click on ur Log in name to get to the Windows desktop...after the dell stuff comes up b4 the log in..it stops the screen goes blank...the Tower is still running and everything..but i have no visual of what is happening.....my keyboard has no power..however my mouse does work.....buh i cannot see it on the screen..its a laser one and its lit up...

[Sylvander]

1. I realized soon after I posted that I'd asked you to hit the "Esc" key to make the splash screen close, but your keyboard is probably NOT being successfully initialized, so that probably won't work.

2. The blinking LED on the optical drive means:
(a) The POST is running.
(b) The POST is trying to communicate with the optical drive, but isn't getting an answer.
(c) The Optical drive is probably faulty.

3. Rick asked you to open the case and find where the clicking is coming from.
You haven't yet responded to that instruction.

4. I suggest that after you complete 3 above you disconnect all cables from the optical drive, then try Startup again.

5. Regarding the Dell logo on the monitor:
Do you know whether that's generated by the BIOS, or internally by the monitor due to no input signal to the monitor?
I'm inclined to think it's generated by the BIOS, and that is a sign the POST has at least begun and got to a certain point and halted [at the failure of some POST step] with no beeps generated.

6. "The monitor is still orange until a few mins before turning green . When it turns green a _ begins to blink in the left corner. and then the monitor just stops there and stays blank."
If you heard the single short beep just before this I'd say this is an indication the BIOS has attempted [and failed] to load an OS off the HDD.
Is there any other [functioning] drive you can boot?
Not the optical drive I fear, but what about a FDD?