Dead dead dead

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Toolpackinmama

My friend has a dead emachines 1161-03. The thing is only a year old.
Symptoms: it was working fine then suddenly died.

No lights, no fans, nothing.

I installed a compatible new PSU in it thinking that would fix it. Nope.

No lights, no fans, nothing.

If it's not the PSU what else might it be?

I inspected the motherboard and I don't see anything obviously wrong
with it. There are no funny (burned) smells.
 
Toolpackinmama said:
My friend has a dead emachines 1161-03. The thing is only a year old.
Symptoms: it was working fine then suddenly died.

No lights, no fans, nothing.

I installed a compatible new PSU in it thinking that would fix it. Nope.

No lights, no fans, nothing.

If it's not the PSU what else might it be?

I inspected the motherboard and I don't see anything obviously wrong
with it. There are no funny (burned) smells.
Click to expand...
Check the cmos battery, some boards dont show any
response when that battery is flat.
 
Toolpackinmama said:
My friend has a dead emachines 1161-03. The thing is only
a year old. Symptoms: it was working fine then suddenly
died.

No lights, no fans, nothing.

I installed a compatible new PSU in it thinking that would
fix it. Nope.

No lights, no fans, nothing.

If it's not the PSU what else might it be?

I inspected the motherboard and I don't see anything
obviously wrong
with it. There are no funny (burned) smells.
Click to expand...

Perhaps the power-on pushbutton? Try momentarily jumpering
the pair of pins on the motherboard header that are
connected to that button.
 
Bryce said:
Perhaps the power-on pushbutton? Try momentarily jumpering
the pair of pins on the motherboard header that are
connected to that button.
Click to expand...

Both the CMOS Battery and the Power On button are good choices.
If their suggestions do nothing to resolve the problem it's time to take a
picture of the motherboard showing where everything is connected and then
pull everything but the CPU and Fans. Memory, and any optional cards need
to go.

Then watch the CPU and other fans while powering on the system. If they
momentarily power on and then stop it may be a bad CPU fan. At the least
you should get a beep or two from the motherboard complaining about the
missing memory and stuff. If not then the problem sounds like either the
motherboard or CPU. Unless you have a compatible CPU or motherboard to test
with it's time to look into a replacement motherboard kit (with CPU).
 
Both the CMOS Battery and the Power On button are good choices.
If their suggestions do nothing to resolve the problem it's time to take a
picture of the motherboard showing where everything is connected and then
pull everything but the CPU and Fans.  Memory, and any optional cards need
to go.

Then watch the CPU and other fans while powering on the system.  If they
momentarily power on and then stop it may be a bad CPU fan.  At the least
you should get a beep or two from the motherboard complaining about the
missing memory and stuff.  If not then the problem sounds like either the
motherboard or CPU.  Unless you have a compatible CPU or motherboard totest
with it's time to look into a replacement motherboard kit (with CPU).- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -
Click to expand...

It looks as if it carries a one year warranty. If you are still within
the year take it back. Let them repair or replace at their cost.
-J
 
jinxy said:
It looks as if it carries a one year warranty. If you are still within
the year take it back. Let them repair or replace at their cost.
Click to expand...


Yeah they thought of that, but it's out of warranty by something like
three days. LOL ::groan::
 
Yeah they thought of that, but it's out of warranty by something like
three days.  LOL ::groan::
Click to expand...

Maybe re-inspect the mobo for bulging caps. Use a magnifying glass if
you can. Was there any power spike or a brown out? Can you see the
mobo make & model # ?
if so post back and we will go from there.-J
 
Toolpackinmama said:
Yeah they thought of that, but it's out of warranty by something like
three days. LOL ::groan::
Click to expand...

<----- Motherboard ----->

Front signal
Power ------------ Southbridge/SuperI/O -------------- PS_ON# ---> ATX
Switch ------------ as well as gate off logic PSU
ground for protection against mobo <---- +5VSB -----
problems

The power supply can refuse to listen to PS_ON# (if it has
an internal fault).

The motherboard may, for many different reasons, refuse to
deliver PS_ON#. For example, processor overheat gates off
PS_ON# (but you'd get a momentary operation before that
happened).

The front power switch could be bad.

The front power switch could be inserted onto the
wrong pins on the PANEL header.

The motherboard cannot turn on the PSU via PS_ON#,
unless +5VSB is operating properly. +5VSB should be
present, as long as the ON switch is in the ON position
on the back of the ATX supply. Using a multimeter
inserted into the exposed holes on the main power
connector, will allow you to verify +5VSB is present.
If the motherboard draws more than 3 amps from +5VSB,
the motherboard could cause the PSU to current limit
and disable +5VSB. So there is a little detective work
you can do.

Some links for ATX power connector pinouts, to help you
locate +5VSB. This covers three generations of supplies.

http://web.archive.org/web/20030424...org/developer/specs/atx/ATX_ATX12V_PS_1_1.pdf (page 27)

http://www.formfactors.org/developer/specs/atx/ATX12V_1_3dg.pdf (page 30)

http://www.formfactors.org/developer/specs/ATX12V_PSDG_2_2_public_br2.pdf (page 37)

HTH,
Paul
 
jinxy said:
Maybe re-inspect the mobo for bulging caps. Use a magnifying glass if
you can. Was there any power spike or a brown out? Can you see the
mobo make & model # ?
Click to expand...

I did visually inspect the motherboard and saw nothing obviously wrong
with the capacitors n stuff.

Looking at the motherboard... it's got a stick-on label inside:
MCP61PM-GM. On the mobo itself is printed "HT2000". It's made in China,
by whom I can't precisely say. There is no familiar brand name on it.

I don't know if there was a power event. I do know they had the machine
on an UPS.

Apparently what happened is the computer was in use, the user stepped
away for a few moments, and they returned to a dead PC.

I did try re-seating the CMOS battery. I tried removing the facade and
activating the power switch directly. I don't really want to start
digging deeper - it's a cheap piece of shit. I actually want to
convince them to let me build them a reliable new machine from better
quality components. Hopefully I can rescue the contents of their hard
drive.
 
Paul said:
The front power switch could be inserted onto the
wrong pins on the PANEL header.
Click to expand...

Paul, be rational. It wouldn't move that around by itself. The
working computer stopped working. It was a closed case. :)

Thanks for the links.
 
Toolpackinmama said:
Paul, be rational. It wouldn't move that around by itself. The
working computer stopped working. It was a closed case. :)

Thanks for the links.
Click to expand...

It's just a list of things to check.

Paul
 
It's just a list of things to check.

    Paul
Click to expand...

TPM, it could be time for the next step, commonly know as "Big Blue" .
2 or 3 hours is more than enough time to beat a dead horse. Sorry I
could'nt be of more help, if anything else comes to mind I will be
sure and let you know.
-J
 
Older E machines computers had a reputation for Power Supply failures
that would fry the mother board as well. If it was only 3 days out of
warranty, I would contact Emachines support anyway. Some companies
will cut you a break if the failure is close to the end of the
warranty period. Won't hurt to try

Jerry
 
Jerry said:
Older E machines computers had a reputation for Power Supply failures
that would fry the mother board as well. If it was only 3 days out of
warranty, I would contact Emachines support anyway.
Click to expand...

They tried.

Fortunately, the drive is accessible. The poor kid has hundreds of
ITUNES on it. Probably spent more for the downloads than for the computer.
 
They tried.

Fortunately, the drive is accessible. The poor kid has hundreds of
ITUNES on it.  Probably spent more for the downloads than for the computer.
Click to expand...

TPM, you where saying that you would like to build them a better
quaility system. Don't forget to incorporate some kind of a back up
plan, ie: Acronis or some other imaging software. Just a thought.
Happy New Year.
-J
 
jinxy said:
TPM, you where saying that you would like to build them a better
quaility system. Don't forget to incorporate some kind of a back up
plan, ie: Acronis or some other imaging software. Just a thought.
Click to expand...


You'll love this: They plan to replace the 'puter with a laptop, and I
am putting the old hard drive into an external enclosure for them to use
for backups. :)
 
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