TOPIC:

Hi
I am having a problem with my son's PC. When he turns it on it makes a strange whirring sound for a second then turns off.
It ia a Packard Bell imedia x2414 running Vista and i am stumped.
Any help would be appreciated as he is studying for exams and needs access to his PC.

Thank You

There are a few of these reported on various forums and websites (Google is always your friend) and unfortunately it's often turned out to be the motherboard.
Try taking the top off and locating the cooling fan on the processor. With the top off, turn the PC on and watch the fan. If it doesn't move at all or just twitches then it might be the power supply. If the fan runs for a couple of seconds then stops (which sounds probable from your description) then the motherboard is likely I'm afraid. We can do a few more checks to confirm it but they get a little more involved.
If the motherboard is gone then you can still get all your son's work and documents off the hard drive by putting it into another machine and copying them.
Let us know how you get on and we'll help further if we can

Hi
Your pc should beep a few time before shutting down again. Is it beeping at all, if so how many times?

Cheers

Hi

I tried 2 known working power supplies in the PC with the bare essentials still in the machine and the same problem happens.. I turn it on and the CPU fan spins fully for about 3-5 seconds then the PC powers down and switches off again.. There is NO beeping when i turn the machine on...

Thanks very much for your help...


Does anyone have any more possible suggestions?

Thanks everyone

Hi,

Unfortunately it sounds like it's the motherboard. I'll go with what Bishop has suggested.

Cheers