PC problems

D

Dogbiscuit

Geek Trainee
Help!!!!

I found my pc switched on earlier today. I hadn't switched it on and neither had anyone else. Monitor said 'no signal' and nothing appeared to be working but the fans were running and the yellow hard disc led was constantly lit. Tried holding down the on off switch but it wouldn't shut down.

Ended up pulling the plug.

Since then power button doesn't appear to do anything, when you plug the power lead in the fans start after a few seconds, sometimes the yellow hard disc led lights sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes the floppy disc drive just clicks. I never get any beep and never get anything on the monitor. The processor fan always works. It was working fine a couple of days ago and I haven't been having any problems at all.

It's an emachine 420 with all its original components (for what they're worth).

Any suggestions???
 
Make sure all of the cards, the CPU, and the RAM, are properly seated. Remove them and reinsert them to be sure.



Remove all non-essential components and disconnect non-essential cables (including IDE, floppy, etc.). All you should need to reach the initial boot screen (memory count, etc.) are: the motherboard, CPU, RAM, power supply, and graphics card. If it boots, start adding components one at a time, and boot up each time. When the system won't boot, you've found your faulty (or incorrectly installed or incompatible) component.
 
That's a great idea. Hardware problems with my Dad's system recently, and eventually, he was forced to dismantle it and put in each component seperately. Turned out to be the RAM!! Should have guessed that, really, but a test like that always seems to help. What you're suffering from definitely isn't a software issue, that's for sure.
 
eMachines are great for power supply problems,I have change allot of them.
Have you tried to start the computer up again, and what does it do?
Check to see if your mouse and keyboard still works. Allot of time when your power supply goes bad it will give you some kind of a warning.. Have you had any kind of a power surge there? let us know on this problem..
 
Hi there guys,

Tried remove everything down to essentials and still wont boot. When the power lead is plugged in the processor fan starts every time. The power supply fan jerks as if it is struggling to start and after a few seconds it does start rotating and picks up speed. The lights on the keyboard light but they are quite dim. All this happens without me pressing the power button on the front of the case!?!

I dont know whether that points more towards the power supply???
it is only a 150 watt supply for a system with 2.6Ghz celeron processor, DVD drive CD drive, Floppy drive and 80 Gig hard drive running Windows XP Home. It seems a bit feeble but I have had it for 18 months and no problems till now.

I use a surge protector so I dont believe there has been a surge that would affect it.

I am in the process of trying to build a budget PC for my Mother in Law and have a new case with 350 Watt power supply coming later this week I will try this PSU and see if it makes any difference to mine.

Thanks for the advice so far......
 
Even using a power surge protector does not always work.. Too me it sounds like your power supply went bad... You will want to replace it with a higher watt of power.. All of the eMachines that I have ever worked on has had weak power supply's ,(Even mine) emachine is made by Gateway and Gateway has the same problems with there power supplys..(They are under powered) I would suggest
a 400 watt up to a 500 watt... I install between 400/450 watt in almost all of the computers i fix with power supply problems. A bad power supply can cause some very strange problems,And also can cause some very serious problems..
Like a Fire... Smell the back of the computer where the power supply fan is..
If it smells at all like anything burning/wire burning Then replace it..
 
i have an eMachine and when i got it home the first thing i did is replace the PSU and little power switch (on the front of the pc, plugging onto the mobo) i got a Tagan TG330 - U1 but i'm on a tight budget, depending on your budget i would also highley recommend Antec TruePower 2 550W you should buy a PSU that can output at least 300W, back to power switch:

first we need to identify your mobo with this once you know which mobo you have you can then download a manual for it then find the power switch pins on your mobo, unplug it then short the two pins together with a screwdriver or something metal, if the pc starts when you short the pins together then the problem is the power switch, if not it's probably the PSU but to be on the safe side do what karan suggested
 
Hi there guys, sorry for the delay in updating you.

I have tried another power supply but there is no difference. I have found that the front power on button was broken and may have been pressing in the contacts continuously but I dont know how long for.

I'm guessing that this is what caused whatever the problem is.

I've tried again powering on with just the motherboard, processor, and RAM in place but wont even boot.

Dont hear any noises apart from the PSU fan and Processor fan.

Where do I look next????

Thanks
 
to boot you will need, at least mobo, RAM, CPU, grfx card & PSU (possibally keyboard, not needed for boot unless selected in BIOS, but useful after boot)

EDIT: try making a new switch, all it has to do is either short the 2 pins together or not
 
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