My computer wont fire up!! PLEASE HELP!!!!
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Postmaster
Joined: Nov 2003
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From: Cab of a truck
My computer wont fire up!! PLEASE HELP!!!!
I just went to turn my computer on after it had been sitting off for a day, and the green ring around the power button didnt come on, its sending no signal to the moniter, the yellow CPU light stays on solid and the fans inside the tower spin. I blew all the dust out, cleaned the contacts on the cards with a eraser and put it back together and it still wont start up. I checked all the connections on the back of the tower and it still doesnt work. What can cause this problem?? When I hold the power button in to shut it off the fans shut down, but the yellow CPU light still stays on but is kind of dim. There is no beep or spinning of the harddrive when I start it up. Any help is appreciated, thanks.
3 year old emachines, Windows XP Pro amd athalon 2000 processor.
3 year old emachines, Windows XP Pro amd athalon 2000 processor.
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Postmaster
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 4,392
Likes: 1
From: Cab of a truck
Originally Posted by ATC Crazy
Your power supply might have died...
By power supply do you mean the plug and cord from the wall to the back of the tower?
Im not very skilled when it comes to computers.
More Turbo
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 554
Likes: 1
From: Boise, ID
Originally Posted by FordPickup460
Would my CPU and fan still work tho?
By power supply do you mean the plug and cord from the wall to the back of the tower?
Im not very skilled when it comes to computers.
By power supply do you mean the plug and cord from the wall to the back of the tower?
Im not very skilled when it comes to computers.
It's definitely a power issue, I'd just replace the power supply with a brand spanking new one. Computers do some funny and usually random things when they don't get enough power.
Logistics Pro
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 4,562
Likes: 2
From: Southern MD
Get close to the top back of your PC and take a deep breath through your nose.
(Snif. . . snif.)
Do you smell and 'acrid' smoldering rubber odor?
Like the others said, the power supply is probably saying adios.
Part of the supply can still be putting out voltage, but, not for long.
I also suggest unplugging the PC until you have the replacement power supply in hand. (Safety first.)
Another thought. . . .
(This has happened to me.)
Have you experienced a power outage, recently?
If so, turn off the pc. . . unplug it for a couple of minutes, then try to boot, again.
(Snif. . . snif.)
Do you smell and 'acrid' smoldering rubber odor?
Like the others said, the power supply is probably saying adios.
Part of the supply can still be putting out voltage, but, not for long.
I also suggest unplugging the PC until you have the replacement power supply in hand. (Safety first.)
Another thought. . . .
(This has happened to me.)
Have you experienced a power outage, recently?
If so, turn off the pc. . . unplug it for a couple of minutes, then try to boot, again.
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Hotshot
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 13,589
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From: NW burbs of chicago
sounds like the cpu / tower is working fine, but you have no video signal IE you fried your video card/ onboard video
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New User
Joined: Jan 2008
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Shut it off...pull the plug on the power cord > in fact remove all the connections and remove a side panel.
Maybe an IDE ribbon cable or power cable has vibrated loose and won't allow the puter to boot up?
What was your HD boot up order and did you see any of those lights come on ?
Disc A,D,C
Maybe an IDE ribbon cable or power cable has vibrated loose and won't allow the puter to boot up?
What was your HD boot up order and did you see any of those lights come on ?
Disc A,D,C
Fleet Owner
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 29,941
Likes: 46
From: Drummonds, TN USA
It's also possible that something (a program, games will do it a lot) that you were running changed the video settings. But I don't like the sound of "Don't hear the hard drive running or anything else".
One thing I ran into a few years back is sometimes the button cell or watch battery that keeps the memory in your bios alive may have run out of juice.
Sometimes you can just replace it and everything comes back, sometimes it has to be pulled and left out for a few days and then be replaced.
In the worst case, a power surge can blow the busses on your mainboard.
Did it shut down normally before this happened, or was there a power outage?
One thing I ran into a few years back is sometimes the button cell or watch battery that keeps the memory in your bios alive may have run out of juice.
Sometimes you can just replace it and everything comes back, sometimes it has to be pulled and left out for a few days and then be replaced.
In the worst case, a power surge can blow the busses on your mainboard.
Did it shut down normally before this happened, or was there a power outage?
Elder User
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 940
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From: burlington, iowa
usually if the lights come on but nothing happens it is a loose card in the pc causing this, also the hard drive could be toast. the only true way to tell this easy is to put a different hard drive that you know works in a start the boot up. if it boots then rehook up the old hard drive and try it again, fails then it is the hard drive, doesnt fail and it was a loose connection. always back up hard drive at least once a week to perpare for this happening, i have seen new hard drives last less then a month, and i have seen old hard drives go forever acting fine. go figure that out
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Postmaster
Joined: Nov 2003
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From: Cab of a truck
I took it to a friends house up the road and we tryed 3 different power supplies and it still does the same thing. As soon as you plug the power in the CPU fan starts and the CPU light comes on, without touching the power button on the computer. If I hold the power button in to shut it down, the fans quit and the CPU light stays on dim untill I unplug it. My friend thinks the motherboard may need to be replaced. The tower was PACKED full of dust, I used a straw and blew all kinds of stuff out, mainly dust combined with dog hair. The CPU fan was so clogged with dust I dont know how it was still spinning. The computer was shut down regularly the last time, and it sat for about 16 hours being off. It usually isnt shut down for more than 10 hours at a time. There hasnt been a power outage for a couple weeks.
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Postmaster
Joined: Nov 2003
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From: Cab of a truck
So to buy a new motherboard, do I just walk into a computer store like Office Max or Staples and say "I need a motherboard" or is there more to it? Would I need to order a specific one?