Computer won't power up...I fear the worst

[MJDore]

I have a PC that is barely two months old and I think I may have caused some serious damage. It has worked flawlessly with no issues until last night. I plugged my PDA's usb cradle into the front usb port on the pc and the power surged and the computer immediately went off. I'm guessing something shorted when I plugged the cable in and now I'm not sure where to start checking for issues.

Here's what I've done...

1) I flipped the main power switch on the PSU off and inspected all the wires. Everything looks fine. I note no burning smell coming from the unit.
2) I completely unplugged the PSU from the surge protector and left it unplugged for a half hour or so.

After both of these steps the damn thing still won't come on. So, I'm left with two questions:

1) Possible I shorted out the wire that goes to the power switch on the front of the panel? Not sure if this is somehow related to the front usb ports.
2) Did I fry my mobo?

Any help or guidance is appreciated.

[hech54]

My brother's computer has died twice in the past year...once it involved his daughter plugging in a USB device.
Both times it was the power supply inside the computer.

[bazooka]

I agree with hech54.

I would replace the power supply.

[MJDore]

I have an old one that I can try. I'll report back. Thanks....

[Prot]

Be aware power supply failures can also cause damage to other components, so if your computer still won't boot up, your hard drive may have been fried.

[Shadow57]

2) I completely unplugged the PSU from the surge protector and left it unplugged for a half hour or so.

Does it have a reset button?

edit... I should have said a reset button on the surge protector.

Hope that clears that up!

[glockjs]

do any lights come on at all or do you hear any motion at all after trying to push the power button?

[lumis]

there is a switch on the back of the power supply that will go from 115w to 220w (not sure if those numbers are exact).. try flipping it back and forth while turning the computer on.. its worked a few times for me in the past

[Prot]

That is NOT wattage, but rather VOLTAGE. US uses 110 voltage, while other countries use 220. Do not change that switch.

[lumis]

i've done it quite a few times. i've had to resort to it 2 or 3 times when a PSU wasnt working correctly.. and doing that kicked the PSU back in to working order.. but sometimes, it doesnt work and you have to buy a new PSU.. but it was bad anyways.

[MJDore]

do any lights come on at all or do you hear any motion at all after trying to push the power button?

No....you don't hear anything. I'm headed out today to pick up a PSU and give it a try. I thought I had an old one in my office at work but apparently I threw it out at some point.

[stiltman]

I have a PC that is barely two months old

Did you buy it or build it?

Either way, the parts or computer should still be under warranty?

Just return it for a new one

[MJDore]

Well...it wasn't the PSU. I installed a new one, checked and rechecked all the wiring and it still won't even power on.

Reckon it's the mobo?

I bought this as a barebones unit and I believe it's still under warranty. I just hate the idea of having to box the stupid thing up and being without it.

Is there some way I can test to see if it's the mobo?

[lumis]

did your power switch wire come loose (the one connected to the mobo).

check your manual and make sure the hdd led, power led, reset & power switch are correctly connected to the mobo.

[MJDore]

did your power switch wire come loose (the one connected to the mobo).

check your manual and make sure the hdd led, power led, reset & power switch are correctly connected to the mobo.

Thanks for the tip, lumis. I went back and double-checked and all those wires are connected. They are just the same as they were when the CPU was shipped to me. I never messed with them.

Possible the surge somehow shorted out the front power button? Anyway to 'hotwire' the pc....bypassing the front switch?

[redwudz]

Here's a power supply trouble shooting tutorial:http://www.fonerbooks.com/power.htm

You can connect pin 14 to pin 15 on the ATX PS plug to turn the PS on, but this is risky if the PS is plugged into the MB and the PS bus is shorted internally in the motherboard.

If you just want to test the front on switch, you can use the leads from the front reset switch, or just jumper the front panel on switch terminals at the motherboard. You risk blowing the PS, though, if the MB is shorted.

I would just 'bite the bullet', restore the computer to the way it was before you opened it up and return it.

[lumis]

I would just 'bite the bullet', restore the computer to the way it was before you opened it up and return it.

that sucks though, because most companies are dicks about it. you gotta pay for shipment when it wasnt your fault the computer screwed up in the first place.. its like buying a new car, it breaks down a week later and the company you bought it from expect you to take it there (wrecker charge) & be without a car (no loaner).. which is bullshit, because they sold you a faulty product.. they should stand behind it, ship you another computer asap & put some pre-paid return shipping labels in the box..

if it were me and the company expected me to pay for return shipping i'd call my credit card company & have them cancel the charge.. then contact the company and tell them the computer is theirs to pickup.. you'll even be nice enough to hand it to the ups guy..

[MJDore]

I would just 'bite the bullet', restore the computer to the way it was before you opened it up and return it.

that sucks though, because most companies are dicks about it. you gotta pay for shipment when it wasnt your fault the computer screwed up in the first place.. its like buying a new car, it breaks down a week later and the company you bought it from expect you to take it there (wrecker charge) & be without a car (no loaner).. which is bullshit, because they sold you a faulty product.. they should stand behind it, ship you another computer asap & put some pre-paid return shipping labels in the box..

if it were me and the company expected me to pay for return shipping i'd call my credit card company & have them cancel the charge.. then contact the company and tell them the computer is theirs to pickup.. you'll even be nice enough to hand it to the ups guy..

Well...looking on the bright side. The unit was just a barebones deal so the harddrives, etc are mine. Now, if those are fried....well, there won't be a bright side, I guess.

[Nelson37]

Test with MOBO only, no drives. Disconnect BOTH power and data cables on drives. Also remove all cards except video and RAM. In fact, remove those as well and see if you get a beep code. If new PSU and no action, MOBO is fried.

Look for initial CPU fan movement, this usually at least rotates even if MOBO is dead, also look for any LED's which light up. This just tells you that the PSU appears to be functioning.

PSU's incorporate switch which turns off unit in case of MOBO short, little possibility of damaging PSU. 110-220 switch I have never observed to cause damage, just won't boot on wrong voltage.

Who mounted the MOBO? If you, you're screwed. Sounds like improper or faulty front USB connector caused short. Double-check, with manual, that connectors are properly mounted. Try disconnecting the front USB port connector on the MOBO.

Note that it is also possible your video card or RAM just happened to fail when the USB connector was inserted. When you say the "power surged", please describe EXACTLY what happened. Did you activate the smoke chips?

[MJDore]

Who mounted the MOBO? If you, you're screwed. Sounds like improper or faulty front USB connector caused short. Double-check, with manual, that connectors are properly mounted. Try disconnecting the front USB port connector on the MOBO.

Note that it is also possible your video card or RAM just happened to fail when the USB connector was inserted. When you say the "power surged", please describe EXACTLY what happened. Did you activate the smoke chips?

Cybertron mounted the MOBO and they are willing to take a look at it. I'm boxing it up and sending it their way today.

With respect to the power surge....it actually wasn't much of a surge. I plugged in the device and the power just immediately shutdown. No warning...

[Nelson37]

I have seen a couple of units now where the front USB connector is apparantly grounded to the metal of the case, causing exactly what you describe. Never had this on rear connectors, which are built into the board. Only the front ones, which are a seperately mounted piece. And this only happens on metal framed case fronts, not completely plastic (non-conducting) ones. Perhaps these idiot manufacturers do not know that the USB port can supply power?

2 out of 3, removing the MOBO connection to the front USB port restored functionality. Third case board was fried. Warranty replaced on all but one, which was too old.

[Nelson37]

Forgot to add the moral of the story - If your PC is out of warranty and you have never tried the front USB ports, don't start now.

[MJDore]

2 out of 3, removing the MOBO connection to the front USB port restored functionality. Third case board was fried. Warranty replaced on all but one, which was too old.

Nelson...I should have mentioned that I disconnected those ports and still got nothing.....looks like the MOBO.

Just hope the trouble stopped there.

[Nelson37]

Just an odd thought - it would appear that the PC was improperly assembled by the maker. This has cost you time, hassle, and expense in losing the PC and shipping it. If, in connecting your USB device to the PC, your device was damaged in some way, there may be some liability on their end. While they probably would not replace your device, assuming such damage did occur, they might throw in some minor upgrade by way of compensation.

You might mention to them that you are very active on forums where PC brands and their reliability are discussed at length.

Just a thought.

[davideck]

I should have mentioned that I disconnected those ports and still got nothing.....looks like the MOBO.

Just hope the trouble stopped there.

MJDore -

ATX power supplies have a standby +5V that is active whenever the power supply is plugged in. It supplies the power to the circuitry on the motherboard that turns on the rest of the power supply.

Some USB ports are powered by this standby +5V, so it is possible that you blew a small fuse or a small trace on the motherboard. That should be the extent of it; I doubt if anything else got fried.