Power Failure

  • Thread starter Thread starter Guest
  • Start date Start date
G

Guest

I am having trouble getting my PC to even power up. I hit
the power on button and get nothing. When I take the
cover off, it sounds like the power supply has juice, but
when I hit the button, I get nothing. I just wanted to
know what it could be, a crashed motherboard, bad
connection between power button and motherboard, bad
power supply, etc... What usually causes the pc to not
respond at all? Any help would be appreciated, thanks.
 
If the PSU (power supply unit) has died you'll get absolutely zero response
when you turn the PC on. If the CPU has died, you do sometimes get the fans
in the PSU working, but the heatsink on the CPU stays cold. Unless you have
spare hardware it can be difficult to distinguish between CPU and
motherboard failure.....

You can get an ATX Power Tester.... or take the PSU to your local computer
store where they can test it.

If they diagnose it as being fine, then start at the basics.... to boot to
POST, a PC needs RAM, CPU, graphics card. It does not need hard drive,
optical drive(s), floppy drive, soundcard, NIC etc etc. Ensure RAM and
graphics card are still seated correctly. If you hear 'beeps' you can
diagnose further.

Cari
www.coribright.com
 
Two procedures that both go right to where you must start
your diagnosis. Notice the one essential and inexpensive tool
that is sold in Home Depot, Sears Hardware, and Radio Shack.
Don't waste money on a power supply tester. Get the 3.5 digit
multimeter that will solve this and many other problems. The
power supply tester cannot even properly test the power
supply. Multimeter can:
"Computer doesnt start at all" in alt.comp.hardware on 10
Jan 2004 at http://tinyurl.com/2t69q

"I think my power supply is dead" in alt.comp.hardware on 5
Feb 2004 at http://tinyurl.com/yvbw9
 
Back
Top