Computer Will Not Power UP

Post by **Watchman** » Sat Jan 10, 2009 12:49 am

beyond repair would mean to me that it is cheaper to buy a new one than replace it... and sure i would think anything possible, just that not likely...

If it's the power supply, which doesn't take but a few minutes to verify, it won't take very long (hour or so) to R&R with a new one, especially if the person replacing it is not too concerned with cable routing.

Dark Horse · Post by **Dark Horse** » Sat Jan 10, 2009 12:50 am

btw I am looking into the help I've got, hope my reluctance to open the thing up does not make any one wonder...

some women like me are mechanically challenged you know...

Post by **Steve B** » Sat Jan 10, 2009 12:54 am

Dark Horse wrote:btw I am looking into the help I've got, hope my reluctance to open the thing up does not make any one wonder...

some women like me are mechanically challenged you know...

dont be concerned
go right ahead and give it a go
if we hear of a large explosion of unknown origin emanating from India..
well ..we will know things did not go so well

J/K Regards
Steve

Dark Horse · Post by **Dark Horse** » Sat Jan 10, 2009 12:55 am

if you heard a large explosion from India its usually my cooking

Dark Horse · Post by **Dark Horse** » Sat Jan 10, 2009 12:56 am

ok what does resetting the BIOS have to do with the power ? does this mean its crashed ?

Post by **Steve B** » Sat Jan 10, 2009 12:58 am

Dark Horse wrote:if you heard a large explosion from India its usually my cooking

Rob assures me he will stick by your side for the next few hours to walk you through this
Brave man ..Rob
as for me..

Otta Here Regards
Steve

Dark Horse · Post by **Dark Horse** » Sat Jan 10, 2009 1:04 am

my hunch its the power supply now i need to find something to do for 6 hours lol

Post by **Watchman** » Sat Jan 10, 2009 1:41 am

Steve B wrote:
Dark Horse wrote:if you heard a large explosion from India its usually my cooking

Rob assures me he will stick by your side for the next few hours to walk you through this

Although I have done some E.O.D. work (explosive ordnance disposal) while in the Marines... I'm not so sure about this one.

Dark Horse wrote:ok what does resetting the BIOS have to do with the power ? does this mean its crashed ?

Direct relationship I suppose none... but you need both for the computer to boot. When you see the comp start up, before it does anything (accesses the hard drive) it must do a POST (power on self-test), identify hardware components and tell the comp what to do next (like look for such and such files on hard drive to continue the startup process). It has other functions but the main (imo) is to start the boot process.

Dark Horse · Post by **Dark Horse** » Sat Jan 10, 2009 1:48 am

but if there are no lights, fan etc then it should be the power supply right ?

JEB_Tucson · Post by **JEB_Tucson** » Sat Jan 10, 2009 1:56 am

Yes, probably so, but like Watchman indicated, many other things come into play.

Post by **Watchman** » Sat Jan 10, 2009 2:08 am

ah as far as "crashed"...

I don't know the ways a BIOS can become corrupted other than say... losing power during a bios update. But if my comp didn't POST, the first thing that came to my mind (I assumed power) would be hitting that reset button for the BIOS to return the values back to their default settings. A corrupted bios = large silicon/metal paperweight until it's reset/restored.

I am not sure if the motherboard can keep the p.s. "off" but then I would think you would see a little flash at the power on button if that was the case.

Speaking of that... it very well could be that the ON/OFF switch is broken. Maybe the power connector to the mb has vibrated loose... Heck my satellite speakers have fallen off from where they sit due to vibrations when I play ms flight simulator (that woofer

) It's a wonder none of my components have rattled loose. We don't have any mice right now (thankfully

) but I wouldn't put it past them to damage a power cable (altho I would hope if that happened, I would have the satisfaction of hearing them get shocked & seeing the flash; and btw yes the little buggers would have to be grounded

).

Anything that can disrupt that flow of power from the source (entering the house) to the mb is suspect. That is why I say, with a volt meter, and pulling that connector from the mb, that would be very quick and easy to determine.

Dark Horse · Post by **Dark Horse** » Sat Jan 10, 2009 2:12 am

my first reaction was did the dog pee on the cabinet lol

or did someone drop water.. there is a small silver button next to the big power button (I think that is for resetting the bios perhaps?) I turned the power switch on the back to the "0" (it has a I and 0) and then pressed the small silver button and then turn the switch to I connected it up and tried to turn it on but nothing not a whir no initial glow from the lights nothing

Post by **Watchman** » Sat Jan 10, 2009 2:29 am

wow yes the tiny-est bit of moisture can ruin your day.

I'm not sure about the "silver switch." It could be a bios reset. Normally those switches are soldered directly to the mb, although I think I have read that newer comps are coming with a bios reset switch on the case (stupid btw not include the ability for an external switch by including 2 more pins on the mb).

Btw, the | should be pressed in for on, the O pressed in for off.

Edit: Also btw, did you happen to smell anything when turning on the power the first time?

Dark Horse · Post by **Dark Horse** » Sat Jan 10, 2009 2:36 am

no I didnt smell anything odd, or burnt thats the first thing I checked....

also now that my husbands awake, apparently there was a power outtage last evening when i was at work.. now my UPS is also a surge protector but maybe there was a SNAFU...

Post by **Watchman** » Sat Jan 10, 2009 2:51 am

Well a power outage w/ a UPS would mean the comp stayed on until it drained the UPS's battery... then shut down. Then everything would remain off until you turned that ups and comp back on again. With a ups then the only "bad" thing would be the comp having shut down when the ups shut off (and not having done the Start>Turn Off Computer>Turn Off). Actually, I would think you in fairly good shape... maybe the p.s. decided to give up the ghost at the same time.