Hello, i thank you in advance for your help. SPECS: CPU - AMD64 3500 venice core MOBO - Asus A8N-SLI premium RAM - 1gig ( don't remember brand) GFX - EVGA geforce 7800gt PSU - 550w Coolmax OS - OEM XP home sp2 I built my computer about a year ago, It has worked fine from the day it started. Lately I have been puting my computer into standbye instead of turning it off for overnight and while i am at school or work. This has been no problem for months. Today, I went home to find that my computer was off... when i went to go and turn it on, nothing happened. So i tried to hit the button again... nothing. I tried holding it down... NOTHING. So i opened up my case to find that the MOBO light (that indicated power to the mobo) is green and on. so I unplugged everything from the back of my computer, except for the power cable. I turne dthe switch on my PSU to off and the MOBO light went off, but when i flip the switch to "on" on the back of my PSU, my HDD led lights up, my front 2 led fans light up and try to spin for a split second then everything is black again, except for the MOBO light. Please help me, I am not sure what my problem is here. Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Pete
Maybe you should take out the power cable wait 15 minutes , then plug it in again and try starting up
thats what im doing now, what would that do/mean though... what does letting it sit for 15min. do? *EDIT* I just tried to plug it back in and start... - it didn't work, same results as before ( i waited about 20min. as i unplugged it before i posted here.)
Clear the CMOS and check all your power connections to your board, something may have worked itself loose gradually over time.
i've checked all of my connections... nothing new... i looked up how to clear my cmos but am unsure as to what this does. .. i will try to do that now. Is it possible that my power button is the problem... i am pretty sure its not my PSU as the motherboard appears to be getting power... is the reaction for when i turn flip my PSU switch normal? ( hdd light comes on, on both front fans the light turn on - all of this for just a second...? then nothing) thanks, Pete
i just tried to reset the CMOS... nothing has changed... any ideas as to what it could be ( power button?) thanks for your help, Pete
If you think it might be the button, just short out the wiring controlling your power. On the other hand, a wire may have worked its way loose. Reaseat every component and wire connection (while earthed, or course) Edit: 333rd post
It wouldn't be the power button, the power button is a non locking switch, it just shorts two pins on the board, the fans response shows that the motherboard is recognising that the power switch has been pressed. Test the power supply, it may have broken.
Make sure the cpu fan is spinning up when you turn the computer on for that second, if isnt then there is your problem. If it is then I dont know, there are many possibilities. Check everything is plugged in securely, unplug anything you dont need to run the computer. That means just have powersupply, motherboard, cpu, ram, graphics card, keyboard, mouse, monitor. If it still doesn't boot then you need to start testing parts. cpu, motherboard, power supply, ram, graphics card could all cause this if messed up. Start with power supply since that easy to eliminate. You can get a PSU tester but a far easier way is to disconnect it from everything but a few fans and the cd drive (this is to put a load on the psu) then put a paperclip between the green wire and any black wire on the motherboard connector, it should start up and run the fans. to test the rest, you will have to find replacements im afraid, maybe ask a friend if you can use theirs. I suspect its a cpu failure, even though they are very rare, motherboard is also fairly likely. I doubt its ram or graphics card, but you never know.
I had almost the exact same problem about 18 months ago where the machine suddenly turned itself off and wouldn't turn back on again, even after a few hours. It was in fact a dead PSU, even though the green light on the network card was still on. I recently tested the 'dead' Power Supply on some old components, and the CPU fan spun up for a split second but that was it. So my suggestion (from experience) is that the PSU's died. You could say it might be the power switch, but that wouldn't explain why the computer switched itself off.
the fan response comes from when i flip the switch on my PSU not my power button. My power button does nothing... so what do you recomend i use to try shorting it to start? a little piece of wire - i am not sure if i have a jumper thing.
Unplug the power switch connector and just short those two pins with a screwdriver briefly, don't hold it on as it will turn off again. TO test the power supply http://modtown.co.uk/mt/article2.php?id=psumod
shorting the power button pins didn't work...no response, same as when i push the power button. I am about to check the PSU. thanks a lot for all of your help. Pete
i just checked the PSU, it works kinda.... the PSU fan is spinning but i can't get my cd drive to open up... so im guessing that means my PSU is dead? thanks for all your help, Pete
psu tend to be the first things to go but the cheapest to fix most of the time..... id try and get a semi decent one if i was you..............ive had a few fail on me (them cheapo ones) just cause the fans spins it doesnt mean its ok! the 3v rail might be working but the 12v not! ect ect!
im going to get a Rosewill RD550-2DB-Sl 550w PSU. seems to be good, all of the reviews seem good, for the company and that particular PSU. Think this shoudl be good? or any other recomendations in the sub-$80range http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817182043 Thank you all for all of your help, This is why i love Bit-tech, Pete
