Computer won't turn on

Discussion in 'Hardware' started by valzilla2cool, Jun 18, 2008.

  1. valzilla2cool

    valzilla2cool Private E-2

    Hey, I'd really appreciate some help on this.

    My computer will not turn on after it's been disconnected from mains power. Normally, if it's off (standby) it will turn on as normal at the press of the power button, but not when it's not had mains power for any length of time. I've opened it up and the connections seem good. Also, the motherboard light is on.

    This is not the first time this has happened too. When this has happened before I had to press the power button dozens of times until it came on (and afterwards worked perfectly) but I must've pressed the button a hundred of times and it shows no intention of turning on.

    Thank you in advance.
     
  2. Yargwel

    Yargwel MajorGeek

    As i have the same problem with both my PCs I leave them on 24/7. On the rare occasion I do turn them off I don't unplug them because if I do have them unplugged for more than a few hours I will then have to plug them back in but not attempt to boot them for at least a day before they'll reboot. I'm guessing at some sort of capacitive effect coming into play. So unless someone else can come up with a definitive answer (in which I'd be interested) I'd suggest at the least leaving them plugged in, with the power switch on the back left in the 'on' position ans just use the "power" button on the front to turn the PC off.
     
  3. risk_reversal

    risk_reversal MajorGeek

    Difficult to come to some conclusion given the symptoms which you describe with the pc failing to boot after its been disconnected from mains power.

    My first thoughts would centre on a failing psu since booting the pc will result on maximum strain on the power lines. The fact that the 5v standby light on the mobo is in no way an indication of a working psu.

    Cheers
     
  4. valzilla2cool

    valzilla2cool Private E-2

    Thanks for the replies. Good news is that the PC has turned on after about 500 presses :)

    However, the situation seems to get progressively worse; the first time this has happened it took a few presses, the next time a few more, the last time a few dozen and now a few hundred (so the time is getting longer and longer). The worst thing is that all these times disconnecting the computer was a neccessity, e.g. moving it downstairs.

    PSU seems to be the culprit. But, if it is the case as risk_reversal says (max strain at boot) is there really much of a difference between booting from standby and booting from complete off?

    Cheers.
     
  5. risk_reversal

    risk_reversal MajorGeek

    One further question. When you get the no boot problem, I take it that it's a no video, no beep symptom, ie fans turn, HDD light is on (solid) but no monitor and no bios beeps of any kind. Correct?

    In order to resolve the problem, you should do a barebones start up, ie mobo, vga, ram & cpu and see if the system initialises and gives a single beep (or any beeps for that matter)
     
  6. valzilla2cool

    valzilla2cool Private E-2

    It physically won't turn on. No fans, no nothing.
     
  7. risk_reversal

    risk_reversal MajorGeek

    I take it that you do not have a spare psu to try or can borrow one. I am not sure if I would rush out in your shoes and buy another psu at this stage but if you are getting no power and have checked all the power connections then this item must be top of the culprit list.

    When my Antec TP550 failed after 8 months. The green 5v mobo light was on but it used to sometimes take about 10 tries to get it started. The symptoms were that the pc would not start ie no fans, nothing....At first I suspected the power on switch on the pc and switched the reset switch but this did not solve the issue.

    Eventually, I called Antec tech support and they said psu or mobo....

    A couple of final questions, how old is the psu and what make is it. can you also provide the output and rails dets.

    Good Luck
     
  8. Cbatten

    Cbatten Private E-2

    I'm having a similar problem. I have a Gateway 700x or something like that, I bought it back in '03. A week ago I went on vacation and booted down my computer (or thought I did), anyway when I came back and went to turn on my computer the power light was orange (which usually means sleep mode) so I held the button down to power it down. It wouldn't shut off, no fans or anything or going though and if I hit buttons on the keyboard it doesn't boot up either. - It's like it's stuck. I tried unplugging my computer but whenever you plug it back in, the light comes on orange and stays that way. I tried the test button on the PSU but that didn't do anything.
    After reading a couple posts here, I replaced the internal battery and also the PSU. Still no response and the light is still orange. I tried the test button on the PSU and it started up the fans and what not but still can't get it to boot up.
    Since my computer is kinda old I'm not sure what's going on with it and if it's worth trying to take it to a repair shop or to just buy a new one and slap my hard drive in it.
    HELP!!
     
  9. plodr

    plodr Major Geek Super Extraordinaire

    Cbatten, please start a new thread with your problem. It isn't proper forum etiquette to hijack someone else's thread (aka post your problem in a thread that someone else opened to ask for help).
     
  10. valzilla2cool

    valzilla2cool Private E-2

    Hello everyone. I am resurrecting this thread because the situation has recently deteriorated.

    So if you read through the thread you'll find that the PC wouldn't power on after being removed from mains.

    Recently it wouldn't power on even when connected to the mains unless I held down the power button for 5 secs and then tried again (usually worked).

    Now it's in a bizarre state of being on (fans spinning) but no HDD noise, no video output. Power light off, HDD light solid on.

    I tried replacing the PSU and did a barebones startup as per risk_reversal's suggestion. His suggestion was to a problem that didn't exist a year ago but does now, so well done there!

    Any suggestions?
     

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