Computer won't turn on, help! - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

Drunk Skunk · 04-07-2008, 10:53 AM

I always leave my comp on. I get home late last night, and it was off. It won't even power up. Any suggestions? I'm thinking the power supply is kaput, but could it be the motherboard?

BlackArcher101 · 04-07-2008, 10:57 AM

Does it do anything at all? Is there a LED light on the motherboard that's on when plugged in? Plugged directly into the wall, bypassing any surge protectors?

Try switching the power cord with your monitor one to make sure. Also, check that the switch on the power supply is turned on.

Drunk Skunk · 04-07-2008, 10:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlackArcher101

Does it do anything at all? Is there a LED light on the motherboard that's on when plugged in? Plugged directly into the wall, bypassing any surge protectors?

Try switching the power cord with your monitor one to make sure. Also, check that the switch on the power supply is turned on.

Nope, it does nothing at all. The power button just clicks when I push it. No light on the motherboard, no. It's plugged into a surge protector. I'll try to plug it into the wall and see what happens.

:EDIT:
Tried plugging it into the wall and got nothing, and tried the power cord from the other computer and got nothing again.

llama64 · 04-07-2008, 11:22 AM

This might sound a bit harsh, but I've fallen for it before myself: is the switch on the power supply in the on position? I've spent over an hour ripping my PC apart, testing all the connections trying to figure out why it wouldn't turn on. Turned out I had accidently flipped that stupid little switch.

Other possible things to check:
- power cable to the mother board is seated properly
- on switch connector is connected properly (there should be some indication on the MB itself. Usually reads PW+/- or something like that)

Worse case scenario: your power supply or motherboard needs to be replaced.

GoinAllTheWay · 04-07-2008, 11:45 AM

Yes it could be either the PS or MOBO but far more likley your PS especially if you leave it on all the time. Cheaper PS can just go like that. It is also the cheapest place to start trouble shooting. If you have another PC in the house with a known good PS, just chuck it in and see if that starts things up. If you don't, a new good PS is under $100.

Azure · 04-07-2008, 11:50 AM

Could be the PS.

Plug out one of your drives, one by one and see if it turns on.

mykalberta · 04-07-2008, 12:19 PM

When is the last time your checked your computer and do you live in the NE. Supposedly there was an outage there on the weekend.

You can take your Power supply in to MemX and see if they will do a test of it for you for free, if they do and its hosed you will need to get another PS.

In my expierince its rarely the motherboard (look at the board and see if some of the capacitors look scorched to to have a fat top - if they do then its likely your mobo - other than that its most likely the power supply.

Also, try reseeting the power cables on the board.

Drunk Skunk · 04-08-2008, 01:59 PM

I have a new 500w PS that I want to try, but I don't trust myself to get the old one out without breaking something. Stupid computers

llama64 · 04-08-2008, 02:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Drunk Skunk

I have a new 500w PS that I want to try, but I don't trust myself to get the old one out without breaking something. Stupid computers

Everything connects using plastic connectors and plugs. Just unhook those, unscrew the power-supply unit and remove it from the case. Reverse that to install the new one. The only semi-tricky part is ensuring that you don't bash any components with the power-supply shell.

Taking apart a computer and rebuilding it is really simple. Everything is either colour coded or it's relatively easy to tell things based on the size of the plug. If you can pass the round peg, square hole test, you can put a computer together

Drunk Skunk · 04-08-2008, 03:11 PM

Okay ... I have all the wires and plugs hooked up, but I have a couple more questions. There are no holes on the front of the PS to screw it into my case. It's not that the holes don't line up, it's just that there are no holes. Is it important to screw it in?

Also, my old PS has two plug ... and "in" plug and an "out" plug. The new one has just an "out" plug. Is that bad? I haven't turned it on, yet.

GoinAllTheWay · 04-08-2008, 03:17 PM

No holes? You sure you have it in the right way? Pretty sure the mounting screws for a PS are universal. I have always mounted my PS's to the case with screws that go through the back of the case into the rear end of the PS.

Not sure what you mean by in and out plugs. Do you mean the plug to, well, plug it into the wall? If that's the case then no, I doubt that matters. Your old one probably was designed to fit both male and female plugs.

Drunk Skunk · 04-08-2008, 03:25 PM

Aha, after looking again, there are holes, but they do not even come close to lining up.

The old one -

The new one -

:EDIT:
The PS was upside down in the case, that's why the holes didn't line up

I'm going to give it a shot.

Traditional_Ale · 04-08-2008, 03:31 PM

If you have any problems, PM me. I do this kind of thing daily, and would be more than happy to show you if you bring it by my shop.

Drunk Skunk · 04-08-2008, 04:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Traditional_Ale

If you have any problems, PM me. I do this kind of thing daily, and would be more than happy to show you if you bring it by my shop.

Thanks a lot for the offer, but it's a little bit a trek from down here in Quad City up to Calgary. I'll keep that in mind though if it keeps irritating me!

I have the power supply installed, and everything is hooked up again .... Buuuuuut when I turn it on, it just stays at this screen -

Traditional_Ale · 04-08-2008, 04:36 PM

Unplug everything inside except the motherboard power, cpu-fan, and ram. This includes the hard drives, dvdroms, usb connections to the motherboard, firewire connections to the motherboard, and audio connections.

Then try turning the machine on and accessing the BIOS. Make sure that date and time are correct. Then turn the machine off, and add the CD-rom. Turn back on and see if it shows up in the BIOS. Repeat for other drives if needed.

Do the hard drives and get the machine to boot into your operating system BEFORE re-attaching the USB and Firewire connectors. Else you might mess up all your drive letters!

ricosuave · 04-08-2008, 04:42 PM

Also, press F1, F2 F10 or F12 and see if you can get into the bios. If you have the manual for the mobo, there is usually a jumper that will clear the CMOS (BIOS) settings and go to default...

Drunk Skunk · 04-08-2008, 04:58 PM

So, basically, what you two are telling me is that I should wait until my computer tech friend can come over and help me ... since the last two posts might as well have been in a completely different language.

Traditional_Ale · 04-08-2008, 05:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ricosuave

Also, press F1, F2 F10 or F12 and see if you can get into the bios. If you have the manual for the mobo, there is usually a jumper that will clear the CMOS (BIOS) settings and go to default...

No need to throw the switch. The best way (imo) to clear the CMOS memory (thus re-setting the BIOS) is to disconnect EVERYTHING from the motherboard (including power and the watch battery) and allow it to sit for about 30mins so all the capacitors can fully discharge.

When brought back online, the time and date should read all zeros.

Traditional_Ale · 04-08-2008, 05:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Drunk Skunk

So, basically, what you two are telling me is that I should wait until my computer tech friend can come over and help me ... since the last two posts might as well have been in a completely different language.

Its not THAT bad, ever play with Lego?

Drunk Skunk · 04-08-2008, 07:07 PM

I was in the process of unplugging my PCI card and a modem card that was still in there for some reason when I noticed something unplugged. I'm a computer moron, but it was plugged in before and it's not plugged in now - there's no plug on the PS to connect to whatever this thing is. It sits right above the two hard drives, and it's a white 4 pin connector, the same that is on my video card. I figure that before taking everything out, maybe I should find out of this whateveritis is important, and if it could be causing the issue. Here's a picture ... feel free to laugh at my computer ignorance