PC suddenly stopped working- on/off button light flashing

[nickouk]

I was using my pc as usual when it suddenly switched off. But I noticed that the light on the on/off button was flashing, similar to how it flashes when the computer is on standby, but much quicker flashes with longer gaps in between. I pressed and held the on off button to turn it off before turning it back on but it did the same thing- the computer sounds like it's on but nothing comes up on my monitor and the light continues to flash in the same way. What could be causing this? This all happened very suddenly when the computer, which isn't more than 3 years old, was working fine.

[Grzwacz]

Greetings,

Welcome back to the forum.

I am not a HP employee.

Best assistance in this forum requires a HP product number only (usually located on the chassis).

I think you have some type of hardware problem. How does the power supply LED look at the back of the PC? It should be a solid green.

Disconnect AC power. Wait a while, reconnect AC power.Remove the side panel before restarting the PC to see what is happening.

Do you see fans running, or hear HDD, and optical disc drive activity? 

 Regards

[nickouk]

Hi, thanks for your prompt reply.

I cant see the product number anywhere, but I do have more information.

I'm pretty sure this issue has been caused by a faulty cable short circuiting one of the usb ports. The first time (before I knew what was going on) the computer started instantly when I unplugged the cable. This time, however the same problem occurs (nothing on monitor and the same quick flashing of on/off light) even when I turn the computer on with nothing plugged into it, not even keyboard and mouse. If it is a short circuit like I describe, is there anything that can be done?

I cant see any power light you might be talking about, though the fan is working and the computer sounds like it's working normally, just nothing on the screen.

Thanks

[Grzwacz]

Hi Nickouk,

Do you have a Desktop PC, or an AIO PC, or a Notebook PC?

The power supply (Desktop) at the back of the PC should show a solid green LED. The power supply could be failing; it provides volts but not enough amps to fully power on your PC.

A bad USB cable, or a bad USB port, or MB header, or some other motherboard problem, or any component (graphics card, or integrated graphics, or RAM, the monitor) connected to the MB can cause this symptom. 

Where is the problem USB port located? You can disconnect front USB ports on the motherboard to see if this is the problem.

Are you now saying the PC will not start even if nothing is plugged into the USB port?

It is very difficult to troubleshoot hardware problems in a forum. You have to work your way through each possible cause to find the bad component. Plus I have no idea what type of HP PC you have.

Regards