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UPDATE: PC won't boot - no POST, bios, etc.

I

imported_Zor

Member
I have an older PC that just stopped working. It was shutdown and disconnected for a few days to do some cleaning. I cleaned the outside of the case with a vacuum. After reconnecting everything I cannot get the pc to start up.

I've reseated everything and am currently trying to get it running with the bare minimum - HD, VGA, RAM, CPU w/ HS and fan. I've connected the 20pin to the motherboard and there is a yellow LED lit on the board indicating that the board is receiving power. I've noticed that the fan "twitches" when the PSU is switched on and "twitches" again when i hit the power button. By "twitch" i mean that it spins a few times and then stops. I have tried shorting the power switch with a screwdriver and receive the same results so it is probably not a bad power switch on the case.

I'm not sure what to try next. I suppose it could be any number of things - bad VGA card, bad mobo, etc. Any suggestions on what to try next would be very helpful.

Thanks.
 
Short the pin on the motherboard itself to rule out the switch. I bet it's your power supply that died.
 
pull the cmos battery out for awhile to reset the bios to default settings. Then try starting system with bare min. However, it sounds like something is amiss with your PSU or your mobo was shorted out.
 
<--- How I feel right now...

The general consensus says bad PSU so i'll go pick up a new one tomorrow and give it a go. Thanks for the input in validating what I was already thinking.

 
Have your PS tested at your local computer shop. Most do this for free. Also, on your PS, on the back, is it set to 115v?
 
Well, i've made some progress. I had the PSU tested and found out it was dead. Purchased and installed a new unit and got the machine to power up, but now I am not getting any video.


I've swapped in and out 3 separate dimms of RAM with no luck. Currently i do not have another AGP card or machine to test and AGP card in so I'll pick up a $50 GeForce4 and give that a shot tomorrow.

I hope that fixes the problem, but I am worried that whatever killed the PSU has caused problems elsewhere. If not is it a safe bet that the mobo is the problem here?
 
Originally posted by: Zor
... I cleaned the outside of the case with a vacuum...
Click to expand...

This is probably a long shot, but did you use a special computer vacuum? Or was it a regular household vacuum? Air and dust moving thru the hose of a vacuum can create very large jolts of static electricity. If you happened to brush against any part of the I/O module, or any part of the backplane, w/the vacuum, it's possible that a jolt was transferred thru.

Greater minds than my own would have to confirm whether this is a real possibility.
 
I have exactly same problem. I just cleaned it couple of hours ago. No post. Here is what I checked
1) Changed Ram - no post
2) Changed VGA - no post
3) Changed PSU - no post
4) Took out the battery and cleared CMOS - no post
5) Made sure heatsink had enough paste on it and is on titght - no post
6) Checked for any looseness - no post

It worked perfectly before for 6 month. No Vacuum been used in cleanin and mobo haven't been touched carelessly. I know it's still possible somth fried..but I hope not. Now about clearin CMOS properly. Should I take the battery ouit for particular time? Also unhook the power cord while doing it? And what kinda switchin key people talkin about? I'd appreciate some help
 
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