PC Won't Start

[Illyan]

Hey, I've got a few year old system, and a few days ago it just refused to start. When I press the power button, nothing happens.

These are the specs:
Antec 900 Case
Mushkin 580w PSU
Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R
Core 2 Duo e6420
4gb ram
HD 4870

At first I thought it was just the case itself, maybe the power button got disconnected or something. But then I hooked up another power supply to the comp, and pressing the power button made it (at least for a few seconds) start. So then I assumed it was the psu, but when I connected that to a different pc, it also started. So I hooked the psu back up, and it started for a seconds and shut off, now it won't start again.

I'm completely lost by now, can anyone give me any ideas?

 

[BabaBooey]

Not a big troubleshooter but reset the cmos on the mobo ?

 

[Illyan]

I tried that, still nothing.

 

[Illyan]

Ok, quick update: I was able to start the computer by manually connecting the power pins on the motherboard, so again, I thought it was the case power button that was the problem. However, I plugged that back in, and it started normally twice, then it went back to not responding. So I went back to the motherboard and again connected the pins, but this time that didn't start it up either. So after a few times of doing that, it started up again. Could it be the motherboard?

 

[AndroidVageta]

Sounds like it might be a motherboard issue. Try reseating the BIOS battery and make sure the jumper on the BIOS is set to normal and not "clear".

I had this issue then realized it was because I had the BIOS jumper on clear and forgot to move it back...same thing as you...it would start then almost immediately shut down.

Just my two cents here...but if it isnt the BIOS then its most likely the motherboard.

 

[Illyan]

I re-checked the bios jumper, and that's not the problem. When it decides to start, it stays on fine, its just that I can't even get it to start up. No spinning fans, lights or anything.

 

[AndroidVageta]

And you are sure that the powersupply is working 100% correctly right? Have you added any new hard ware that might be stressing your powersupply? Had a buddy back in the day whose PC ran 100% fine...but he added water cooling and by just adding a pump and 2 fans it was enough to overload his PC and it wouldn't start...have you added a couple extra hard drives or anything?

 

[Illyan]

I'm not 100% sure about the power supply, that's the next thing I need to test. I hooked the motherboard and cpu cords to a different PC, and that started up, so I think it's ok, but I need to get an actual psu tester.

I haven't added any hardware recently either.