update on earlier thread

[andfial]

Please forgive me if i am in the wrong area to ask this,i have an acer aspire t120 system
athlon xp 2000+
512 mb ram
km400-m mobo
I recently had an issue where i unplugged my usb adsl modem and the comp went dead,i would turn it on and all that would happen is the hd light would come on and the dvd drive light would come on,both would stay lit and nothing else would happen i could not even open the dvd drive door.The power led does not even light up.I have replaced the cpu and tried the memory in another system,it boots that up ok so i know the ram is ok.all the fans are spinning,i have tried the usual taking all parts connected to mobo off and still nothing,could this be a mobo failure or perhaps a psu issue,the unit has a 200w psu if that means anything to anyone.Once again please accept my apologies if this is not the coorect place to as this and please forgive my ignorance in such matters i am a newbie at all this trchnical stuff.

[ski]

Good work on eliminating the CPU and RAM as suspects.That leaves the PS, MB, and video card as the likely possible causes.
Check the MB for any bulging, leaking, or ruptured capacitors. They are the small upright cylindrical components. If any are like this, then the MB is shot. Replace it.
If the capacitors look ok, then reseat the video card making sure it's fully seated.
If no luck, then the only way to find the culprit is to either do what you did with the CPU and RAM(swap them out or try them on another system), or have them shop tested.
My guess -> bad MB.

[andfial]

I posted earlier that my pc would not boot,i put some fresh heat sink compound to the cpu and all is fine now,can this have been the trouble all along.as stated earlier i tried all the usual things of unplugging the components and trying ram and cpu in other machine,please tell me if this simple thing can have such an effect.

[Whyzman]

as stated earlierHard to know what you stated earlier if you begin a new thread... Best to keep everything together to avoid confusion. Mods can move to appropriate forums if misplaced by original poster. However, best for continuity to keep everything related to the original problem together...I have merged the threads. ;)