Is your PC not switching on no matter how many times you hold the power button? There can be few things worse in life then realizing your computer won’t switch on. That dreaded feeling that your computer has died and it will never work again is a common one. However try not to despair, there are a few steps that you can take and checks you can follow to locate the source of the problem. This brief guide will help you identify what is causing the computer power failure and what you can do to try to fix it?

Below are our 5 top tips to identifying your computer power problem:

1)     Check your power connection – It may seem obvious but the first step you should do is check your power connection and outlet socket. If all of your other electrical appliances are working then you can be confident it’s solely your computer at fault. Ensure that the AC power cable is secure both in the back of the machine and in the wall socket by completely unplugging the cable and reconnecting. It can be easy for power cords to accidentally get tangled and pull away from the wall. If everything is secure then you can also try plugging your computer into another power socket to rule out any individual supply connection issue.

2)     Check for computer LED lights – The easiest way to identify if your computer has had a total loss of power is by checking its LED lights. These are normally small green/yellow/orange/blue lights located on the front and back of your computer case. If you can see any lights illuminated, then you can rule out a total loss of power. You can also check if the lights on a physically connected keyboard are displaying, for example the caps lock light. If there are no lights illuminated anywhere then you can be confident your machine has a total power loss.

3)     Check your monitor’s power – Your monitor will usually have its own power supply and so you should next check if this is working by turning on the monitor. Even if your computer has a total loss of power you monitor’s front LED light (orange/blue) should still work and the display may also provide an error message such as no signal source. If your monitor is working, then the fault will solely be with your computer hardware.

4)     Listen for the computer fans – If you press your computer power on, can you hear any sound from your PC? Even if your machine has a software registry issue or other hardware failure the physical parts of the computer such as the fans should still briefly work. If you cannot hear any sound at all when you switch your PC on then you know your computer has a serious problem.

5)     Try replacing the power cable – The final check you can do is try replacing the power cord. You can either borrow one from a friend or buy one from your local PC repair store. Check that the correct voltage and connection type is the same as your current power cord. Alternatively you can take your power cable to a friend’s house to see if it works with their similar voltage PC.

Have following the above 5 steps have still not resolved your computer power problem? If not then unfortunately the fault would normally be a computer hardware failure. The most likely computer component to cause a loss of power would be the PC’s Motherboard. If you know how to replace a motherboard then you should now look to try this. However if you are a novice, then you will need to seek further computer support from a qualified PC repair engineer.