ok when i first turn on the power it turns over the fan a few times then turns off. A few secons later it turns on again then nothing the fan runs but no moniter or bleeps or anything plz help. Thanks

Please post the Make & Model of your computer, the processor & speed, how much memory you have and approximately how old the unit is.

It's a IBM ,6826 KMK 2.8GHZ with 1Gig mem and was made in 2001

Okay, it's not an old unit. Do you see the POST screen or anything at all when it first starts to boot? When it restarts after the first shutdown, do you have to press the start button again or does it restart automatically?

thanks for the reply, NO there is nothing on the screen at all and i have to push it again on the second startup

Make sure that the mouse and keyboard are properly plugged into the rear of the computer. Unplug the computer from the wall socket, open the case and check that there is nothing loose. Remove the memory sticks and reseat them. If you have a video card, remove it and replace it again to make sure that it didn't work itself loose. Make sure all plugs are in tight, and the main power cable from the power supply is plugged tight into the mainboard. Leave the side cover off, plug into the socket and power up. If there is a power lamp mounted on the mainboard itself, does it come on (some retail computers do not have these so you may not have one)? Do all the fans spin up? Any beeps from the system speaker?

If you still get nothing, that this means is that the power is not even reaching the BIOS, which is the very first thing that the CPU accesses with the information on how to boot the system, so your problem is hardware, not software (not a corruption of the operating system) because the signal has not even reached the hard drive which contains the operating system. The only thing that can cause this are the base-components: power supply not delivering on all rails, mainboard has failed, or the CPU has failed.

As one last test, remove the silver BIOS battery on the mainboard for 15 minutes and snap it back in to reset back to factory default. Try to reboot. I don't think that will help, but at least you know for sure that it is not a simple CMOS setting corruption preventing boot. As long as you have the cover off, check that the capacitors are not bulging or leaking brownish "goo". I have attached a picture illustrating what this looks like. Sometimes the tops are bulging slightly up but not leaking anything. If this is the case the mainboard is blown.

If you are not in to component replacement, I suggest taking the unit to a local, reputable repair business. I do definitely not recommend a chain-retail store that has a repair service. If you are interested, there is a pinned post at the top of this topic, "Homebuilding Techniques" with some suggestions on testing components that you might find helpful.Click to view attachment

thanks for the pic it helped , there wasn't any goo, and after removing and replacing the cards and plug-ins the computer starts up with no beeps, i still can't see any post, but after about one min a blank screen comes up with only the mouse, which i can move but thats all.So do i still remove the BIOS battery and see what happens?

Yes try it. Remember to check those capacitors to see if any are bulging up on the tops-they should be totally flat like a table top across the top. Take a flashlight and shine the light from different angles to check. Since you got improvement when reseating and checking connections, do it again.

Thaks for all the help ranchland, it was my power source in the end. it went up in a puff of smoke and every thing