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I had a power cut at home the other day but when I tried to re-start my PC, nothing happens...
Literally, nothing...there are no fan or hard drive noises, no lights lighting up, no signal being fed to monitor.
I tried different power outlets and cords to no avail, then opened her up and removed the power supply and had it bench tested, but the PSU was fine.
Any ideas what to try next? Or can someone point out some good on-line resources to help?
A friend suggested the motherboard may need to be replaced but I'm not sure whether I can get the exact some motherboard or what else Id need to do...
If there was a small surge when the power came back on, and your power supply unit is a cheap generic one, then yes it sounds like it could have fried the motherboard.
How did you test the power supply exactly?
You could get more expert advice [url= https://forums.overclockers.co.uk/forums/power-supplies.162/ ]here [/url] but I imagine they'll say the same thing.
What pc is it?
How did you bench test the PSU?
A friend suggested the motherboard may need to be replaced
In isolation, that would be my diagnosis.
Unless it's some sort of weird proprietary form factor, you shouldn't need the exact same mobo, any that supports your CPU / RAM should do.
mine did a similar thing, took it to repaires and they put in new power pack still nothing, computer broke they said, i replaced the small buton cell battery inside the case and it worked first time, try that.
mine did a similar thing, took it to repaires and they put in new power pack still nothing, computer broke they said, i replaced the small buton cell battery inside the case and it worked first time, try that.
A flat or missing cmos battery won't prevent a computer trying to boot, it will fail to boot almost immediately, but there would be some sign of life.
I had a Dell PC that refused to power on. I was advised to press and hold the power button for 30 seconds (also unplugged from the mains completely). Then plug back in and try again - worked for me.
Might be worth a go, nowt to lose.
I took the PSU to Best Buy (Canadian equivalent of PC World) expecting to buy another PSU. They tested it for me...
It's a Gateway (Acer) PC and about four yrs old. The motherboard is a Acer G43T-AM V:2.0
If I do get another motherboard, does anything else need to get installed at the same time BIOS, drivers? Anything else?
The PC is running W7 (may be Home Premium version)
Actually I've just Googled this and there is some anecdotal evidence that the cmos battery might be worth a try, they are only about 99p, so nothing lost.
I can't see how that would be true though, but hey.
I tried the "holding-down-the-power-button-for-a-long-time" trick...it didn't work...
I can't see how that would be true though, but hey.
Makes two of us.
On the plus side it's an old s775 ddr2 board, so very cheap second hand.
That said given its age, and if you have to pay someone to fit it and sort the drivers out, it might be more economical to buy a newer bundle of a board, ram and CPU.
Where are you geographically?
On the plus side it's an old s775 ddr2 board, so very cheap second hand.
Good shout, I didn't even look at that. Socket T had some quirks when it came to CPU compatibility IIRC.
I think I'd be inclined to fix it with a new one also. That's ten year old tech if it's a day. Depends what your budget is to get if fixed really.
Although the fact that it 'died' after a power failure would have me suspicious of a mobo failure (as others have said), check that the power button is connected to the board and actually making contact. (I have a Dell with a sticky power button that sometimes does this).
Also look for the CMOS reset jumper and clear it; and renew the button cell.
Oh, and is the on/off switch on the PSU definitely on?
Where are you geographically?
Vancouver, BC if you fancy popping over to help me out. The biking's not too bad so I could show you around the trails in return 😉
buy a newer bundle of a board, ram and CPU.
If I go down this route, is this likely anymore complicated than just removing all the physical connections off the old board, switching the new one, reconnecting the physical connections, powering up and off-I-go?
Oh, and is the on/off switch on the PSU definitely on?
There's no external switch on the PSU that I can see...
I do have a spare CR2032 battery so I'll try that first. I have no idea what a CMOS reset jumper looks like but I'll have a poke around for that as well...
Vancouver, BC if you fancy popping over to help me out. The biking's not too bad so I could show you around the trails in return
Cover my expenses and I'll be there tomorrow. (-:
I do have a spare CR2032 battery so I'll try that first. I have no idea what a CMOS reset jumper looks like but I'll have a poke around for that as well...
If you're pulling the battery you're effectively resetting the CMOS settings nine times out of ten anyway.
These guys are probably the best local supplier of all things PC related
If I need to replace motherboard/CPU/ram, is there a package of components that will play nicely together I should be looking at?
I'm trying to figure out how much cash and time & effort to throw at this project...the PC is mainly used for Zwift purposes so I could just buy an Apple TV instead but I'll need to be able to pull off all the old documents/photos/Lightroom catalouge/music/iTunes library from the old HDD and, somehow, transfer them to my laptop...
Evening,
Obviously try the 'simple' recovery steps above. I'd be very surprised if they work, but you never know!
Failing that, this would be a direct swap -
[url= https://www.ebay.ca/itm/ASUSTeK-P5RD1-VM-775-Socket-T-Motherboard-with-I-O-Plate/111901595713?hash=item1a0ddad841:g:BcsAAOSwe7BWu9bG ]eBay link[/url]
I just looked for the Vancouver area, so forgive if this is wrong.
That is an exact match in terms of connections when compared to your current system. So it should just swap over (not a sure thing though).
However sometimes, if a PC has suffered a power surge, it can cause CPU and even RAM damage as well.
You might be better just buying something like this -
[url= https://www.ebay.ca/itm/Asus-P5KPL-AM-SE-Motherboard-Socket-775-with-an-Intel-Quad-2-33-CPU-and-4gb-Ram/332481518045?hash=item4d697159dd:g:YacAAOSweZJaLC9- ]eBay link[/url]
If you need any help, feel free to drop me an email.
Following your last post.
Didn't NCIX go bust just before Christmas and go into voluntary bankruptcy?
[url= https://www.anandtech.com/show/12115/ncix-files-for-bankruptcy-after-restructuring-attempts ]Link[/url]
I'd be slightly sceptical buying anything from there, just encase you have a problem
If you're pulling the battery you're effectively resetting the CMOS settings nine times out of ten anyway.
Yeh as long as mains power is also disconnected, pull the battery out and leave for 5 mins to ensure ya full discharge. no need to mess about with jumpers.
Did you move it before the attempted restart?
Sometimes Ram/Graphics/Drives not being connected 100% will cause a PC to not start.
Following your last post.Didn't NCIX go bust just before Christmas and go into voluntary bankruptcy?
LinkI'd be slightly sceptical buying anything from there, just encase you have a problem
Doh! No wonder everything is showing as not in stock on their website!
A couple of people have mentioned poor physical connections but I very much doubt that's the case as (a) it's about 4yrs old and never had problems before and (b) the case has never been opened before so I haven't disturbed any connections...
I'll change the battery this evening and report back...
Thanks for the help so far.
Handyman: I'm in too much of a hurry to wait for bid end/delivery with an eBay purchase. Ideally I'd like to be able to walk into a store with the old bits, get some advice and walk out with all the new components I need...and I don't mind paying extra for speed and efficiency...
Sometimes Ram/Graphics/Drives not being connected 100% will cause a PC to not start.
Not start, yes. Not power on at all, no.
Yeh, that's the issue..
It's an old system, a big store are unlikely to have a spare board that's compatible. Unless they deal in second hand components.
Do you have a local independent pc repair guy? They might have an old board that will work and charge less labour cost than a big store would.
I'll need to be able to pull off all the old documents/photos/Lightroom catalouge/music/iTunes library from the old HDD and, somehow, transfer them to my laptop...
A ten quid (insert CA$ amont here) SATA > USB adaptor will do that, quirks of catalogues and libraries notwithstanding.
It's an old system, a big store are unlikely to have a spare board that's compatible.
The PC is a full size tower format. So if I replace the board with a newer one, plus get a new CPU, plus new RAM,does that circumvent compatibility issues?
Anything else id have to buy?
Presumably it won't be a space issue and the screw holes will all be in the same place assuming I get something of the same form factor....
Has there been any changes to physical connection standards on motherboards in the last few years?
A ten quid (insert CA$ amont here) SATA > USB adaptor will do that, quirks of catalogues and libraries notwithstanding.
Haha! Some good news!That may be the best answer for now...as long as I know I can get the data I need off the HDD, then the urgency lessens...
[url= https://m.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/product/insignia-insignia-3-5-sata-to-usb-3-0-hard-drive-enclosure-ns-pchd335-c-ns-pchd335-c/10292172 ]@ Cougar: would this work?[/url]