Power on issue: system and cpu fans start briefly then stop. Then this repeats and repeats...

[amory]

A recent Windows 10 update restarted my system.  Boot error showed "ERROR: System Fan Has Failed.Service PC to prevent damage to the system.Press <F2> to continue".  I powered off the system.  Opened the case.  Powered the system on.  Both service and cpu fans spin briefly then stop.. then this repeats on and on. 

- I dusted the case, (it was not that bad anyway).  Same sypmtoms

- I replaced the service fan.  Same sypmtoms persist. 

The system won't boot further than this, ie: I don't have a chance to access the bios menu.  The systems is pretty old (purchased 4/2010).  The only issues (until now) have been spinning disk replacements.

Maybe the powersupply is on its way out?  NOTE: the PS LED light is solid green.  I tried a different power cord.  No change.

Suggestions?

[Grzwacz]

Greetings amory,

Welcome to the forum.

I am not an HP employee.

Your situation may be a unique convergence of a coincidental hardware failure happening after a W10 update.

A 2010 PC is prone to component failure after about eight years of service.

Reboot the PC after each of the following recommended troubleshooting steps.

You could try replacing the CR2032 motherboard battery.

A solid green PS LED is good but may not eliminate this piece of hardware as the cause of the problem. Try a known good PSU.

Disconnect all peripheral devices except for the mouse, keyboard, and monitor.

Now remove all RAM modules. Any POST error messages? Try each memory module in each memory slot. Reboot as needed to test.

Disconnect all SATA devices. Any error messages? Disconnect the USB 2.0 card reader. 

Same results suggests you have a motherboard issue. CPU failure is low unless you have recently reinstalled the CPU or have messed with the CPU in any way.

Regards

[amory]

Thanks for the info.  Let me try out your suggestions.  Stay tuned!

[amory]

Update:

I replaced the PSU (stratus 400w, DPC-ATX-400).  Same fan issue persisted.  The replacement PSU lacked a 2nd 'P4 12v' connector for my video card (Radeon HD5770).

I dusted out the original PSU and re-installed it.  Powered on confirmed that the PSU fan was working ok.   Fan issue persisted.

I replaced the onboard battery.

I removed all the RAM and powered on.  This time the fans ran at top speed!  I powered off.  Installed 1 DIMM, powered on  and finally the computer BIOS loads! 

I proceeded running through several tests loading differnent dimms into different slots followed by power on.  Results were mixed.  The motherboard shows the dimm slot numbers.  Attempts to boot with 1 dimm in slot 1 fails, (the BIOS does not load).  However, a single dimm in slot #4 works.  I proceeded to run a diag test (F9) for each dimm using slot #4.  They all passed!  The same test works with dimms in both slots #3 and #4.  Other combinations fail.

The hard drive tests are OK but the Boot Path test fails, 'Unitialized/corrupt boot structure detected' (see attached).  The suggested fix, (Repeatedly press F8 on boot and run "Repair Your Computer"), attempts to 'repair' but freez's a short time later (~5 seconds) and shutsdown.

attempts to fix the boot path but fails.

f9_diag_tests

Any advice on fixing the boot path problem?

[amory]

fyi.   I've decided to go with a new computer.  This one has lasted for some time now, (money well spent).  Time to upgrade to some newer technology.

[Grzwacz]

Hi amory,

You're very welcome.

Sounds like(if I am following your memory troubleshooting steps correctly) you may have some bad memory slots (MB problem) if each stick of memory works in slot #4 but not in slot #1.

Check out this web site for tips on using the Windows Recovery Environment to fix system corruption.

Run a checkdisk if you can get Windows to load.

Regards