I Need Help Please!

[Rednsassi]

A few months ago I was replacing the RAM in my older Compaq, well needless to say, I screwed up something while digging around and now it has no power. Nothing comes on, no fans, no lights, nothing. I have just gotten around to working on this one and bought a new power supply, but when I put it in, still nothing. Not sure where to go from here.

Any suggestions would be appreciated =)

[Whyzman]

Hello Rednsassi,

Welcome tohttp://www.pcguide.com/ubb/pcgubb.gif Forums!

The first thing I would check is to make sure that you didn't disturb the wiring from the momentary power button on the front of the case to where it attaches to the MotherBoard.

[BigBlue66]

Also make sure the 20-pin ATX power cable is securely plugged into the motherboard.

[gwallen4]

You may have buggered the RAM socket when you tried to insert the new RAM or you may have knocked loose a vital connection.

The front power switch is usually connected to the motherboard. If that wire is pulled off, the power won't come on when you press the switch. Follow the wire from the switch to the MB.

In the absence of a disconnect or obvious damage to the motherboard, I would first try a minimal boot: disconnect all drives (HD,CD,floppy) and remove all expansion cards except video, remove all but one stick of RAM which you know to be good, then try to boot.

If you get the fans to come on and the computer posts, then add pieces back one at a time. If the fans still won't come on, remove the video card, and memory, then try to boot. With all components disconnected, the fans should come on at least. If not, then you probably have a dead motherboard.

If you get this far and still have no luck, get back to us with the specs of your system: MB. CPU, type of memory, video, OS.

[Rednsassi]

Thanks for the suggestions, will try them out and let you know what happens. =)

[cocotheclown]

try takeing the battery off the mobo for about 30 seconds and then put it back this should set everythin back to default settings in the bios

[Budfred]

You can clear the BIOS in a few seconds by switching the Clear CMOS jumper from the usual pins to 1 and 2 to 2 and 3, but for removing the battery it takes a lot longer than 30 seconds. You can take it out with the computer unplugged and press the power switch to dissipate remaining charge, but even then I think you have to wait for a while. If you just remove it, it can take as much as 24 hours.

[FrankSG]

This is just a shot in the dark--it may not be your problem. But, on the other hand, it might be and is worth mentioning. I had a Compaq and it had two power switches on it. One was a little red switch on the back which I turned on when I first set up my computer. The other switch was the one on the front of the computer which was the main one that I used to turn the computer on and off. One time I was doing some work on my machine and I must have accidentally turned off the one on the back--it was just a small switch and hard to see. Not realizing that the switch at the back was turned off, I couldn't understand why I couldn't get any power. I finally discovered what the problem was. So, as I say, that may not be your problem but you may want to check it out.
Sometimes when we look for a solution to a problem, we tend to look for the most technical and forget about the simple little things.