Computer won't turn on

[NL mkII]

As the title suggests I recently moved house and had my pc in storage for 2 weeks, when I got to my new place I plugged everything up and hit the power button but it wouldn't turn on. I've taken it apart and checked none of the power button connections broke loose and I can't see any breaks anywhere. The motherboard power light is also on, so there is definately power available.

Does anyone know of any troubleshooting methods I could use to figure out exactly what the problem is? I'm a bit strapped for cash right now and don't really want to buy a new motherboard only to find out it is the case that is broken, and of course I don't want to buy anything only to find out the issue is something else entirely!

Just for clarity I'm using the following bits, self built.

Antec P180 case
Asus P5W DH Deluxe motheboard
Antec 550W True Power Trio PSU

I can happily give the rest of the system specs if deemed useful too, but these are the only relevant parts from what I can see.

 

[jackschmittusa]

Lots of quick tests to try.

Unplug the power switch and momentarily short the 2 pins with a pocket screwdriver. (checks switch)

Unplug the main power connector from the mb. Short the green wire to any black wire with a paperclip or piece of wire. (psu should start)

With the psu turned off or disconnected from AC, reseat all cards, ram sticks, use your thumb to press on the bios chip if it is socketed. (assures nothing worked loose during transport, also cleans card contacts somewhat of possible corrosion)

 

[Lemon law]

The cheap thing to try is replacing your CMOS battery, which could be the source of the problem.

With a dead battery, the computer could be failing to read the bios information needed to boot. Very possible if
the computer is over three years old.

 

[NL mkII]

Thanks for the responses.

I tried shorting the power switch with a screwdriver and also plugged the reset switch in to the power switch as a backup to see if it worked. It didn't work so it does imply a motherboard issue.

On shorting the green and black wire the case fans switched on and so there seems to be no problem with the power supply.

Reseating everything didn't work either and the problem remains.

Sadly I haven't been able to get myself another battery yet. I'm not sure how the battery works in these so I can't really tell how likely that is to be a problem. The computer is almost 3 years old now (Nov 2006). Is it possible that being kept in storage for 3 weeks would drain the battery?

Also if that does not work, am I going to have to bite the bullet and just buy a new motherboard?

 

[jackschmittusa]

My experience is that a rig will still boot with a bad battery and likely generate a "checksum error".

Try disconnecting all of the drives, front usb and audio, then booting.

Next, remove sound cards, nics, etc. and try again. (leaving drives, etc. disconnected)

Next, just 1 stick of ram.

Next is to try the mb on the bench (out of the case).

 

[NL mkII]

Sounds like a lot of work ahead I'll get right on it

 

[NL mkII]

It seems I was wrong about the power supply, while the case fans did turn on, after disconnecting those I noticed that the psu fan itself wasn't turning on. I took the psu down to my local computer shop where they have a psu testing unit and it appears it turns on for a second or two and then cuts out.

Sadly I doubt I have any way of getting Antec to replace the unit as it is 3 years old, I'm going to have to check that out somehow.

Thanks for the help everyone

 

[jackschmittusa]

Don't the TruPower psus have a 5 year warranty?

 

[NL mkII]

I think it is a 5 year warranty yes, the problem I have though is that proof of purchase is going to be annoying to get hold of. I don't think I can really wait as long as it will take either so I think I'm going to have to bite the bullet and just buy a new psu.