PC won't boot - dead mobo? PSU?

  • Thread starter Thread starter minion686446
  • Start date Start date
M

minion686446

So I was out this morning, hunting those after-Thankgiving deals...

I bought a DVD Burner and tried installing it, but somewhere down the
line, things went horribly wrong.

When I had finished installing it, I tried to power on with no sucess;
no fans, no led's. nothing.

My first instinct was that the power supply had gone. I removed power
from all drives and tried again, to no avail. I took out all PCI (and
AGP) cards still to no avail. Right now, I have the bare mobo, no RAM,
(but with CPU), hooked up to the PSU, and still nothing. Yet, when I
connect the green and black wires from the PSU connector, the PSU fan
comes to life. Is that the only determinant of a good vs. bad power
supply? Could it still be a problem with the power supply?

I already tried removing the mobo battery for a while. Also, I hooked
up only the PSU and mobo, and tried just shorting the case power-on
jumper, still with no success.

Is there anything else I can try? Is my motherboard fried? Could it be
anything else?

Unfortunately, I don't have any spare parts to troubleshoot with. I
don't have the resources to go out and buy a power supply or mobo and
then have it turn out it was the other one. (the selection is pretty
bad around here.)
 
I bought a DVD Burner and tried installing it, but somewhere down the
line, things went horribly wrong.

When I had finished installing it, I tried to power on with no sucess;
no fans, no led's. nothing.
Click to expand...

Did you remember to unplug the power cord from the wall (or turn off the
switch at the BACK of the computer) before you started working inside?

Installing a DVD burner should not do anything that would kill your
computer. Just plug in a power plug and plug in an IDE cable. Was there
anything else you did while in there?

You should get a boot if you have memory, CPU + Cooler installed and plugged
into the power supply. Shorting the PowerOn jumper quickly should start the
PC. If you get nothing then you are looking at a failed mainboard or power
supply. (You did remember to put the power plug back into the wall, eh?)
Yet, when I
connect the green and black wires from the PSU connector, the PSU fan
comes to life.
Click to expand...

Almost definately the mainboard. Really difficult to see how installing a
DVD burner would do this though.
I already tried removing the mobo battery for a while. Also, I hooked
up only the PSU and mobo, and tried just shorting the case power-on
jumper, still with no success.
Click to expand...

Shorting the green & black wires should be the same as shorting the PowerOn
pins *IF* the mainboard is working normally.
 
After getting a hold of another PC, I reduced the problem to the mobo
instead of the PSU for sure. After a few more hours of frustration, I
found the solution: somehow, the CMOS memory jumper had fallen off. I
put it back on to the "hold" position and voila! it works now!
 
Back
Top