Well, sort-of..

This is perplexing me and I'm going to be very specific here and explain it the best I can, as, unfortunately, I'm pretty unfamiliar to the hardware aspect of computers in general.

About four weeks ago, I started having trouble when I was using the PC. The computer would freeze, but in a very sudden and abrupt way, completely freezing not just the programs, but the entire picture. It made a "clicking" sound similar to when the monitor is turned on, and the cursor, nothing would move. The screen just literally froze.

After re-booting a few times, the problem continued until it evolved into getting nothing. The monitor would say that there was no connection to the computer, and aside from the power light coming on and the fan moving, I could not hear any of the activity from the HD, etc. that occurs. Every so often, I would get luck, and the computer would boot up into Windows, only to have it abruptly freeze again or simply go to a stagnant black screen.

I have no real clue as to what it may be, I'm thinking it isn't anything too major, as there are instances in which I do get to Windows, but I could be wrong. My hardware illiteracy is preventing me from making any diagnosis. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Freezing is usually a hardware failure and often ironically a heat issue.

Clicking sounds are either faulty fans or a dying hard drive. A dying hard drive would not prevent you from starting the computer though as it is not even looked at till after the BIOS POST. Monitors do not click.

Another prime suspect with your behavior is the Power Supply Unit.

If you are interested in opening up the computer and start some perhaps tedious hardware troubleshooting we can certainly help. If you do not have this interest your local computer shop is your best bet.

With what limited knowledge I do have, I did suspect either the fans or the power supply. Thank you for somewhat re-enforcing this, it's much appreciated. I'm thinking I'm going to do it myself, so any assistance you may be able to provide would be great, but it's all a matter of finding the free time within the next couple of days. Thank you once again.

I suspect the power supply unit (PSU) too - although I would like to know more about the clicking sound. Do the clicks come from your speakers, or are they mechanical clicks from inside the computer case or monitor?

Hard drives often make such noises, even when healthy, but more so when failing. It is usually the read/write head banging against the stops, and the sound originates from within the hard drive. You should be able to open the side of the case and determine if it is a hard drive or not by listening closely. If you press your finger on the drive top, you may even feel the clicks. If it is the drive, it may be near failure. I hope you have a backup of your data.

Some monitors make clicking noises when the mechanical relays switch contacts during resolution changes, and the sound originates from within the monitor so you should be able to isolate that. If the clicking is from the monitor, it could be the monitor, but in this case, I would suspect the video card is not longer sending the correct signal. That could mean the card itself is failing, but to me it sounds like the card lost power.

Fans usually make grinding or rumbling sounds when the bearings start to go, but if a blade is hitting a wire, or the housing due to loose bearing, it may click, and the sound will originate from the fan. Fans are easy to test for noise - just put your finger on the fan hub for a second and the pitch of that fan noise will change.

If the clicks are coming from the speakers, such as a Windows sound, then that's a different ballgame.

Be sure to take ESD precautions while you poke around inside the case - touch bare metal before, frequently, and constantly if possible, to discharge any static in your body to chassis ground, and not through any ESD sensitive device.

That takes us back to the PSU. The best way to test is to swap in a known good one, or have a qualified technician test it. When away from my bench, I keep a FrozenCPU Ultimate PSU Tester in my travel tool bag. It is not as good as a good meter in the hands of a qualified technician, but darn close. The CompUSA PSU Tester is considerably cheaper, less informative, but still useful. And Newegg has several to choose from. These all contain a "dummy load" to fool the PSU into thinking it is connected to a motherboard, and therefore allow the PSU to power on, if able, without being attached to a motherboard - great for testing fans too.

Apologies for the late response, but my bad luck has continued with my laptop taking a **** on me. Luckily, that problem is simple, but anyways, that was very helpful. As for the clicking sound, the best way I can describe it is to turn off your monitor and turn it on. The sound is similar to the sound it makes when the monitor is turned on. It doesn't come from the speakers, it just comes, I believe from the monitor, as a response to the picture freezing.

I purchased a new power supply yesterday, and I'm going to put it in in a little bit. I'll let you know how it goes.

Well, if it is coming from the monitor then that would indicate the monitor is trying the sync up with graphic card. Failure to sync could be a bad monitor - which is easy to test by simply trying a different monitor - or the graphics card/PC.