PC got knocked over and will not boot

[ModerRoberts]

Hello everyone
My PC which is standing on the floor got knocked over yesterday and started making a singular and continous beep. I quickly turned it off and turned it back on. It turned on as usual and I managed to watch a movie and listen to some music before I turned it off. The next day when I turned it on again it did not want to boot and instead put me into the infamous diagnosis loop. If I wait for about an hour, the diagnosis will finally finish and will tell me that windows could not start correctly and I have the option to restore. If I try to restore the screen just goes black. Similarly if I choose the one key recovery, I get an empty blue screen with my cursour on it. I have opened the cover up to check for any visible damage however everything seems to be ok. I would like to also mention that I cannot make a USB flashdrive recovery since every other computer in my household has Win 10 installed aside from the broken one which is running Win 8.1.
Could anyone offer any advice?

 

[Cycloid Torus]

Error messages?
Check for loose or broken connectors (especially CPU heat sink)?
BIOS? SMART status?
POST?
ISO? Repair Disk? https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows8

If 'knock over' did not break HSF connector(s), it may have corrupted files or even broken HDD (typically, a drop of several inches to a hard surface is enough to mess up a spinning HDD). If HDD is located very low in the case and floor is carpeted, it might survive with merely some files corrupted. Booting any OS from a second device is one way to quickly settle if it is isolated to HDD.

If HDD, then use ISO to partition and format a new drive and then try to recover your files from the old HDD when it is mounted as a secondary (non-booting) device.

 

[ModerRoberts]

Thanks for the reply!
As I mentioned above I carefully inspected if anything was broken or loose and there was no visible damage. After leaving the PC after an hour on the black screen I mentioned above it actually allowed me to 'refresh' the PC and now it's able to boot properly. The only issue I have is that the PC basically runs like a toaster. The resources usage for RAM and CPU are pretty low so I guess it is indeed the HDD and it would make sense as it is the highest part in my setup and it would heat the ground last. Anything I can do about that?

 

[Cycloid Torus]

Toaster? I guess that means that the PC is feeling HOT to the touch. If that is what you meant then I would look carefully at all the fans to make sure every one of them is running. The next step is to review the ventilation paths to confirm cold air intake and hot air exhaust. Cables can block flow and routing and bundling them with ties can make a significant improvement. If there is a system intake filter/screen, make sure it is cleared of dust.

Based on the history, you should check the SMART for the HDD a couple of times in the next few days to be sure status is good. Refreshing your backup might be a good thing to do.

 

[ModerRoberts]

Once again thank you for your reply
By toaster I meant that my computer is really slow and hiccupy. I did a hardware scan and my HDD failed some reading tests whatever that means. I runned chkdsk but that did not help at all. I also did upened up the computer and everything seems in check. The heatsink is tight in place and doing it's job. RAM is also where it should be. At this point I really think it's my HDD. Is there anything I can do to try and fix it before I throw it in the trash?

 

[Cycloid Torus]

Best bet, buy a new drive. I would hesitate to clone the old as some files may be corrupted, but think you are better off with a clean install. You need your license key!! Download, create and use ISO to partition and format a new drive and then try to recover your files from the old HDD when it is mounted as a secondary (non-booting) device or from a backup.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows8

Afterthought - Using the Windows File History, you might be able to backup all your data files to a USB or external drive and then 'restore' them on to your new drive - or maybe you have backups already.

When all done, blank your old HDD or belt it hard with a hammer and put it into recycle.