My computer lately has been powering on from the power button at the front of the CPU though the system itself doesn't do anything,it's as if it's in standby mode.The fans turn on,the power led is on,the monitor doesn't come on,the activity light,which is red,usually glows when the system is going through it's startup process,the harddrive is not active as it is making no sounds,like I said it seems like my computer is putting itself in immediate standby mode for some reason.The only way I get my computer to start up is when I flick the main switch in back off and on several times.And I get no errors or anything when the system does start up,everything is back to normal.Can someone help me please? Thanks. :)

Those symptoms indicate that the CPU is not running at all. It's a hardware problem and can be very difficult to diagnose.

Drew,thanks for your reply,though if it is a hardware problem why does everything function normally without any error messages when I get the system up and running after restarting it from the main switch at the back of the unit.I can do everything as I normally have done before this started happening without any crashes or glitches,etc.Also,I can restart the computer as many times as I like from start tab and restart selection with no problems,it only after I turn the power off from the power button and then try to turn it on again that nothing happens.I am using Windows 98 Second Edition.Once again thanks for your help. :)

has anyone been trying to "tweek" your system maybe in the setup menu ...maybe under power options try when the system is running , ctrl-alt-delete and see if anything like power manegment is showing up twice or maybe under run ....msconfig , or lastly look in your device manager (under my computer--controll panel---system-- device manager tab then look for the yellow exclamation mark's

MMMMMMMMMMMM........no. :)My settings under cntrl,alt,del don't show and have not shown anything redundant,msconfig shows no repeated lines either.My power management settings are all normal,always on for power,the others are set to never.The device settings show one yellow questionmark with a yellow exclamation mark overlayed under (other devices)PCI Communication Device,whatever that is.MMMMMMMMMMM........what do ya think?

vincent, the power button is on the front of the case, not the cpu. the cpu is the chip or proccessor that runs the system. if you feel you can, lift the lid off the case and reseat all the cards and the ram modules. you could even take the cpu out and put it back in again just to make sure it's seated properly. if you still have trouble then a new power supply may be in order. it's a hardware problem, not a software one.

Heat causes everything to expand and cold causes everything to contract. When your machine is turned off for a while everything contracts and flaky connections will sometimes part. When you turn the machine on things will start to warm up and expand. This can cause the connection to remake.