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Thread ID: 40006 2003-11-25 07:14:00 :'( Emergency: Worst Disaster I've Seen ~~~~~ s y ~~~~~ (2054) Press F1
Post ID Timestamp Content User
194501 2003-11-25 07:14:00 Hello all , :'(

I have just met the nightmare I had hoped never to meet. My computer will not start no matter what. I'm sure power is been supplied to it... but it just doesn't turn on! Not even the fans move... just silent.

I feel lucky its end of school year, but I've got work to do yet. And some of the documents on it are crucial. DAM!.. was only thinking of doing a full system backup next week!

Can any one point out to me what's wrong? Dad presumes the power supply is faulty, what do you guys think?

He has found that power IS being supplied, and that there is power coming through the bottom 'hole' of the power supply. (there's one going in, and one that gives power to monitors, *those which don't plug into mains*

If the motherboard was at fault, wouldn't the power supply fan still go?

Any idea, remember, the PC is not moving...
~~~~~ s y ~~~~~ (2054)
194502 2003-11-25 07:24:00 I'm for the power supply. If it is an ATX type, then you will get power out of that other outlet. They are just hard-wired together.

If you have a voltmeter and know how to use it. Unplug mainboard plug and there is a green or purple wire that should have +5V on it. Short that to a -Ve black and power supply will start. This is for standard "clones" and not necessarily applies to Compaq HP etc..

BTW, ATX is usually identified by the PC switching itself off when you close it down.
Pheonix (280)
194503 2003-11-25 07:30:00 > If you have a voltmeter and know how to use it.
> Unplug mainboard plug and there is a green or purple
> wire that should have +5V on it. Short that to a -Ve
> black and power supply will start. This is for
> standard "clones" and not necessarily applies to
> Compaq HP etc..

Hello, many thanks for your reply,

Can you explain further? I can see a green wire that is used with heaps of other wires to form a plug which goes into the mobo, so what's next?
~~~~~ s y ~~~~~ (2054)
194504 2003-11-25 07:33:00 I have to agree with Pheonix try changing the power supply & see if the computer works again, if it does not then you can rule out the power supply. stu140103 (137)
194505 2003-11-25 07:40:00 Update: Dad has found out that power is not going out of the power supply, after measuring the plugs etc. So the problem lies with power supply? ~~~~~ s y ~~~~~ (2054)
194506 2003-11-25 07:43:00 Don't try anything until that large multiway plug is removed from the motherboard!!!
The green should have a black beside it, and is about 5 wires from one end. Just link the green to the black. Normally the power supply will then start, removing the link stops it again.
I'll see if I can find a link with a picture to help you.
Pheonix (280)
194507 2003-11-25 07:50:00 Power not going out of a supply could be a number of things - most PSU's for example will automatically prevent power from going through it if a cable (somehow) is plugged into a device the wrong way or upside down (I learnt that one the hard way). Or someone could've flicked the little switch on the back of the PSU and told it to expect 120V where it's receiving 220/240 so it isn't powering on because it detects it's been overpowered.
If you have the time you could unplug the PSU from everything except the motherboard and then try that, if you have power then plug everything back in on a process of elimination. Just be aware that if your CPU fan is fed directly from the PSU and not from the motherboard, you're going to want to keep it plugged in.

Otherwise you may have a heater or something that's chewing a lot of power down on the same circuit as the computer's running on and it's not sharing the power out evenly between the Computer and heater.
cyberchuck (173)
194508 2003-11-25 07:50:00 Grab the HDD out and copy the data off for starters. Then start swapping components to find out what is wrong. -=JM=- (16)
194509 2003-11-25 07:52:00 here (www.7volts.com) is a picture. The one that has the +5 volts on, is th PS on.
It certainly sounds like the supply is dead. Look for it's rating in Watts and get a replacement.
Pheonix (280)
194510 2003-11-25 08:58:00 Yea, good idea! That's what I'm gonna do before anything. Can't afford to lose years of work1

Well, after discussion with Dad, we have decided that we may need to change power supplies, as this one has been having some problems, e.g. you can only shut it at mains, etc. fan noises, etc. the power supply is about 3/4 years too

So, would I have any problems if I brought and used a new case/and power supply (this works out about $10 more than just the PSU itself) from QMB, it says its a P4 400W, does it matter

PIII 700, 128MB ram, 6.4GB, Gigabyte mobo....
~~~~~ s y ~~~~~ (2054)
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