Will NOT Power Up...Please Help

[Farrar]

I have a unit that will not power up. I replaced a defective power supply and that did not solve the problem. Then the general consensus was that the CPU or MB could have also sustained damage so I have replaced the CPU and MB but I am left with the same problem. I have double-checked the new PSU to ensure that it is good and it is.

One item that MIGHT help: Whenever I push the power on button, both the CPU and chipset fans turn about one revolution and then nothing.

I would really appreciate any ideas on what to do before I have to replace the whole unit for this customer.

Your help is greatly appreciated.

Jeff Farrar

[Matridom]

A flicker of power? Uhm check your case wires. you may be hiting the reset button instead of power. Take the board out of the case put it on an anti static mat, plug your stuff in and see if it works, pull out ANY hardware that is not needed. Transfer the parts 1 by 1 to a known good system to see what part is causing the issue.

Hope the tips help.

[Rellik]

First thing I would do is remove all possible problems:

• All cards except the video card
• Disconnect all internal drives.
• even external devices(USB & such exept for only the keyboard), I have seen a Paralel device preventing a system from starting up

With what remains (Video card and keyboard)you may need to swap those.
If you have done this already than you can disregard this.

[Gollo]

If you have some different memory lying around try throwing that in there (after you try the above post first of course). I've had systems that were tempermental when it comes to haveing the cpu and memory seated so try seating them again also.

[Farrar]

I really DO appreciate the quick answers. I took on this job for one of my superiors in our offices at work, as it seemed simple. When replacing the obvious fried PSU did not solve the problem, replacing the CPU/MB was suggested. I now have about $195.00 in parts invested in this repair and the unit, as far as the customer is concerned, is no better than it was before I began tinkering with it. I also quoted a price of $70.00 for labor but have spent quite a bit of time so far with no luck.

I will try your suggestions first thing Tuesday afternoon.

Thanks again so much for your help,

Jeff

[Ahcoraj]

Try reversing the reset and power on swithces in the case, then try starting it using the reset button. It may well be a bad momentary switch in the case....... (assuming it's an ATX, if it's an AT, replace the switch)

[freddy]

is this an intel (bx) chipset ?


my spare machine does this ,,,,,

i found that if i shorted the term pins (with s/driver for 5-10 secs ,,,and "force" it to start ,,,then unplug ,,,,it then works ok ....untill i unplug something , or work on it.

[Stanley_Kubrick]

Some mobos ship w/ the clear CMOS in "clear". Juat a thought, but double-check all yer jumpers.

[Farrar]

I finally found out what the problem was and got the unit running. The hard drive has some problem as anytime I try to connect a power lead to it, I feel a vibration, hear a humming sound, and the unit shuts down. Then, I would have to do as Freddy suggested:

“I found that if I shorted the term pins (with s/driver for 5-10 sec, and "force" it to start, then unplug it then works ok.... Until I unplug something, or work on it.”

I would also have to clear the CMOS. So, I put an old 1 GB Seagate drive on and it powered up fine! Loaded windows and the MB Driver CD. Now I just need to tell this guy that he will also need a hard drive unless he wants to buy my 1 GB Seagate.

I really appreciated all the help from everyone.

Thanks Again,

Jeff Farrar

[freddy]

i thought when i posted that reply , you would all think i was drunk,

in my case its just a machine in the back room for cd duplication (with no lid on it) ,,,,so i cant be bothered fixing it,


glad your sorted


freddy

[Shard92]

Sorry Jeff, just saw your post! I've had that happen a few times. Never found out for 100% what was causing problem but sometimes the LPT port went as well. Was that a WD hard drive by the way? We believe the customer we had that happen to ( three times!!! ) was getting surged from something but we were not sure from where though believe it or not it seemed to be from the laserjet. Glad you have figured out the problem.

Back to work for me!!!!

GLSmith

[Farrar]

Yes, it was a WD hard drive. I am not sure about the LPT port as I replaced the MB before checking it out.

This guy said that ALL he did was unplug the system before a storm reached his house. The next day when he plugged the unit back up, he smelled smoke and that is how his problems began.

Thanks guys!

Jeff