-=PCTechTalk=- Re: puzzling problem
- From: "don101" <don101@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <pctechtalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 29 Mar 2008 22:17:57 -0400
A new power supply SHOULD be set for standard US power input... namely
110-120 VAC. If the switch got put to the 220/240 VAC position that might
cause some problems.
I don't know if Gman was referring to data cables or more likely the power
cable to the floppy drives. Power cable plugs usuall have a couple of corns
cut off or rounded off to force correct insertion, but as Gman pointed out,
that is not always the case. I have had more experience with ribbon cables
(data cables) being inserted wrong. I don't know if that could cause or
contribute to your problem. On the ribbon cable the marked edge (sometimes
marked with red or black but marked somehow is pin 1. For the power cable
typical proper insertion will have the RED wire closest to the middle of the
device and the data cable will have the marked edge towards the center of
the device.
Important: If the notches or plug shape prevents that "typical" insertion,
then typical does not work on your device. Follow the notches.
Don
----- Original Message -----
From: "GMan" <gman.pctt@xxxxxxxxx>
To: <pctechtalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Saturday, March 29, 2008 7:07 PM
Subject: -=PCTechTalk=- Re: puzzling problem
> 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
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