-=PCTechTalk=- Re: puzzling problem
- From: GMan <gman.pctt@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: <pctechtalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 29 Mar 2008 20:57:35 -0400
Jo Ann,
Some PS models sense when they have the wrong power and shut themselves
down. Some don't. In the US, it should always be set for 110V (or 115V, if
that's the lower option). But I would suspect the phone call would have
included something about the crackling followed by a familiar smell if 110V
could hurt a unit looking for 220V. However, I was only talking about the
small, usually black, rocker switch. It should be close to the red power
rating switch you described, but you would never get the fans spinning if it
was set to off. So, the next thing to do is to swap power supplies again.
If it doesn't work with the original one, it's probably not the PS.
I'm now also picturing a booboo I made myself once. I had everything
put together and couldn't get the thing to fire up (but I did get beeps form
the mainboard during POST). I practically tore the thing down twice trying
to isolate what was holding up the works. It eventually turned out that I
had plugged in the hard drive data cable, but never gave it any power. My
bad! The reason for telling you this is that problems like these are
usually caused by something simple. I didn't say Easy, just simple. Try
following every cable to make sure it terminates somewhere. Look at each
device and make sure it's connected in every way it requires. Pull and
reseat all cables again, including those going to the hard drive. Ensure
that all cables are plugged in the right way and that none are harshly
kinked. If you find a kinked one, there may be a break in the wires inside.
Peace,
G
http://tinyurl.com/ypbuue
"The only dumb questions are the ones we fail to ask!"
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jo Ann Weaver" <bookworm54@xxxxxxx>
To: <pctechtalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Saturday, March 29, 2008 8:09 PM
Subject: -=PCTechTalk=- Re: puzzling problem
>
> GMan,
>
> The switch on the power supply was the first thing I thought of. Had him
> to
> check it, then checked it myself as
> soon as I got it back. I made one mistake and I hope it wasn't a bad one.
> Sometime after I talked to him by
> phone and told him to check the switch and whichever way it was to flip it
> the other way and try it, I remembered
> the red switch under it that sets for 110 or 220 AC. When I got it back it
> was set for 220. If he set for 220 and plugged it into his 110
> outlet, would it have harmed it? Of course I set it back before I plugged
> it
> in.
>
> Ok, I reset the ATX plug, reseated the RAM and disconnectd and or removed
> all cards. Fired it up, and hear nothing but the fans.
> Had my hubby to listen for beeps and he didn't hear any either. Is there
> anything else to try before I deduce the mainboard is
> dead?
>
> What makes me feel bad is, it was working ( albeit not too greatly ) when
> I
> got it. Makes it look like I killed it. I
> know it was working good when, I sent it back to them, but I don't know if
> they believe it.
>
> Jo Ann
>
>
>
>
>> Jo Ann,
>> After a full reinstall, you can be pretty certain it's not the
>> software.
>> Not entirely certain, but pretty sure. If it never came on for them,
>> then
>> there a decent chance that something happened during its travels. The
>> simplest of things are the first things to check. It could be that the
>> switch on the back of the power supply was thrown the wrong way. You've
>> already replaced that, so that's not it. Inside the case, a memory
>> module
>> may have popped out of its slot. It could even be caused by them
>> plugging
>> it into a wall socket that isn't supplying any power because the breaker
>> had
>> tripped. On the other hand, this could be as serious as a mainboard
>> failure.
>>
>> With the case open, locate and carefully reseat the main power source
>> to
>> the mainboard. It's the 20 or more prong connector that attaches
>> somewhere
>> relatively close to the CPU. Since you are getting power to the extras
>> (hard drive, optical drive, floppy, fans, etc.), this is the most likely
>> place for a mainboard problem like this. Next, scan the rest of the
>> mainboard to make sure there isn't one of those 4 pin ports that requires
>> an
>> additional 4 prong power supply line from the PS. Most modern boards
>> require this extra power. If it needs one and doesn't have one, this
>> will
>> also cause this problem. You may find that the PS you used to replace
>> the
>> original doesn't have the cable. If that's the case, reinstall the
>> original. Finally, turn on the system to see if the problem is gone.
>>
>> If all is good with the PS to the mainboard but it still doesn't work,
>> disconnect everything except for the bare necessities (power supply,
>> mainboard, CPU, RAM) and fire it up. If you don't hear any beeps, the
>> mainboard may have seen its final days. If the board beeps (the pattern
>> doesn't matter), turn it off again by holding in the power button for 4
>> seconds. So far so good. Hook up the hard drive & monitor and fire it
>> up
>> again. Can you hear the drive spin up? If not, the drive is probably
>> bad.
>> Install it into another system as a Slave and see if the OS can see any
>> of
>> it in Windows Explorer or My Computer to test it. If it does spin up, do
>> you get anything on the monitor? If not, the video card or its port are
>> suspect. If you can see it POST on the monitor, so far, so good again.
>> Connect the optical &/or floppy drives and test it again. you may find
>> that
>> after running through these tests, it goes completely together and works
>> just fine. That will indicate that something wasn't kosher in the
>> original
>> plugging in of the various devices. Many floppy drives have ports where
>> you
>> can easily plug in the cable backwards (no key notch to guide you). If
>> the
>> cable is in wrong, the drive LED will stay lit up constantly, but the
>> drive
>> itself will not function.
>>
>> Peace,
>> G
>>
>> http://tinyurl.com/ypbuue
>>
>> "The only dumb questions are the ones we fail to ask!"
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Jo Ann Weaver" <bookworm54@xxxxxxx>
>> To: <pctechtalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>> Sent: Saturday, March 29, 2008 5:56 PM
>> Subject: -=PCTechTalk=- puzzling problem
>>
>>
>>> This computer I'm working on has me bamboozled. Here's the story. Custom
>>> built box, running XP Pro, 2 gig Intel CPU,
>>> single stick of RAM 512 MB. It was brought to me because it was slow and
>>> they kept getting
>>> kicked off the internet on their dial-up connection. Had recently got
>>> broadband, but couldn't get it to install the software.
>>> It had no active virus software. I installed AVG and Spybot S&D . Found
>>> a
>>> few things and they deleted them, then started
>>> having Windows errors. Talked to the owners, Formatted and re-installed
>>> XP. Got everything working, installed AVG for them,
>>> tested it a while and sent it home, working fine. They said it wouldn't
>>> come on or do anything. Got it back, nothing worked,
>>> no fans, no lights, nothing. Checked all connections, nothing. Changed
>>> power supply. Now all fans work, hard drive light and
>>> light on CD drive light up red and that's it. Getting nothing on the
>>> monitor. Any ideas?
>>> Jo Ann
>>
>>
>
>
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