Desktop Pc Will Not Start Up

I have a Gateway 818GM AMD Athlon 64 Processor 3700+ 200 GB HD. I am running Windows 7. This is an older computer that is used by my husband to play games on Pogo. I have migrated most of my data to my newer Desktop.

Here is my issue: went to start it up the other day and nothing. Pushed the power button and nothing. It never gave me any signs of anything going wrong. No weird noises, etc. I have taken the cover off and taken a can of compressed air to clean out the dust. I tried a different power cord and still no power. I am thinking the Power Supply or the Power switch.

Have been trying to find a board with info of known issues of this make and model but have not been successful. Hoping it is not the CPU that may have gotten overheated. IDK what steps to take except for what I have suggested above. I have many PSU's in my storage box that I can change out.

What am I missing? Any other ideas?

Thanks,

Stormy4757
A+ Certified

 

If you haven't already done it, unplug from power source totally, then hold the power button IN for at least 30 seconds. Then reconnect and try again.
If no better:
See if this helps:
https://www.lifewire.com/how-to-fix-a-computer-that-wont-turn-on-2624450

 

I agree. I sure would verify all the power supply connectors are in place. If so, then try a different power supply.

To test the switch, you could also follow the two wires from the back of the power switch to the two pins they connect to on the motherboard. Then very carefully, short those two pins together with a small screwdriver for just a second. The computer should start up. If not, the switch is likely okay and something else is wrong. If it does start, that suggests the switch is bad. What I have done many times is just move the two wires from the Reset button to where the power button wires go on the motherboard, then use the Reset switch to power on from then on.

Note holding in the power button for 30 seconds does nothing with a PC. For some notebooks, that trick works. But for PCs, the power button is just a remote switch to those two pins on the motherboard. And there are no storage capacitors or anything that can drain or reset in that circuit. Simply unplugging the PSU from the wall for about 10 or 15 seconds ensures any residual charges anywhere are fully degraded.

That 30 second trick came out of the very olden days of "AT" Form Factor power supplies where the front panel power button of "AT" cases was connected directly to the "AT" PSUs through a wiring harness that ran from the case's front panel back to the power supply. But PCs for the last 20+ years have used "ATX" Form Factor power supplies and ATX cases that are powered on and off remotely through ATX motherboards.

 

Thanks for your quick replies MaxTurner and Digerati! As I had already pulled the PSU, I did not try testing the switch.However, will make a note of your advise. I had an ATX 300 installed and swapped it out with another ATX 300 I had on hand and powered it up. Everything is running except for the graphics on the monitor. I have a graphics card that I installed and I think it blew out too when the PSU went. The monitor is on but no desktop showing. So, now I guess I will pull the card and try using the onboard graphics port on the motherboard to see if that is what it is.

 

Many graphics cards require a separate power connection (sometimes 2) directly from the power supply. Make sure yours is connected if it is one of those cards.

 

Well I was going to close this thread, but when pulling the graphics card and using the onboard graphics for the monitor, I still cannot get it to work. I swapped out with a different monitor and still no go. And to answer your comment re a separate power supply, Digerati, -> no the graphics card does not require a separate power connection. I get a couple of beeps from the computer at startup, but nothing on the monitor and the CPU light isn't flashing like it should when loading up everything. Now I am wondering if something overheated. I think I might be dead in the water. I thought of a stronger PSU - but that shouldn't make a difference if I put back in what it already had (300ATX). I am stumped at the moment.

 

Currently running through the Lifewire - How To Fix a Computer that Turns On But Displays Nothing.

 

I'm happy to say that I got it up and running. Thank God I had a printout of Belarc Advisor for this computer so I could find out who the Manufacturer was for my BIOS. I diagnosed the beep codes and it was the memory cards not the graphics card causing the issue. I pulled the 1 GB cards out and cleaned them with an eraser and put them back in the opposite slots. Nothing wrong with the graphics card that I had pulled earlier. Might have to look into new memory cards but all in all, a close call. Thank you Max Turner for the link above. It was a great help in troubleshooting this problem. I will be putting this link into my troubleshooting arsenal.

I think is safe now to go ahead and close this thread. Again thank you to Digerati and Max Turner for your help!

Stormy4757

 

Great! I am glad you got it sorted out and thanks for the followup post.