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Computer boots up when it wants to, need advice

K

Kashan

Member
Ok,

Heres the deal.

System Specs
Abit KT7A motherboard 1.2ghz processor
512 MB PC 133 Ram
GeForce 4 TI4600 Vid Card
SB Live! Value
3COM 3c509B nic
AGI Amd approved 350 W power supply
Took out all my CD rom drives and HD. So currently only got 1 WD 7200 rpm 40 gig hard drive installed. No floppy, no cd rom.

Heres whats happening. Computer boots up only when it wants to. Which originally lead me to beleive bad power supply. No biggie I thought. Pull out a spare 300 w AGI Amd approved power supply install that, still getting the same issue. So ok, fiddle around with the electrical outlets a bit at my Apt, boots up again, eventually. Screw around on the pc for a while play some Jedi Knight 2. Shut down, go to work come home doesnt boot up again. Ok, whats the deal I thought? Bad power switch I thought. Take everything out, put it in a diffrent sprae case I had lying around. Boots up fine after that. Sweet, everything working ok. So I mess around for a bit. Shut down again. Go to power back up later. Tried another power cable I have on another pc, dont help, still does not boot up.Wont power back up. Power switch does nothing. No random reboots. No random shut downs. So didnt sound like a bad MB to me. I havent checked the CPU temp in a while, but last I did check, it was where it was suppose to be. I jsut moved, and this room gets alot hotter than my last one, havnt checked the cpu temp since I moved out here. Dont remeber the numbers off hand. Could that be the problem if i have a cooling issue?

I have been doing pc support for a while, and never encountered this one.

Any ideas suggestions?
 
did something get jolted losse when u movied? maybe a screw or something? make sure everything inside ur box is tight.
 
I moved almost 4 months ago. This just started happening within about the last 3 days. I just got the GeForce 4 TI 4600. Maybe the video card drawing to much power? I thought i happened 1 time before I bought the video card but not positive. I think i might try putting the geforce 2 back in and see if it still does it.
 
The power switch on most ATX type case is a 'momentary contact' type switch, not an on/off toggle or button type switch. This switch connects directly to the motherboard via two pins usually, which routes the signal to the ATX power supply and relays. There could be a problem with the motherboard or PS and not likely to be the case or power cords or power switch since you already checked those (and how often do power cords fail?)

When the PC won't start, do you always retry a few times within a few minutes? Leave your case open to test it. When it won't start again, wiggle the plastic connector and wires which go from the case power/on-off button to the motherboard connecting pins. If after you do this, you can power it back on, you're on to something.

If your were then able to power the PC back on after doing the above, disconnect the power cord from the wall and then the power switch connector from the motherboard. First ground a pair of needlenose pliers, then using the pliers, gently squeeze the two pins closer together so that the connector will fit snug. Look very carefully at the plastic connector. On one side you will see something like a triangle, this is pin 1. Consult your user manual and reconnect the connector so that pin 1 connects with the pin 1 socket and the connector fits over both pins properly. Try starting your PC again.
 
have you checked to make sure one of the brass standoffs isn't contacting the motherboard somewhere? (not likely since you tried another case) also will it restart after you try for a couple of times, if so it *may* be a bad lead...
 
Well tried all the suggestions listed and still only boots up when it wants to. Put my GeForce 2 back in, booted off and on about 30 times in the span of 2 days worked flawlessly, like it has been. So, went to CompUsa this morning exchanged the video card. Well after installing the new GeForce 4 does it again. Im thinking my 300 watt power supply aint enough for this power hungry beast. Gonna try picking up a 400 watt today see if that helps.
 
Thanks for the advice all. After getting the 400 watt power supply, running like a champ now. I guess, 300 watt aint enough for the GeForce 4, amd proc, and 4 ide drives.
 
Look in your bios to see if you have wake on lan and wake on modem enabled. If you do, disable them and see if that fixes it.
 
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