Comp Trouble

[Zarathustra]

Bah.

As background, I rarely turn my computer off. I'll restart now and then, but generally leave it running while messagers are set to Away and turn off the monitor. Well, for some reason last night I felt the urge to shut down...

Now I can't turn the thing back on.

I've restarted recently with no problems and everything is running smoothly, so I really doubt it's a software problem. I've checked the light on the motherboard and it is indeed receiving power, but pushing the front power switch is not booting it up. My first thought here is that the switch on the front of the case has gone bad and I should replace it. Is there anything else I should check on here? My experience with hardware is limited to whatever I've had to fix over the years, but I've generally been able to take care of any problems that have cropped up. Just need to know what else I should be checking here.

[Walkiry]

Bah.

As background, I rarely turn my computer off.  I'll restart now and then, but generally leave it running while messagers are set to Away and turn off the monitor.  Well, for some reason last night I felt the urge to shut down...

Now I can't turn the thing back on.

I've restarted recently with no problems and everything is running smoothly, so I really doubt it's a software problem.  I've checked the light on the motherboard and it is indeed receiving power, but pushing the front power switch is not booting it up.  My first thought here is that the switch on the front of the case has gone bad and I should replace it.  Is there anything else I should check on here?  My experience with hardware is limited to whatever I've had to fix over the years, but I've generally been able to take care of any problems that have cropped up.  Just need to know what else I should be checking here.
[right][snapback]65380[/snapback][/right]

Of course, the first thing to check is if it's indeed a faulty switch. Find where the switch is plugged in the motherboard and, instead of using it, short the pins briefly with a small piece of metal (like a flat screwdriver for example) and see if it powers up.

If it doesn't you'll have to start checking components one by one and see which one busted when you switched off :)

[pakman]

Have you tried swapping out the power supply to see if that is the problem? If it doesn't turn on when you put in a different power supply, it could be the switch.

[Chile]

Also,

if you open the case, check for any loose connections. If you're computer was recnetly moved, the components inside can shift out a little. Check to make sure the fan is working too. ;)

Last resort:

Check the capacitors on the mainboard, if they're bulging at all or leaking something, then they're blown.

here is a lovely picture of blown capacitors:
http://www.stalphonsos.com/~chad/pics/mo.../caps2.jpg