Computer will not boot up + other problems!

[timtim41]

I have an HP 576x Desktop PC at my home that will not boot up at all. About a week ago, whenever I pressed the power button on the case, it would go good until right after the BIOS startup screen it would say "Operating System not Found".
I think this might just be the hard drive which would be easy to replace, but for about a week now, whenever I press the power button, it will go good for maybe 5 seconds, then the screen will go black and the power light will glow orange and it will be making this clicking sound maybe every two seconds it will make this noise. Also, the CD-ROM drive will not open. The light will go on in it meaning that the power coming to it is good, but then it makes the click and stops, like it wont even try. I have opened up the case and checked through everything, but the only think I can come up with is that the hard drive probably has a lot to do with these problems, and that on the motherboard there are two (I think they are capacitors), that are bent but I don't know if they are bent as in damaged, or if they are simply, bent, and can be fixed. All help is appreciated. Thanks

[timtim41]

Oh, almost forgot. The hdd is an IDE Seagate 40GB hard drive, processor is an Intel Celeron 2.4GHz, and it is an ATX motherboard.

[Accessless]

Bent capacitors or other components are usually fine unless they have sheared off, burnt or leaked/corroded. Don't worry about those unless that has happened. If the CD drive will not open then that sounds like a power supply issue or the motherboard getting locked into a drive start-up check.

As for the "OS not found" that means that the HDD is probably functioning but the Master Boot Record (MBR) has been damaged or altered. If you are running Windows XP or above you should be able to insert your Windows CD, boot off of it and enter the 'Repair' mode to restore the correct boot path.

[timtim41]

Ok Thanks for the reply. Yeah that would definitely make sense if it was the power supply that was causing the CD drive to not open. I have even tried poking a safety pin into the tiny hole that is underneath the actual drive bay from the outside. It sounded like it wanted to open but it just couldnt, even though I tried that like 20 times but same result for everything. Yeah I think I would be better off just getting a new power supply, and hope it works. Thanks

[patio]

This should open the drive whether there is power or not...

[jonas.tech]

if the messages " operating system not found" it is probably the operating system is corrupted..or may be you must select the HDD for first boot on your BIOS. the cd-rom wouldn't open, refresh the ide/sata cable then change the power cord of your cd-rom..if the sound continues, refresh the ram scratch the it with the eraser ( gold part).

[Allan]

if the messages " operating system not found" it is probably the operating system is corrupted..or may be you must select the HDD for first boot on your BIOS. the cd-rom wouldn't open, refresh the ide/sata cable then change the power cord of your cd-rom..if the sound continues, refresh the ram scratch the it with the eraser ( gold part).

[jonas.tech]

give your idea Mr. allan,. use your own brain.

[TechGeekandMore]

OK here is my 2 cents.  Here is what I would do. 
1 - Start by unplugging everything from the motherboard (including memory)except for the cable from the power supply.  Try and boot like that and see if your power supply stays on as expected.  You will probably get some beeps from the motherboard (called beep codes - see if you can note how many and the length of each one you hear).  If you did get the beep codes - go on-line and run a search for motherboard beep codes and see if you can find the meaning of what you hear.
2 - Starting with only the memory (of course Power off the PC between each time), then plug in only the hard drive to your motherboard and see if it boot

Then add in this order
3 - Hard Drive
4 - CD/DVD Rom
5 - Sound Card / any other items one each

Not how your PC starts at each boot.  If you see that everything is good at 1st and then goes down hill as you add more its probably power, however if you unplug everything and it still goes orange almost instantly, then you have other issues on top of the power supply. 

Again that is who I would handle it. 

Any questions you can find me at TechGeekandMore.com

Good Luck
Alex
Head of TechGeekandMore.com

[substrate001]

I agree with the last poster in regards to the troubleshooting steps. I'd also say that the "OS not found" has to do with the MBR being corrupted or somehow your boot order got changed in the BIOS. This is not uncommon with XP. Boot off your XP cd and you should be able to do a startup repair. The only issue with that is, I've had that MBR problem when the sectors on the drive containing the MBR are damaged or corrupted. Were you able to run any type of disk health utility on the drive? If you can, it will probably show many damaged sectors. It sounds like it's time for a new drive. Hope you get it going ;-)