Problem Starting my PC

[yalamo]

I have a WIN XP SP3 with a 2.6 GHz Pentium 4, with Intel BIOS and motherboard. The system is about five and a half years old, and it works pretty well. (It's a generic make.)

But lately, I've had a problem turning it on. It used to be that I just had to press the ON button, and the thing would go through the whole turn-on sequence. For a couple of months though, if I just press the ON button and let go, I hear the fans go on, and then they stop, and the turn on sequence stops.

I now have to keep the ON button depressed long enough to see the 3 LEDs light up, go off, and light up and go off again, and then let go the ON button, and the PC starts up. Any shorter, and I hear the fans go off, and the sequence stops. Any longer, and the fans go off and the sequence also stops.

My questions to any hardware Guru out there is is there any way of fixing this? Is it worthwhile fixing this? And can I expect further problems in the future?

 

[SimonDavies]

Sounds like the PSU, first thing I would do would be to get that tested (you can buy PSU testing units).
If it is the PSU then you can replace it yourself, that way you don't need to replace the entire PC.

Simon

The real world is not about exam scores, it's about ability.

 

[yalamo]

SimonDavies, thanks. I also thought about the power supply. But looking at the hardware monitor in the diagnostics package that Intel provides shows that all power supply voltages are within or better than 4% of their nominal values (well within limits).