Genealogy Chat

I turned off my home computer, as usual. The next morning, when I tried to start it up, nothing happened. No light, no humming, nothing. My son switched my power cords with his, to see if that was the problem (didn't help). He noticed that the fan at the back of the computer was on (or the area was warm, don't remember). The screen does work. Would anyone have any suggestions, please? Must get back to work. Will check here later today. Thank you. (Please see UPDATE below.)

Could be that the pwer supply inside has failed, this happened to me a few months ago. It was completely dead, but as you say the screen worked, because this is usually plugged in independantly.

Sounds like the power supply (PSU)outputs. The fan at the back (top) will be PSU's own fan. On ATX cases ( nearly all )the power switch is connected to the motherboard by two thin wires which sends a signal to the PSU to turn on. What you do depends on the value of the PC. I would turn off the power, remove the cover and gently waggle all connectors and make sure they are poshed in.(the big square ones as well) The worst problem is that it would be the motherboard but most likely the PSU. If it's an ATX it shouldn't be that expensive. I changed my brothers last year for around £8 and its still going strong!! Bob

Hi Sue: Just popping in here for a moment - were you able to fix the problem - or did you have to buy a new computer? Thank you for your help - have to get back to work. Thank you again for replying. Hi Bob. I'll pass along your information to my son. Thank you very much as well!!!

Hi Lisa It was still under warranty. It was easily fixed and only took the chap a few minutes to replace.

Hi If you havn't fixed it yet try this unplug everything from your computer (except your mouse and keyboard) , both have to be PS/2 connections, if they are USB then just unplug them) and start up your pc.. if it works then its is your USB ports (this is a common error). just plug every thing back in 1 at a time and see. If any errors appear then you will find out what is causing it as the error will be the last thing you have plugged in. most of the time no errors will occur. Paul's Son update - some times a speck of dust will stop everything

That's a good point Paul. My PC wouldn't fire up last month and I disconnected everything including monitor and keyboard, vacuumed and waggled everything. It started OK (forced shut down holding power button). Everything was then OK when re-connected so wasn't sure cause of the problem. Bob

If you are getting absolutely nothing on power up then it could be a number of things but the most liklely cause if you can feel heat coming out is a hard drive failure which is not as drastic as it may sound. The fact that you can feel heat means power is getting through so it probably is not your power supply unit. If your hard drive has gone down it is easy to replace and is not a big problem retrieving your data.

Thank you once again! I'm passing along the information to my son. Very much appreciated!

if it is your hard drive ,check out your warranty!i know some manafactures have 3 years,i had to have 1 replaced after about 2 years,found the make of drive ,maxtor,contacted them ,they told me to send old 1 back to them . which i did,they in return sent me a new drive ,but it was 4 times the capacity.kev

Hi Errol and Kev: My son tried the earlier suggestions (no luck). I've just passed along your suggestions as well. Thank you for helping. I had massive troubles with my last computer, including losing saved emails (that were in my file cabinet). Unfortunately, I hadn't printed off copies of them so lost about 20-50 family tree related emails that I can't duplicate. :( My mum gave me this computer (it was originally hers) and I believe it is out of warranty, but worth looking into. Thank you all for replying. I didn't realize how much I enjoy using the computer!

A computer doesn't need a hard drive to start up, anyone who remembers booting from floppys will tell you that. Many boot and run Linux from a USB stick ! The start up chips (bios) are all on the motherboard. Without a hard drive the normal sequence would be for the A drive to flash, then the CD rom, and then bios would report 'boot disk failure press any key to continue'. If you have a bootable CD (windows install disk or other) try it. Hard drives are at the FRONT under the other drives, the power supply is at the back top. If a hard drive failure is no big problem then all this back up is a waste of time. If a a hard drive suffers platter damage then it is totally unrecoverable. Bob

Hi Bob: Thank you for the additional information. Some of it I understand and I know my son will understand all of it and will check for me. Thank you again.

Update: It looks like it could be the power supply. (We've been busy and I couldn't get back here before now.) One question before I go any further: I still have my old computer (it had problems with the internet but other than that, worked fine). I asked my son to try turning it on. It worked. I then asked if he would connect it to the screen so I could at least play games :) and when he tried to turn it on again IT wouldn't work! No sound, no light. Hard to believe they both would have a problem with the power supply. Any suggestions? (Would prefer not to buy a new one right now as we have other expenses at the moment.) PS Thank you for all of your previous suggestions. Much appreciated. :)

So you have two base units that are not starting reliably ? Is there a problem with the wall socket !!?? Bob

That's correct, Bob. We have a power strip that I use. My son tried plugging (the first computer) in to another strip, which is in another room. Both units now do not work and we tried turning them on in three different locations. Both 'broke' almost at the same time, as we tried my old base unit the day after my mum's unit 'broke'. Sorry, have to get back to work but I will check here on my break. Thank you for your help, Bob.

Correct me if i am wrong, one computer 'broke' and another computer broke after being plugged into the same power strip, is it possible that the power strip itself is broken?(fuse blown) thus the first computers' power supply input is blowing the power strips fuses? another.....Bob

Sorry Bob, it was a confusing day yesterday and after rereading my message, I'M confused now. :) The first computer wouldn't start one day. My son tried the suggestions given above, including plugging it into another power strip - it still won't 'turn on'. (He tried plugging it directly in to a wall outlet as well.) He tried turning on my 'old' computer, with success for a moment. He turned it off, connected it to the screen, and when he tried to turn it on again, it wouldn't turn on. Now neither base units will turn on. Just seems too coincidental that they both stopped working. Thank you for your continued interest. PS Would you know if there any chance I could have a virus (seems unlikely, as I can't get my original computer to access the internet).

hi....i am using my laptop at the moment...my pc having same problem....it has been looked at from a freind....i would say the motherboard needs replacing....and quite possibly the processor as well....i have paid 30 quid for both parts online... heidi x

With the symptoms above any reputable repair shop would check the on switch and then change the power supply ( it is possible to turn on a power supply without a pc connected but a bit fiddly). Under no circumstances should you change the motherboard and processor without checking the PSU This is far more involved and expensive. It would also involve re install of windows (XP) and reactivation. If you have a normal ATX case there is only 12 volts inside. If you look at the on switch and trace the two THIN wires back to the motherboard you can pull off the connector. Shorting out the two pins with a screwdriver momentarily will start the PC if that is the problem. If not why not replace the PSU yourself ? 1 Unplug the power cord unscrew the srcews at the back and remove all (about six) connectors 2 Take it to shop and say 'give me a cheap one like this' and reconnect. 3 Or ask them how much ! I built my last PC ( it's not rocket science) I am NOT saying it is definitely the PSU, just the prime suspect to check first. Bob