Motherboard issue - 2nd opinion needed

[Nailbunny]

Here's the story:

Friend of mine was in her kitchen when she heard a "loud metallic pop" come from her computer room. When she got there, the computer was dead. Hitting power button did nothing.

I now have the machine and her Antec power supply is dead. I switched out the PS and the machine boots, but the post stops right after clocking up the memory. I get no beeps, error messages, nothing. Machine keeps running and just sits at the post screen saying how much memory the machine has.

I'm thinking this means the keyboard port is fried. None of the lights on the keyboard come on during post. Is there anyway to get around the ps2 keyboard port without a new motherboard? Would a USB keyboard work, or does that need to be turned on in the CMOS first?

MOBO is an Asus A7N8X-X.

 

[Peter]

The classic cause for this would be one too many mounting standoffs in the case - exactly where the power wires for the keyboard jack run.

If that fried the keyboard controller unit inside the chipset, the entire board is dead meat.

 

[Nailbunny]

Good tip. I'm pretty sure in this case the "killer" is dust. The inside of the case is filthy. I'm talking dirt piles around the CPU, keyboard ports, memory slots. I'm sure this is what fried the machine (it's 2 years old). So remember kiddies - keep your machines clean!

Bummer - looks like she'll need a new PS. It's been sitting for about 10 minutes, just stuck right after the memory clockup.

 

[Peter]

That'd be when it's normally trying to detect IDE/SATA disks. Maybe one of the disk drives has been killed too. Also, check for capacitor damage/leaks/bulges.