I thought it was the power supply???

[bsc1]

I have a strange problem that I was hoping someone could help me out with or at least give me some insight on where to look for help. I have looked the entire forum over and searched the WWW but cannot find this particular problem.

Basically, when I plug the computer in to the surge protector or directly to the wall, the computer automatically comes on........but only the power supply actually is running. I have a orange light on the tower, which is not blinking and there are not any beeps. the computer monitor stays black and that is how it stays. Also, pushing the power button does not make it turn back off, so I have to unplug it from the back of the computer or turn the surge protector off. I made a UNeducated guess and bought a power supply for it, but it has the exact same problem as before. Prior to this problem, for a few weeks, the monitor would flash the lost signal message. If anybody has any idea what the problem may be or point me in the right direction, it would be much appreciated.

The computer specs are as listed:

emachine T2865
280 AMD athlon processor
160 gb hd
cd rom
dvd + RW
512 mb ram
nvidia geforce 4 mx graphics

if i left out anything let me know.

thanks for any help.

[saphalline]

Is the computer working at all? How old is it? Did anything happen (that you can remember) just prior to this situation?

[bsc1]

The computer is about 3 yrs old. I do not remember anything prior to the current situation. The computer does not work at all. once i plug it in, the power supply fan starts turning, but the screen stays black. it doesnt even begin the BIOS at all (the very first screen, before the windows xp screen). The monitor does work, because i tried it on another computer.

[Sylvander]

Sylvander’s Diagnostic Flowcharts
Download a copy of my diagnostic flowcharts from here
www.erniek.eclipse.co.uk/downloads/sylvanderdiags.zip
and print them to leaf through.
Begin on the STARTUP chart.
-----------------------------------------------
NO POST, NO BEEP, NO VIDEO
www.pcguide.com/vb/showthread.php?t=39685
-----------------------------------------------
You have a failure to COMPLETE the POST [video is only enabled toward the end of the POST sequence], but is the POST running?
Do you see any sign of the POST running? [any blinking LED's?]
If you startup with all RAM removed and get warning beeps, that indicates [not only that the internal speaker is working, but also] that the POST is running and reaching the RAM test stage,
The fact that when you then run Startup with the RAM in place you get no RAM warning beeps means that the RAM test passes, but the POST then halts some time after that and before the enabling of the video card.

Here's the POST steps, for that part of the total between the RAM tests and the first display, for a generic Phoenix BIOS POST:

Code_Beeps_POST Routine Description
20h 1-3-1-1 Test DRAM refresh
22h 1-3-1-3 Test 8742 Keyboard Controller
24h Set ES segment register to 4 GB
28h Auto size DRAM
29h Initialize POST Memory Manager
2Ah Clear 512 kB base RAM
2Ch 1-3-4-1 RAM failure on address line xxxx*
2Eh 1-3-4-3 RAM failure on data bits xxxx* of low byte of
memory bus
----------------------------------[the problem may be after this]
2Fh Enable cache before system BIOS shadow
32h Test CPU bus-clock frequency
33h Initialize Phoenix Dispatch Manager
36h Warm start shut down
38h Shadow system BIOS ROM
3Ah Auto size cache
3Ch Advanced configuration of chipset registers
3Dh Load alternate registers with CMOS values
41h Initialize extended memory for RomPilot
42h Initialize interrupt vectors
45h POST device initialization
46h 2-1-2-3 Check ROM copyright notice
47h Initialize I20 support
48h Check video configuration against CMOS
49h Initialize PCI bus and devices
4Ah Initialize all video adapters in system
4Bh QuietBoot start (optional)
4Ch Shadow video BIOS ROM
4Eh Display BIOS copyright notice
-----------------------------------------[and before this]