by Christopher Heinz

Created on: October 13, 2010

A broken computer can be a very serious problem in today's world. If you're like most people, you use a computer every day for work and pleasure. If it fails to start, not only can you lose important data, but important tasks will not get done, and emails will not get read. Fortunately, even in the worst case scenarios, you can usually not only repair your computer, but save all of the data on it as well.

The first thing you should do if your computer doesn't turn on is to make sure that your computer and monitor are both plugged in and on. This may seem obvious, but most people assume their computers are always plugged in, and spend hours trying to "fix" their computers when they could have fixed them in about 30 seconds by checking the power cord.

The second thing you want to do is make sure your computer is actually turning on. Most computers make at least some level of noise. If it won't even turn on, it may indicate an issue with the power button, the outlet it's plugged into, or one or more of the parts inside. If this is the case, it's usually fixed by making sure all of the parts are correctly plugged in. More on this here. If anything is physically broken, or won't turn on, you may have to replace that part. If it's your hard drive, then you may lose all of your data. If nothing turns on, you may need a new power supply.

If your computer turns on, be sure that the monitor is connected correctly. Usually, if there is a problem with your computer's operating system (Windows, Macintosh, Linux, etc.), the screen will show something, most likely in the form of white letters. What it says may vary, but it means your computer probably works fine, but the operating system is damaged. There may be repair options accessible from this screen. If so, try them. If that does not work, locate the installation/repair disc that came with your computer for your operating system (for example, if your computer has Windows, find your Windows setup DVD). Start the computer from the disc. This may require you to enter the BIOS. When your computer is starting up, it should display the BIOS screen for a short time, and say somewhere on it, "press F12 to enter BIOS" or something similar. Once in BIOS, move to the boot tab and change the boot order so that the CD/DVD drive is at the top. Then, go to the exit tab and select "exit saving all changes".

After you load from the disc, you will see a repair option. In Windows, if you created a system image at any point earlier (a system

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