Build Advice Power button not working?

Hey guys,

I started on my build around 3 months ago and everything is in place and the PC is running perfectly! I have been using the power button on my MSI motherboard. I have now gethered some free time and decided that I want to get the extrernal power button working so I can put the side back on and power the PC as normal.

Now, the only problem is, the power button is lighting up but I cannot use it to turn the PC on/off. This may seem like a stupid question, but my mind has been elsewhere since i've built this PC and been anle to use it to my advanatage.

So any ideas why this is happening? I'm using a MSI P67A-GD53 B3, and a FD Arc Midi case.

Thanks

 

Have you definitely plugged the power button connector onto the right pins on your board? Daft question I know, but it's always good to start with the easy things

 

Looks okay to me? lights up my external power button but just wont let me turn the PC on/off.


I dunno what this is for? it came with a picture booklet thing that says nothing, and it doesn't fit anywhere on my board.

 

Tried flipping around the Power SW part of the first picture as i thought red would be + and black would be - which is the opposite way to how you have it now?

 

Those little things are to make it easier to plug the connectors into your board. Plus all your connectors into those correctly then it just slips onto the pins on the board. So you don't have to fiddle around trying to get your fingers in your case and mess with the pesky little wires in a confined space.

And agree with the above, have you tried swappng the power sw part round so it faces the other way?

 

I tied that mate :/

 

Hmmmmm......are you getting that bit the right way round on the board? Have you tried it without the little riser bit in the middle?

 

on the power switch cable connecter there should be a little notch or minus indicating which pin is negative. (Look on the "back side")

 

I have tried it the other way around with the connector thing, and i have taken the connector thing off and tried it both ways and it still wont work.

I looked on the back of the lead that connects on the motherboard and it's got a little arrow on one side of the pins, that's all.

 

I take the arrow as positive, or at least I'm pretty sure that's what I did when I built my rig. Could be a borked power button I suppose.

 

Tried connecting up one side of a battery to it and getting a multimeter on it?

 

Does it power on when you short the two pins with a screwdriver, rather than using the motherboard power button?

 

Is there a keyboard shortcut for power on in the bios?

I use my Ctrl+Esc to power up.

 

it shouldn't matter about polarity on a switch it just shorts the pins together when the button is press, stick a multi meter on it and check for continuity when you press the button, and then just short the pins on the board with a screw driver and see if it powers on.

 

Now it's beyond me, lol.

You want me to press the power button, and then put a screw driver on the two pins on the motherboard?

 

Basically, put a screwdriver on the two pins on your board which are for the power button. This will (hopefully) cause it to power on as normal. If it doesn't then there's a fault with your board.

 

power switch broke on my old box, resorted to pulling the wires off the back of the switch and hanging them out of the front of my box, short them to turn the pc on.

Becareful with a screwdriver near your board, put it between the wrong things and its bad smelling blue smoke time. I think what is meant, is take off where the + and - from the switch go to your board, and short the two pins they were going to - if that starts your rig, then its a problem with the switch.

Alternatively, which is much safer than putting a screwdriver up to your board - if you have an old case, just take the cable up to the switch, then you can just plug that into the board, and short those wires (with or without screwdriver), I got one of these in my bag for testing against faulty switches. get one of these http://www.sourcingmap.com/atx-powe...gle&utm_medium=froogle&utm_campaign=ukfroogle

 

+1 to this. I had to do that before to figure out I had a bad switch.

 

Thanks for the fast replies guys, appreciated.

Can't believe the power button is lighting up, but can't use it to power on/off. Also, the shortcut on my keyboard to power the PC doesn't work.

I put a screwdriver on both of those pins, nothing happened.

 

you shorted those pins and nothing happened? I think you should RMA the board. as shorting those is what would make the computer come on.

It lighting up is becasue the LED that lights it up is on a different circuit to the one that turns the board on.

Shortcut on your keyboard will generally not turn your computer on, unless its a ps/2 keyboard, you have it set up to wake on ps/2, and press space on said ps/2 keyboard.