WON’T START

[TomD8]

I am seeing the same symptoms on an HP Pavilion 400 Series desktop.

[The_Fossette]

@TomD8,

Welcome to the HP Support Community 

• Are you getting any error when you start the computer?
• What is the exact model for your computer?
• What is the operating system you are using?
• What is the exact issue you are facing?
• Have you made any software or hardware changes on the computer?
• Have you performed any troubleshooting steps before posting?

Look forward to hearing from you and you have a great day!

Take care.

Cheers!

[TomD8]

Thank you for the reply.  My answers to each of your questions are below.

Welcome to the HP Support Community 

• Are you getting any error when you start the computer?
  • The only error I can see on the display indicates "No Input Signal".  The display then goes into sleep mode. 
  • The power button does not light up (it normally  lights up bluish white when actively running, yellow when in a sleep or standby mode)
  • Computer still runs but without a working display I cannot really tell what it's doing.  All the fans are on.  A green LED on the back of main box is on.  A green LED on the mother board is on.  An LED at the ethernet port blinks.  If I try to open the DVD bays (slide out trays, not sure what the proper term is) just to see what they would do, they open and then close immediately (they don't stay open as if to wait for a disc to be loaded and they don't wait for the button to be pressed again to close)
• What is the exact model for your computer?
  • HP Pavilion Elite HPE-460z CTO Desktop PC
• What is the operating system you are using?
  • Windows 7
• What is the exact issue you are facing?
  • The computer does not turn on and boot up properly.  It does not interface with the display so it's difficult for me to describe much further beyond the things I've mentioned above (power button doesn't light up, fans and some LED's run). 
• Have you made any software or hardware changes on the computer?
  • The last time I sucessfully used the computer, I stopped a couple of processes (itunes and I forget what else...some type of software applications that I wasn't using at the time).  I did this because I was editing videos and the playback wasn't always smooth so my idea was to free up some memory.  Other than that, no I have not made any hardware or software changes to the computer.
• Have you performed any troubleshooting steps before posting?
• I've attempted to turned on and off multiple times (it will turn off by holding the power button)
• I've unplugged, then plugged it back in and restarted it, including unplugging it and holding the power button down for several seconds
• I've tried connecting the monitor with a VGA cable (instead of the other type of display cable that is usually hooked up)
• I've removed and reinstalled the memory cards (a suggestion I found on some hp video)
• I've removed and reinstalled the CMOS battery a few times (I think I've identified it properly....it's a battery roughly about the size of a nickel).  While this battery was removed and the computer was unplugged, I also pressed power button for several seconds.
• Because the response to AMY64 indicated a video/graphics card problem, I removed my video/graphics card to see if the computer would appear to run normal realizing of course that I wouldn't see the display, but curious if the power button would liight up, CD/DVD drive bays would operate normally.  This did not change the behavior.
• I noticed I actually have a VGA and another display port (the same other type of display port found on the graphics card normally used to connect to the display) connected directly to  the motherboard itself.  I tried connecting to each of these ports (with the video/graphics card still removed) to see if the display would recognize a signal.  It did not and there weren't any other changes noticed in the computer's behavior.  These ports were actually covered and I had never used them before so I have no idea if they are set up to be functional.
• I connected the display to a laptop using a VGA cable and confirmed the display functions properly when connected to a different computer. I think that covers just about all the symptoms I can identify and the steps I've taken.  An insights you may have are appreciated.

[The_Fossette · Accepted solution]

@TomD8,

Thank you for the detailed information. You have followed all the relevant troubleshooting and it looks like a hardware issue.

I recommend you contact support to check the available service options for your computer.

Here is how you can get in touch with tech support.

1)Click on this link – www.hp.com/contacthp/

2)Select the product type.

3)Enter the serial number of your device or select let HP detect your product option.

4)Select the country from the drop-down.

5)You should see the HP phone support number or Chat option listed.

Cheers!

[TomD8]

Thank you for taking time to review my issue, the steps I've already taken to try resolve and your recommendation.  My computer's warranty expired years ago so perhaps the options the site you've to which you've referred mentions are a little different than what you're expecting me to find.  After entering my serial number and confirming United States, I only readily see a message that my warranty expired and two options:

1. To Visit the HP Support Community (how I  got linked with this discussion with you)
2. To Find the Nearest Service Centers (there are a couple not too far from me)

Looking a little harder gets me to a page with a link HP's Virtual Agent and another link to contact HP but this brings me back to the same page at which I found the two options listed above.  I did try the Virtual Agent a few days ago, but didn't really anywhere.  It doesn't seem provide enough oppurtunity for the user to describe the issue in enough detail for it to lead in the right direction.  I had a similar experience with the Virtual Agent several months ago when the display broke.

Anyways, thank you for  your help and steering me in the right direction to fix the problem.....hopefully the right direction anyways as I won't know for sure unless I decide have it fixed.  I'm not sure what I will do.  The computer is about 7 or 8 years old and although it has served me well, it's got an old operating system that Microsoft will stop supporting soon and it might be just as well to put the money that it would take to fix it towards a new computer.

[The_Fossette]

@TomD8,

You're welcome!

If any other questions arise, please feel free to write back to me.

Cheers!

[TomD8]

I ended up replacing the motherboard and I was able to find the same motherboard (HP Aloe) online so I replaced it with the same board design.  The display now works and the power button lights up like it should, but the operating system does not work.  After windoews tries to start, I get the following error at the top of a black screen with white text:  "WIndows failed to start.  A recent hardware or software change might be the cause."  The error does make sense since I had changed the motherboard and I had been told that something like this might happen.  A couple different repair or restore options are offered and I tried a couple of them, but was not successful and I am more or less continuously cycling back through the same steps (basically going around in circles getting nowhere). 

Do you have any suggestions?