I'm not able to switch on my PC :-((

Hi guys!

Hopefully you have an idea of what’s going on. Fact is – I’m currently not able to switch my PC on.

First of all my components:
Case: Aspire X-Superalien
Motherboard: P4P800-D
CPU: P4, 2.8GHz, 800 FSB
Ram: Kingston 2xDDR 512MB-400
Video: MSI FX5900-VDT
Sound: Soundblaster Audigy Gamer
OS: Microsoft XP Pro

Now the history:
A couple days ago I finished building my PC and installing all the drivers. Everything work fine. Today I just checked my system again and detected that I forgot to install the Ethernet driver and RAID driver for the motherboard. After that I rebooted and the PC was still running smooth. I turned my PC off and tried to start it a couple our later again. And – nothing happened. I checked already the wiring and also unplugged the PC, but this didn’t fix it. Currently I guess my motherboard is damaged… By the way - the Power LED on the motherboard is on!


Oliver

the cable going from the 'on' button to the motherboard hasnt been disconnected or come loose a bit? if the mobo is getting power, then i would've thought the psu would be ok..
however, try turning off the psu (or unplugging it if there is no switch), waiting like 30seconds, plugging it back in, and turning the system on.. my friend blockers computer seems to have troubles with not booting and he has to turn off/on psu and try again, and it works :)

mark

If that fails, I would suggest the standard:
Take out all apart from the neccessary (CPU/RAM/AGP) disconnect and re-connect all connections, reset CMOS check the mobo is on feet and fire the bad boy back up.

If it works, add one thing a time and boot to BIOS.

First of all thx for the advice but it didn't solve the problem.

I checked the PSU and I have a 5V signal on +5VSB and PS_ON.
Also I tested the reset switch and the power switch. Both are working fine (0 Ohm when pressed). After that I unplugged everything - video card, sound card, floppy, HDD and my case fans. I took the CPU out and also the memory and put them in again. Also I reset my motherboard.

The result was - still nothing happens when I try to switch on my PC. I also tried it without CPU and memory with the same result.

Does this mean my motherboard is dead?

Thx

Oliver

its either:

the on/off cable to the motherboard - try shorting the pins on the MB that the on/off switch connects to

the cmos - try clearing it - take out battery, short cmos reset pins 5-10s, put battery back in

reseat cpu - this has caused me no end of problems. make sure its seated!

cpu fan - make sure plugged in and working

ram - unlikely at this stage but try swopping out.


any of that work?

dgr

No - that didn't fix it. Like I said before. I already reset the CMOS, reseated the CPU and also checked the switches...

Again it doesn't even start... No error are posted or something like that...

Any other ideas?

Oliver

Have u pulled the PSU cable out and left it for a few minutes n then tried again?

reseat the cpu again. make sure its seated properly.

My guess is its either the motherboard or the PSU, do you have another PSU to try in it? What PSU is in it, if its the one that came with the case you may find that the PSU was inadequate and threw a wobbler.......

Try turn on WITHOUT CPU+Memory+AGP in.. your fans should still fire up. - If not

PSU/Mobo/PW Switch cable - one is f00ked

That's actually what I did and the fans didn't went on. The question now is - is it the mobo or the psu... Like I already wrote - I see the 5V signal on the PW_ON and the 5VSB. But does this mean the 12V, 3,3V, ... are woking also fine??? By the way Zaphan58 - what's wrong with the PSU that came with the case? Are there any problems known?

thx

Oliver

you're going to have to swop one of the components out i think...

dgr

That would work but unfortunately I have no second set :-(

Does somebody know how to activate the +/-12V, 3.3V, +/-5V on the PSU? Is it enough to connect the PS_ON with the PWR_OK?

Thx Oliver

According to http://www.tkpower.com/pdf/TK350AA-PFC.pdf : When PWR_ON is pulled to TTL low, the power
supply should turn on the five main DC output rails: +12VDC, +5VDC, +3.3VDC, -5VDC, and -12VDC.
After that I should be able to check the PWR_OK:
PWR_OK is a "power good" signal. It should be asserted high by the power supply to indicate that the +5VDC and +3.3VDC outputs are above the undervoltage thresholds ... and that sufficient mains energy is stored by the converter to guarantee continuous power operation ... Conversely, PWR_OK should be deasserted to a low state when either the +5VDC or the +3.3VDC output voltages falls below the undervoltage threshold, or when mains power has been removed for a time sufficiently long such that power supply operation cannot be guaranteed beyond the hold-up time.


Something to check for me

Oliver

There is a test you can do to find out whether it is your psu that has blown or your motherboard. Unplug all connectors and then look at the motherboard power connector (the long thin one) and at the 20 wires connected to it. The one side of wires should have this order of colours.

11 orange
12 blue
13 black
14 green
15 black
16 black
17 black
18 white
19 red
20 red

Some of these colours may be slightly different depending on psu. Now attach one of the molex connectors to a spare fan, and get a paper clip/staple or something to short out two of the wires in the motherboard connector. Once you have got a metal wire/object, short out the 14th and 15th wires as these are the wires that control the power output. If you then plug the psu into the mains the fan should immediately power up. If it doesn't you now know your psu is b0rked and you need to test your motherboard with a different one.

Disclaimer:- Remember to turn off all power and disconnect all components from the psu etc etc etc. I accept no responsibility for harm caused by your negligence etc etc etc ;)

Ok - that's it!

The PSU doesn't work. Thx luke313 for confirming my thought... Tomorrow I'll try to get a new one and then we will see if the other parts are still ok.

Does anybody know how good the Arpire ATX-AS500W is? That's the one I have and the one which is defect...

Oliver

According to http://www.modthebox.com/review253_1.shtml this should be a good PSU... Does anybody has some other pro and cons?

Oliver