Dead computer

[Guest]

My computer will not turn on. When I press the power button the light on the
front panel turns on and the fan on the power supply turns on. Nothing else
seems to be working. The display is dead and none of the drives light up or
make any noise. I took a volt meter to the power supply leads going to the
drives and they have power.

It it possible that I may have some sort of virus that has seriously
disabled my machine? If so, is there any way to fix it. Maybe this could
just be some hardware problem like a bad motherboard or controller.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[R. McCarty]

From the "Don't know why it works, but does" file.

Unplug the PC from AC/Source power. Let it sit for at least
30-minutes, then re-try a power on. Seen this work time &
time again. Defies logic, PFM (Power Failure, Maybe).

 

[Guest]

From the "Don't know why it works, but does" file.

Unplug the PC from AC/Source power. Let it sit for at least
30-minutes, then re-try a power on. Seen this work time &
time again. Defies logic, PFM (Power Failure, Maybe).




I tried unplugging it for a long time (hours) and that did not work. I also put another power supply in it and it did the same thing.

I do thinkj that it may have something to do with a surge. The last time I
used the computer I shut it down quickly because we had some bad storms
moving in. However, I never lost power.

 

[JS]

Sounds like the motherboard failed. You could try removing the battery from
the mother board for about 5 minutes (this is one way to reset the BIOS, or
if you see a jumper near the battery remove it) and then re-install the
battery jumper and try again.

JS

 

[Guest]

There is a jumper that is marked clear BIOS. If I remove it, do I then try
to restart the machine with the jumper in the clear position or do I have to
put it back the way that it was before I restart the machine.

 

[Guest]

There is a jumper that is marked clear BIOS. If I remove it, do I then try
to restart the machine with the jumper in the clear position or do I have to
put it back the way that it was before I restart the machine.

The correct procedure is as follows:

1) Unplug the computer from the AC
2) Remove the battery
3) Move the jumper to the "Clear BIOS" position and let it sit for about 15
sec.
4) Move the jumper back to the original position
5) Reinstall the battery
6) Plug the computer back to the AC
7) Power ON

*One word of warning though, you will have to manually reconfigure all the
BIOS settings that were changed if you do this.

 

[Bob I]

That "jumper" usually has to be moved to short the correct pins to
accomplish the "reset", and then returned to the original set of pins.
Check the MB manual for the correct procedure.

 

[Ron Martell]

My computer will not turn on. When I press the power button the light on the
front panel turns on and the fan on the power supply turns on. Nothing else
seems to be working. The display is dead and none of the drives light up or
make any noise. I took a volt meter to the power supply leads going to the
drives and they have power.

It it possible that I may have some sort of virus that has seriously
disabled my machine? If so, is there any way to fix it. Maybe this could
just be some hardware problem like a bad motherboard or controller.

Any help would be appreciated.

Problems of that sort (won't even start to boot) are invariably
hardware related.

It could be the Motherboard, Power Supply, or CPU. A failure of any
other hardware component (RAM, Video, Disk Drives, etc.) would produce
at least some indication of activity such as beeps and/or something on
the display.

It probably needs the hands-on attention of a hardware repair
technician.

Good luck

Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP (1997 - 2006)
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca

"Anyone who thinks that they are too small to make a difference
has never been in bed with a mosquito."

 

[paulmd]

From the "Don't know why it works, but does" file.

There's another thing from that file. THe 230/115 Volt switch on the
back of the power supply. Toggle it, then toggle it back. There need
not be any power flowing. I've done it and seen it work. More than
once. For unfathomable reasons.

 

[paulmd]

From the "Don't know why it works, but does" file.

There's another thing from that file. THe 230/115 Volt switch on the
back of the power supply. Toggle it, then toggle it back. There need
not be any power flowing. I've done it and seen it work. More than
once. For unfathomable reasons.

 

[Uncle Grumpy]

My computer will not turn on. When I press the power button the light on the
front panel turns on and the fan on the power supply turns on. Nothing else
seems to be working. The display is dead and none of the drives light up or
make any noise. I took a volt meter to the power supply leads going to the
drives and they have power.

Either your mainboard or your CPU are dead.

 

[w_tom]

There are some really scary suggestions here including the switching
of that 110/230 volt switch. You can start by replacing everything -
shotgunning - or you can find what is bad. Best is to start with a 3.5
digit multimeter (as sold even in Sears, Lowes, Home Depot, Radio
Shack, and Wal-Mart) to establish what is and is not working. Very
first measurement is purple wire from power supply to motherboard when
power is off and on. That purple wire must always measure 5 volts.
Then voltage on grey and green wires before and when power switch is
pressed. Green wire should go from near five volts to near zero volts.
Grey should rise above 2.4 volts within a second. Then measure
voltages on one of red, orange, and yellow wires.

Not only verify votlages are good. Report those numbers here since
they suggest other useful information. Pictures of how problems are
discovered quickly are
http://techrepublic.com.com/5102-10586-5566528.html
www.ochardware.com/articles/psuvolt/psuvolt.html

Once power has been established good, then we are ready to move on to
other usual suspects. Fans can spin and light illuminate - and power
can still be completely defective. Only after power supply system
(which is more than just a power supply) is verified do we replace
anything or locate other usual suspects. Do not try to fix anything
(do this; switch that) until first collecting useful facts. Above is
how the technically informed begin.

 

[Guest]

I replaced the power supply with a new one and also tried removing the CMOS
battery for several hours. I also switched the the jumper to clear the CMOS.

It looks to me like a need a new motherboard.