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So you finally put together the PC of your dreams.
It’s all done.
You plug it in, hit the Power button and… it doesn’t power on.
Justin Duino / How-To Geek
Your PC didn’t POST.
Here’s what to do.
What Is POST?
Jason Fitzpatrick / How-To Geek
The term POST stands for “power-on self-test.”
It’s basically a series of tests that your PC doeswhen you power it on.
The POST process ensures all of your hardware is properly connected and working correctly before loading your operating system.
Jason Fitzpatrick / How-To Geek
That’s a POST.
If, however, it detects something wrong, it’ll shut back off immediately.
A POST can fail for multiple reasons.
Jason Fitzpatrick / How-To Geek
On older computers, it can indicate an essential piece of hardware has died.
Here are a few things you could try.
Remove/Reseat the RAM
One reason why your PC might not be booting up is because of theRAM.
Then, you just press the stick down until the tabs go back up themselves.
To troubleshoot it, you should remove one of the sticks, then try starting up the PC again.
If it boots up with just one, you might need to replace your RAM.
If you tried both sticks individually and they both work, the issue might be something else.
It might not even be doing a POST at all.
In some others, especially cheaper ones, this might not be an option.
If it turns on, one of your peripherals is causing trouble.
What about add-on cards?
you’re able to also try connecting it to another system.
If it’s the graphics card that’s causing issues, you’ll want to get it replaced.
It’s likely that a major component, like the motherboard, is to blame.
That happens sometimes, though, and it’s not necessarily your fault.
It will mean, however, that you’ll need to do more rigorous testing.
If it failed, those lights will let you know what’s wrong.
If yourmotherboarddoesn’t have those lights, you might be able to buy an add-on POST card.
If this is not an option, you’ll need external help.
If they’re so useful, why haven’t we mentioned them during the whole post?
Some motherboards will even come with one inside of the box.
