Money for nothing!

[LMO]

Aloha all. Last week my system would not power up. I could see the LED on
the MB was lit, so power was available. I had a hunch the problem was the
power button on the computer front. It had been giving a little trouble over
a few months. I would press and it would flicker, but no power. Two or three
presses would finally get the system to power up.
Anyway, after the complete failure last week I took it apart and checked all
cables and leads, cleaned it all, but nothing I did would power up the
system. I finally took it in to a shop, cost me $50, and they could find
nothing wrong. It powered up fine for them. I took it home, and it's working
fine now.
What the heck happened? $50 for nothing?? How should I handle this in the
future if it happenes again?
Many thanks.

 

[Christopher Kurtis Koeber]

Probably something stuck in the system, like a screw, that was shorting it
out or preventing the computer from powering up correctly. By taking it to
the shop you moved it around, causing whatever was in the system preventing
proper operation to get loose. Thus, the system powered up fine for them and
is powering up fine for you now.

So essentially you may have paid $50 dollars to get something loose. But
don't look at it that way. You paid the money and now the system is fixed.

That's my take on the situation.
Regards,
Christopher Koeber

 

[RJK]

On that, "once in a blue moon" occasion, where you can't easily pin down
that type of "fault," very often - a complete strip down and rebuild, with
masses of TLC, in VERY good lighting conditions, usually works wonders.
....of course paying FULL attention to static electricity damage prevention.


.....I called into my local PC shop for a strip of memory a while ago, (I
usually buy online but, I needed one straight away at that time), and the
shop person serving me pulled one out of a rack, (not even in an anti-static
sleeve), and marched across a carpet, to the counter and put it down on the
counter for me. ...and I GAVE HIM SUCH A HARD TIME about that, ..he was
quite red faced when I'd finished with him. I really "let go" !!

Do you realise that just walking across that carpet you could build up a
charge of 30,000 volts and more - I bellowed at him !

....I know there's not much current involved but, plenty enough to blast an
IC.

regards, Richard

 

[Curt Christianson]

Hi LMO,

I would tend to suspect the power supply. If it is not providing a *proper*
Power Good voltage to the motherboard, the power will shutdown immediately.
Power supplies can have intermittent characteristics, and intermittents are
one of the most difficult to track down.

--
Curt
http://dundats.mvps.org/
http://www.aumha.org/


| Aloha all. Last week my system would not power up. I could see the LED on
| the MB was lit, so power was available. I had a hunch the problem was the
| power button on the computer front. It had been giving a little trouble
over
| a few months. I would press and it would flicker, but no power. Two or
three
| presses would finally get the system to power up.
| Anyway, after the complete failure last week I took it apart and checked
all
| cables and leads, cleaned it all, but nothing I did would power up the
| system. I finally took it in to a shop, cost me $50, and they could find
| nothing wrong. It powered up fine for them. I took it home, and it's
working
| fine now.
| What the heck happened? $50 for nothing?? How should I handle this in the
| future if it happenes again?
| Many thanks.
|
| --
| LMO
| "O Wad some Powr, the Giftie Gie us,
| To see oursels as others see us."
|
|

 

[LMO]

Long ago, in 1991, I had a Commodore Amiga. I was on it during a
thunderstorm. Lightening hit nearby, and my board got friend. Even though we
did not get a direct hit the air was ionized and it destroyed my chips.
Fortunately, where I live now we don't get t-storms.

 

[Gordon]

..

Fortunately, where I live now we don't get t-storms.

What NEVER? EVER?

 

[caver1]

Long ago, in 1991, I had a Commodore Amiga. I was on it during a
thunderstorm. Lightening hit nearby, and my board got friend. Even though we
did not get a direct hit the air was ionized and it destroyed my chips.
Fortunately, where I live now we don't get t-storms.

Where are you? The antarctic?