power problem

[kmilitello]

I have been having an unusual problem with my PC. The system started to crash in the last few days, but it would always restart. Eventually, however, the system crashed, and could not be restarted, even with a rescue disk. There seems to be a problem with power to the tower. When the tower is plugged into the wall, the fan turns on. However, nothing shows up on the monitor. It doesn't sound like the computer is starting up. The funny thing is I cannot shut off the tower unless I unplug it. Pushing the power or reset button does absolutely nothing. The only way to shut off the power is to pull the plug.
I am confused on what this could be? A bad power supply, a short, a virus, something else? Any suggestions?

Thanks,
K

[Steve48]

Hello,

A bit more info as to what you have may be helpful, but I will give it a shot. My guess is that you have a ATX supply. The AT supplys that I am familar with WILL cut off all power when switched off. If you DO have an AT supply..then maybe your on/off power switch is funky, but they normally either work or they dont. Ihae little experence with the AT supply, but I do know that some, if not most of them have a "SOFT OFF" function. It sounds as though your "Soft Off" went to a "Hard-OFF". So I would consider replacing your power supply. Its realitivly an easy task. One more question....do the lights on your keyboard flash when attempting t boot, and what beeps if any?

Steve48

[kmilitello]

Reply,
When I plug in the tower, I heard no noises or beaps. Nothing on the keyboard lights up. The system seems dead.
I have 250 W ATX style power supply.

[sea69]

hi

Not sure about why it won't start, but to get it to power off- just hold the power switch in and count until it turns itself off. (usually about 6 seconds)

When your system starts crash/freezing on you, it's giving you fair warning that something needs to be repaired, upgraded, or optimized.

Try allowing scan disk to run when it crashes. (or if it doesnt run automatic, run that and defragg BOTH once a week.)

These other guys will most likely be able to help with the rest. http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/smile.gif



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"Remember your 'unique'... just like everyone else!"

[kmilitello]

Actually, the tower will not shut off even when the power button is held for >10 seconds.

[Paleo Pete]

More questions than answers, but we need more info.
What are the system specs and OS?
Did you install any programs, games or drivers just before this started?
Did you install any hardware?
Have you tried a different monitor?
Have you checked the monitor cable to be sure it's connected well?
Do you hear any beeps when it powers up?

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Computer Information Links (http://www.geocities.com/paleopete/)

[kmilitello]

I have a homebuilt PC using windows 98 OS. I have an athlon AMD 600 mhz processor and appropriate board. When I plug the tower in, I do not hear any beeps, although the fan does turn on. This makes me think something is wrong with power to the machine. The tower also won't shut off unless I unplug it. Nothing shows up on the monitor though. I did check the connection from the monitor to the tower and it seems okay. I don't have another monitor to check my system with. Therefore, I guess I cannot rule out a potential problem with the video card or monitor. I did not recently install any new programs that this problem correlates with.

[andreadebiase]

The symptoms you are decribing are the same I had when I had my FSB jumper on the mobo set at 133MHz. It had to be 100MHz. Check it out!!!!!!!