-SomeGuy-

Well as the title says, my PC decided to take a dump on me this morning.

Its pretty simple, when we press on the power button, nothing happens. I opened it up to see whats going on inside and this is all I can report: When i flip the power switch on the power source i can hear (for the lack of a better word) an electric "chirp" as in there is something turning on there. As well as there is a green LED that turns on on the MOBO but thats it, nothing else. Everything was working fine last night, shut down properly, its on a good powerbar, no electrical storms during the night, everything else plugged in works fine so Im guessing its something else but what, I dont know. I wish I could provide more info but theres nothing else to report.

Correct me if Im wrong but I assume that if the power source works it should show some signs of life or could there be something else that would cause these symptoms?

What should I be looking at? Could it be many different things? Or just a few parts could affect it like this? Any info would be appreciated. If you need any more info I'll do my best to fill in any gaps.

Thanks in advance.

MadManAndrew

To me, It just sounds like the connection between your mobo and your power button came loose...I'd start by checking that.

-SomeGuy-

Ill take a look at that tonight, thanks.

Any other possibilities?

HJJFFFAA

Does where the PSU connects to the MoBo have any burn marks?

-SomeGuy-

I didnt see any burn marks or notice any burning smells. Also if the green LED is turning on on the mobo then im guessing thats not the problem.

My wife is the one who tried to turn it on this morning and the one thing she noticed was the lights where the ethernet cable plugs in doesnt turn on either, dont know if thats relevant though.

HJJFFFAA

Maybe the PSU is only supplying voltage to a couple of rails. Do you have another you could install?

-SomeGuy-

I have a 300W in an older PC I could get. Thing is this one is a 480W. I dont know if Im using all 480W though but I dont know if its worth the risk. Whats the worst that could happen If I try it? Just wont have enough power to turn on?

HJJFFFAA

^ It will just cause the PSU to shut down due to an overload. What are your specs?

Foxy

300W would be fine even even for a modern PC, as long as you didn't start playing graphically intense games, and ran only one hard drive. I doubt it's the PSU anyway, but it is worth trying it to at least eliminate it from the diagnosis.

Check that the reset switch isn't stuck in, and that the power switch is still connected to the motherboard. If it's not one of those things, it's going to be near impossible to track down and is quite likely that your motherboard or CPU has died.

-SomeGuy-

[&o]

Thanks Foxy. I'll take a look at those things and keep my fingers crossed that I dont need a new CPU, a new mobo isint to bad but a CPU can be pricy or hard to find the same as I have now or something compatible with what I have.

Why does it suck so much when a PC craps out on you? At least I can still get online with my PS3.

pythonfan

My Feedback: (1)

I think your ps3 is sending you a message to stop playing l4d and come back to playing console games.

feo

Console games [sm=52_52.gif]
I cant stand analogue sticks!!! I need a mouse!

Foxy

Totally agree. Consoles are for sports and fighting games. And arcade style driving games like Burnout and Pure. For FPS, strategy, proper driving 'sims', and flight sims, they don't touch the PC.

pythonfan

My Feedback: (1)

it was suppose to be a joke a inside one at that.

Foxy

Oh, well, see what you started now? BANNED!!

pythonfan

My Feedback: (1)

if only it was that easy...

might want to check out the gen rc forum foxy there's a new case of /d/ going around....

VeeAte

Remove the ram and re-insert it.
Do the same for the graphics card (if it isnt onboard the mobo).

If your competent with computers pull the CPU and re-seat that as well (you will need heat sink compound for this).

Basically pull the plug off everything and put it back in.

The computer I transport to mates houses etc will do this sometimes. Either gently wiggle the cards and ram inside and it boots or plug and unplug the power to everything (with it off of course).

I think there is just a connection somewhere that doesnt quite connect sometimes for unknown reasons.

Foxy

Good tips. [sm=thumbup.gif]

-SomeGuy-

Very good info guys but the problem was the PSU after all. I did try to use an old one but i guess it was to old because the pins didnt fit (some are square while others are rounded on one side) and there was 2 pins less on each side [&:].

I tried bypassing the power button by jumping the pins but nothing and since i dont want to risk breaking it further or wait forever to get it fixed, because its my only PC, I took it to the shop this morning. 65$ later, a new 500W PSU and it runs perfectly. The guy was having a slow day so he even did a few things so I could have a faster startup.

When I brought it in I asked if it was the CPU or MOBO would it still power up and he said it would but give you some sort of error message. Since my problem was no power, no fans, no beeps no matter what, the PSU was the first thing he checked.

HJJFFFAA

Yay I was right.

pythonfan

My Feedback: (1)

yay my late night l4d buddy is back

VeeAte

Awesome stuff.

Glad you got it sorted.

Although a faulty/dead CPU will give no error beeps or messages too. But glad it wasnt that.

Foxy

Doh! If your CPU is dead you don't get any error messages!! lol.

Glad it was something simple. Back to L4D now, huh?

boltech

There is a trick for testing a power supply (If you don't have a Power supply tester)
Disconnect all cables form the motherboard; grab the main board ATX cable and using a paperclip short one of the green wires to the black wires. You will notice the fan spinning on the power supply and all drives start up in the system. In most cases this indicates the power supply is good. But if you suspect a voltage problem you can now use a multi meter to check all the connectors.

zjwhitrock

and when converting the psu to a 12v power supply for your batt chargers, the caps make you want to rip your hand off, if it gets to close[sm=punching.gif] lol