need tech geek HELP!!

[gearheads78]

About 4 months ago I bought a rerurbished apox 4 yo Dell desktop on EBAY. Other than a fan thats been kind of noisy its works flawlessly. Last night when I got home I went to turn it on beacause I thought it was off. My wife had used it earler so it really was on so when I hit the power switch I really was powering it off. I left the room for a minute for it to cycle off. I came back 5 min later to turn it on and its dead. The switch does nothing at all. Its just like its unplugged. I have a giant computer store near by called Frys that should have anything I need but I don't know where to start. Help!!

[Droolguy]

Is the wire connected to the power button on the case loose?

Is it connected to a power strip and did someone accidentally turn said strip off?

Is the power supply cable loose?

Do the fans on the power supply move at all?

That's all I can think of without getting into the computer with an electric multimeter. Problem is its not getting any electricity, even a broken computer will make all kinds of strange noises.

[Mkelcy]

Most computers have an on/off switch in the back on the power supply, and another on the front. Are both switches on?

Is it plugged into a power strip? Is the power strip on?

[gearheads78]

was connected to a strip. I turned off and on said strip and even plugged in the wall direct. Its dead like its not plugged in. Tried multiple outlets jiggeled the cord nothing.

Is the wire connected to the power button on the case loose?

Is it connected to a power strip and did someone accidentally turn said strip off?

Is the power supply cable loose?

Do the fans on the power supply move at all?

That's all I can think of without getting into the computer with an electric multimeter. Problem is its not getting any electricity, even a broken computer will make all kinds of strange noises.

[gearheads78]

Most computers have an on/off switch in the back on the power supply, and another on the front. Are both switches on?

Is it plugged into a power strip? Is the power strip on?

There is a swith on the outside for a 115/230. The only thing I see on the inside is a green button on the end of a lever about the size of my thumb. It might se some sort of reset switch but it does not seem to do anything.

[Mkelcy]

Well, it sounds like the power supply (PS) isn't getting powered up. Unfortunately, the PSs in most modern computers are turned on by the motherboard, so if there's a loose connection inside the case (or maybe even a fried CPU), that could be keeping the PS from getting turned on. Depending on how adventurous you are, you could open the case and make sure all the connectors are well seated. While you're in there, sniff it to see if you can detect the acrid smell of a fried component.

You might also go on line and download an owner's manual for your specific Dell model to see if they have any trouble shooting tips.

[gearheads78]

I have opened it and looked around jiggled some wires ect. I did think I spelled a burn smell when I first opened it up last night but It was faint if even there at all. This is starting to not sound good.

Well, it sounds like the power supply (PS) isn't getting powered up. Unfortunately, the PSs in most modern computers are turned on by the motherboard, so if there's a loose connection inside the case (or maybe even a fried CPU), that could be keeping the PS from getting turned on. Depending on how adventurous you are, you could open the case and make sure all the connectors are well seated. While you're in there, sniff it to see if you can detect the acrid smell of a fried component.

You might also go on line and download an owner's manual for your specific Dell model to see if they have any trouble shooting tips.

[Mkelcy]

I have opened it and looked around jiggled some wires ect. I did think I spelled a burn smell when I first opened it up last night but It was faint if even there at all. This is starting to not sound good.

Troubleshooting from where you are now involves swapping in known good parts, e.g., a power supply. It may be time to drag it in somewhere to get it diagnosed.

[jackfrost]

sounds like the power supply. they are pretty cheap and fairly straightforward to replace, at least in standard cases. sometimes Dell cases can be hard to work on.

the PSU in there now should have a wattage rating on the metal case - just find another unit w/ roughly the same rating, I'm guessing it's around 250W to 300W for a 4 year old Dell.

here's a 350W unit from Newegg for $25 with good ratings:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817182006

[gearheads78]

mine is a 160w unit I have found replacemnets but is there a way to check it to be sure before I go spend the money?

sounds like the power supply. they are pretty cheap and fairly straightforward to replace, at least in standard cases. sometimes Dell cases can be hard to work on.

the PSU in there now should have a wattage rating on the metal case - just find another unit w/ roughly the same rating, I'm guessing it's around 250W to 300W for a 4 year old Dell.

here's a 350W unit from Newegg for $25 with good ratings:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817182006

[jackfrost]

mine is a 160w unit I have found replacemnets but is there a way to check it to be sure before I go spend the money?

unfortunately, you'd need a known working motherboard to trigger the PSU to turn on. here's a nice little guide on troubleshooting: http://www.fonerbooks.com/power.htm

another possibility is that sometimes a PSU has a fuse built into it. looks for a black knob on the back or under the cover.

[MonzaRacer]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...tester&x=0&y=0
power supply tester , but if its only 160wat get atleast a 400 watt to be safe.
Iff its has lost mother board simply look on newegg for new board to fit that processor or you can try getting newer board of same make and try that with newer update processor

[Bishop73]

If you have another PC that you know works you can put in the possibly bad PS in it and vice versa.

[Brandon Miller]

You can test a computer power supply with a multimeter. We do it all the time here at work. Our IT guy does it on older computers about once a month to check to see if they are going bad. As far as the motherboard controlling the power supply, that's wrong. Without the power supply, the MB would not get any power to control anything. If the PS is bad, nothing will work. Power supply is the first thing to check when nothing powers on.

[Mkelcy]

You can test a computer power supply with a multimeter. We do it all the time here at work. Our IT guy does it on older computers about once a month to check to see if they are going bad. As far as the motherboard controlling the power supply, that's wrong. Without the power supply, the MB would not get any power to control anything. If the PS is bad, nothing will work. Power supply is the first thing to check when nothing powers on.

Both ATA and ATX power supplies rely on a pin being grounded to be turned on, and the pin is in the connector that goes to the MB.

The pinouts are here: http://pinouts.ru/Power/atxpower_pinout.shtml

Maybe you can ground the correct pin (the site gives you both ATA and ATX pinouts) and see if the power supply powers up.

[gearheads78]

Just giving a follow up on this. I won the same computer desktop housing only on ebay for 70.00 shipped to my door. A power supply only was going to be about $45.00 shipped but since I did not know for sure if that was the problem I didn't want to waste the money if that was not it. Plan A was to swap the power supply and plan B was just to use the new one. Well I am happy to say I am typing from my old computer and and have a chassis full of spare parts should anything else go wrong.

[wmhjr]

Good deal. Dell uses a lot of proprietary components (power supplies, motherboards, etc) and generic ATX and microATX components frequently won't fit without a real effort. Stuff like drives and memory are no issue but chassis related stuff can be a pain. Having some spares might make your life a lot easier.

[Mkelcy]

Just giving a follow up on this. I won the same computer desktop housing only on ebay for 70.00 shipped to my door. A power supply only was going to be about $45.00 shipped but since I did not know for sure if that was the problem I didn't want to waste the money if that was not it. Plan A was to swap the power supply and plan B was just to use the new one. Well I am happy to say I am typing from my old computer and and have a chassis full of spare parts should anything else go wrong.

Isn't it great when a plan works out!

[shep]

For future reference pulling the big plug off the mother board and shorting the green wire to any black wire with a paper clip will turn on the power supply. This will let you know if it will turn on but it still may not be suplying the correct voltage.