[Gllug] Computer won't turn on

[general_email at technicalbloke.com]

On 03/12/10 00:41, Christopher Hunter wrote:
> On Thu, 2010-12-02 at 11:50 +0000, david at gbenet.com wrote:
>
>    
>> And next time get surge protection.
>>      
> No - buy a good power supply, and next time, DO NOT buy "Advent"!!
>
> C.
>
>
>    

Yes, never ever buy an Advent, or a HP laptop/desktop for that matter 
(dunno if their servers are any good).

Also, check your fans are all spinning up too, dead/stuck fans can cause 
the same problem. On desktop machines it's very rare for a CPU fan not 
to come on at power on time by design - I've only ever seen that on one 
model of IBM so if it doesn't spin you might have found your culprit. If 
it doesn't spin then heating it with a hairdryer for a minute will 
sometimes get it going again but you'll need to replace it in the long term!

Generally it's a good idea to disconnect everything from the motherboard 
and PSU too... just leave a keyboard, video, CPU fan and a single stick 
of RAM connected (and the power switch if you don't feel up to shorting 
it's pins to power it on!). If it still wont power on (and the fan does) 
it's almost certainly your motherboard or CPU (or maybe the power switch 
if still connected). The only way to tell for sure is if you have a 
spare working CPU that fits (or a spare motherboard that the chip fits). 
Having said that CPUs fail much less often than motherboards so chances 
are it's the motherboard. On the bright side if it's an Advent then even 
the cheapest £35 replacement board you get will be an upgrade!

If it does power on then start putting the bits back in one at a time. 
If it dies again remove the last part you put in, put it to one side and 
continue putting the others back. If it fails again chances are it's 
your PSU, if it doesn't fail again then it's the part you put to one 
side. Of course, if it fails on the last component and that is one with 
a heavy power draw you still might not have a definitive answer but you 
can cross that bridge if you get to it!

Good luck :)

Roger
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