PC won't power on at all

[ryan010101]

I left my PC on yesterday while I was at work and when I came home it was off. Hit the power switch and nothing. Other devices plugged into same surge protector work fine power cable is fine. I assumed it must be a power supply problem so I took it out and put in the PS from my old PC. Still nothing.

What am I looking at, fried motherboard? Nothing out of the ordinary happened yesterday as far as the power is concerned so it's pretty strange. The PS is a 14 month old 400w SeaSonic which I paid at least $100 for, so it's not a crappy PS. The motherboard is the same age (it's an Asus P4S8X). Any thoughts?

thanks
Ryan

 

[micker377]

Did you try swapping the computer and monitor cable at the computer? Also try plugging a lamp or something into the socket that the computer plugs into. One socket on the power strip could be bad.

 

[ryan010101]

I actually brought it to work with me so everything is different.

If I plug a PC fan into the power supply (with nothing else plugged in) shouldn't the fan turn on if the PS is good?

 

[mainegeek]

Hello ryan,
Check your surge protector for a reset button. Probably on the side. Might just need to be pressed in to reset it.

 

[micker377]

A fan may be enough or not! Some power supplies need a certain amount of load before it will start.

 

[ryan010101]

Hmm well that is good to know Micker. thanks

 

[mainegeek]

Hello ryan,
I didn't read your thread thoroughly the first time. One of your cards may have taken a hit which could keep it from powering on. Take them all out and try it. If it powers up then add them back one at a time.

 

[kev66]

Did you swap the memory? I have had this happen.

 

[ryan010101]

Actually the only card I have in is an AGP video card. Taking that out did nothing. I don't have any extra memory (DDR type) to swap or I'd try that. Putting the power supply in my old P266 did not work and putting the old power supply in my newer PC doesn't work either so it's pretty strange (old power supply in old PC works). I'm tring to get some input from Asus.

thanks

 

[shtick]

If you are familiar w/a multimeter you can check continuity thru the on/off switch. There are also little tiny fuses, called pico fuses, that look like tiny diodes somewhere near the power switch connection on the motherboard. They are labeled f1, f2, etc... If you can locate any of these near that connection, you can check their continuity. They are a bitch to solder but you might find the problem.
Removing and reseating the memory and processor can sometimes help. Plus, there are fairly common fuses inside your power supply. They are pretty easy to check if you're comfortable taking it apart.
Hope this helps.

 

[QwikSilverUK]

Double check that the chassis case pwr leads (pwr & pwr reset) leads are connected into the motherboard correctly. (They are part of a cluster of very small leads, which includes HDD LED, Speaker, Pwr LED, Pwr Button, Reset Button....)

These can come loose and make your PC case power button unresponsive.

Alternatively, best bet would be the PSU... Good news, these are cheap to replace.

Good Luck.

 

[ryan010101]

Shtick, I don't know that I want to get that involved in it, don't really have the time/patience right now.

Qwik, I did look at those connections but I will probably give them another check just to make sure. There are two LEDs on the motherboard one is green and means the power is good the other is red and means the AGP card has the wrong voltage. Both of these lights come on with the OLD PS in and don't come on at all with the new PS. Pretty strange. I have a support ticket in with Asus so hopefully they'll respond some day.

BTW my PS was like 100 bucks so not totally "cheap" to replace.

thanks

 

[zepper]

Reseat CPU and memory and make sure any socketed chips on the mobo are seated snugly. Pull all drive cables including power connectors and try to power up. Then add back one at a time.
Here are some other reasons for boot failure:
Boilerplate-01:
. Most frequent causes of failure to boot:
1- RAM, CPU or AGP video card not seated properly, or a bent pin.
2- Drive data cable on upside down or only on half the pins or shifted . a pin or two (usually Floppy or Zip drives).
3- CMOS needs to be cleared (AC power must usually be disconnected or . attempt to clear CMOS may fail) Unless your mobo does not use a power-off CMOS clear - check your mobo manual for specific info.
.bh.
4- On some new mobos there is a CPU protection feature (esp. on Asus/Asrock Athlon/Socket A mobos) that will not allow the system to start if there is no fan (or a fan without a working speed sensor wire) connected to the fan power connector on the mobo (specifically marked "CPU Fan&quot. If you tried to start your machine without a fan properly connected, you have to attach a proper and working fan and clear the CMOS before it will boot.


He who dares not offend cannot be honest. -- Thomas Paine.

 

[Budweiser12]

I have the same problem!! I went to work one day, and when I got home, I went straight to the computer. Well, the power light was on the computer, but when I moved the mouse to bring the computer out of hibernation mode, nothing happened at all. I turn the computer off, and when I turned to back on, it would not boot at all. The power light that is on the mobo is on, so I have power. I clear the CMOS and nothing as well. I havent resetted the cpu, but I did disconnect all the cards, I resetted the memory, I disconnected my two hard drives but also nothing. I have had a simular problem like this in one of my older computer builds a long time ago, but thats because I didnt flash my bios correctly. However I did not flash the bios.. Only left the computer on when I went to work. Any help in this area would be great!!

My system specs
AMD 3200 Barton CPU
512 MEGS ram
Asus A7N8X main board
Radieon 9700 pro
1 40 gig IBM HD, and 1 80 Gig Maxtor HD
Plextor CD-RW
Thank you all in advance!

 

[ryan010101]

Well my problem was the power supply. Got a new one and it works fine now. I wonder why my older PS wouldn't work?

 

[zepper]

Likely the fuse blew. Some fuses are just marginal and blow for no reason. Unfortunately they aren't the easiest things to replace, but they are easy to test with a meter.
.bh.


He who dares not offend cannot be honest. -- Thomas Paine.