broke newbie trying to diy

[stumilty2002]

First I will say that I am a newbie to all of this. So bare with me please. My computer stopped working. I plug it in and nothing happens except the green light on the back of the computer lights up. When I press the power button, the fan on the back of the power supply spins, then stops and the light goes off. I have a voltage meter, but am no really sure what to check for. I am sure that my best bet would be to take it somewhere to get it fixed but I am totally broke and cant afford it. Any help would be very very appreciated! Please dumb it down all you can though. The computer is only 2 yrs old. It is a Dell Inpiron 570, I dont know what other info you might need to help me out.

Again, any help would be appreciated. Thanks

 

[DSF]

The first thing I would do just because it's easy is unplug everything except the power cord. See if the computer will start up.

We had a Dell Inspiron at work that would act exactly like it had a bum PSU or motherboard until we unplugged the keyboard and mouse, and then it would start up fine.

 

[bryanl]

There are Youtube videos describing how to test a power supply by using a bent paperclip to manually turn it on (short green and black wires together). Measure between any red and black wires for +5.0V, between yellow and black for +12.0V, orange and black for +3.3V, and purple and black for +5.0V standby. A power supply tester is not a good substitute for a voltage meter.

For less than the price of professional diagnosis you can buy a quality power supply, and some repair centers aren't particularly professional.