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Computer won't power on

A

Adeusama

Junior Member
I moved my computer from one end of the house to another and I had some wierd problems. It started with my USB mouse going out. I figured it was just the mouse so I rebooted since I figured that would fix it. It did not and eventually I lost my keyboard as well. Eventually my monitor stopped displaying even though the computer would boot. I figured I'd just wait a bit. So I powered down unplugged everything and then replugged everything and powered on again. I still couldn't get my keyboard and mouse working although this time the montior displayed. I thought I should try to power down again and try the Keyboard with a PS2 connection however, I got shocked hitting the power button.

Now it won't power up at all. I wasn't sure if I shorted the power switch or not so I did some further troubleshooting. I opened the case and checked all the connections. They show fine. I made sure the power switch connector was attached and with the proper ground. I also went into my other room and tried to power on there just to make sure it isn't something with the outlet I was using. The only thing that would happen is the fans, and leds turn on for a minute and then shut down. I wondered if it was the power switch so I rigged an extra case so it's power switch was attached to the motherboard. Still didn't boot. I decided to plug in the case and just wait till morning in case it was being tempermintal. Well it still won't start and when I plug it in or shut of the PSU nothing lights up or spins for a minute like it did last night. So after doing some further research I found that most people think in this situation the power supply has gone. So I replaced the PSU with another one and still nothing. I'm not sure what else to check. I don't think it's the motherboard but what else can I check? My specks are as follows:

GigaByte K8NSNXP
3200 AMD 64
1GB RAM Corsare I think
6800GT eVGA

Any suggestions would be welcome.
 
Sounds like your outlet isn't grounded well or at all! Get yourself a GOOD Surge protector, not a cheap mickey mouse one. Also, if you can afford it, get yourself a UPS too.

Hmm.. what else (read thru your post again) Make sure your Power switch isn't screwed up. Unplug all power connectors from Mobo and periphials and reseat them back in. Remove add-in cards, NIC, soundcard etc. Then try powering up with one stick of RAM - and then switch sticks if 1st one doesn't work. If that doesn't work, then your board might be fried. Hopefully not.
 
Well I've used three different outlets including the one I started with and had been running on for more than 4 months so I'm not sure if it's the outlet anymore. I'm contemplating switching out cases since that will let me be sure. As far as your other suggestions I've unplugged everything and replugged it with a new powersupply (Both are 520W) so I think the PSU is good. I also only have the video card setup. Everything else is on the Motherboard. I havn't tried the ram suggestion but I have to wonder if it's the Motherboard being fried if it was recieving power just not starting on. (As I said above all the fans spinup for a minute then stop and all the lights turn on when I plug in the box or power up just the PSU.)
 
But my old machine works fine on all the other outlets. I think my old computer actually has more stuff added.
 
I'm having a somewhat (maybe) different problem...

My "problem" computer has been running fine for a couple years. I thought my wife had shut it off a few days ago (it's usually left on all the time) but discovered that it had actually stopped running. When I tried to restart it, nothing happened, no bezel LEDs, no fan noise, nothing.

I assumed it was the power supply, and replaced that with a new CoolMAX 400W unit. Now when I press the power switch, the status LEDs on the motherboard, and the bezel LEDs all flash briefly and the fans start to spin, but everything shuts off within a second. If I cycle the PSU on-off switch and then press the power button the same thing happens, but if I hit the power button without re-cycling the PSU switch nothing happens.

I've tried removing the memory and expansion cards and cleaning everything, then booting with only HDD, video card, and RAM and the same thing occurs. Any ideas / suggestions? All help is appreciated...

My current specs (don't gawk too long) ;-)

Motherboard MSI 6163 Pro (version 2)
CPU Intel P3 600, clocked to 660
RAM Mushkin Infineon PC133 SDRAM (2 x 128MB DIMMS)
HDD Seagate ST340810ACE 40GB
optical HP 9700series CDRW
Video Visiontek TNT2 Pro (AGP)
Sound Soundblaster 16 (ISA)
Modem 56K (ISA)
Network Belkin ???
standard FDD


Regards,
DJW



 
Look at the capacitors on the motherboard. They should be flat at both ends like a can of soup. If they're bulging and/or leaking fluid and/or corroded, you have bad capacitors and it's time to upgrade.

Coolmax is not a brand of PSU I would buy. Antec, Fortron, Enermax... sure. While it's hard to envision your P3 stressing even a junky power supply, it's not beyond the realm of reason. Still I would suspect your aging motherboard first here.
 
Originally posted by: mechBgon
Look at the capacitors on the motherboard. They should be flat at both ends like a can of soup. If they're bulging and/or leaking fluid and/or corroded, you have bad capacitors and it's time to upgrade.

Coolmax is not a brand of PSU I would buy. Antec, Fortron, Enermax... sure. While it's hard to envision your P3 stressing even a junky power supply, it's not beyond the realm of reason. Still I would suspect your aging motherboard first here.
Click to expand...



I was actually going to buy an Antec PSU, but the Coolmax one was about half the cost. I realize you generally get what you pay for, but figured it was still a big improvement over my original PSU, which was 250W and sounded like a turbine engine.

The motherboard was one of my suspects, it's about 6-7 years old and has been overclocked all its life (Celeron 366@520 for 4-5yrs, P3 600@660 for 1yr). There are two capacitors (which happen to be relatively large, and also close to the ATX connector) which are bowed slightly, no leaking or corrosion though.

Is this how motherboards die (ie, suddenly)? I imagine that overclocking was probably a factor, do you think that was major or minor, generally speaking? (Not that I wouldn't do it again...). Finally, what does one do with old computer components, is there a re-cycling or re-processing pathway for such things?

Thanks for your help.


Regards,
DJW
 
Hard to say why it failed. Around here, it seems like most motherboard failures result in the system powering up its drives and fans, but not getting any further than that. Anyway, if you can lay hands on another power supply of any sort as a tiebreaker, that might be a good test. 🙂
 
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