No Power At All

[marydiv]

Hi, I was just reading on the forum where someone was inquiring about problems starting up the pc after putting it in sleep mode etc.

My son's computer was doing something similar, it started becoming increasingly difficult to start up and now we can't start it up at all? Is this something I should take in to get fixed - I get leary of computer places taking you for a ride as this happened to my friend. Or do you think I might be able to fix with the help of this forum?

Thanks
mary

[PrntRhd]

We do need much more information, is this a desktop PC?
What OS?
Brand/model?
Is this sleep mode or is it hibernate mode?

[marydiv]

Ok,

This is a desktop pc, with windows xp home edition service pk 2 installed, custom built AMD Athlon 64 3000 +
1.8GHz/(200MHz X 8)
MSI K8N Neo4-F nVidia nForce 4 chipset board
1 GB DDR400 pc3200 dual channel
Maxtor 250 GB SATA150 7200 RPM 16MCache
DVD LG GA 4163B
Floppy
ATI Radeon X600Pro All-in Wonder 256M PCI-Express
10/100/1000 Fast Ethernet
7.1 channel audio codec realTek ALC850
10 USB 2.0 port connections
ATX mid tower with Safe Power 450w power supply
wireless keyboard
LG L1950SBN 19" TFT LCD
LG 16X DVD Rom
NEC chipset 3+1 PCI card

(all this from detailed bill) hope it helps. There is other stuff that hasn't been working optimally however, I better start here. Thanks

[marydiv]

It's been a few days since it completely stopped working, can't recall if it was shut down in sleep or hibernate but the problem existed regardless of how it was shut down.

[Sylvander]

1. How far does Startup get?

2. Does the POST complete?
3. Single short beep?
4. Display on the monitor?
5. Begin loading Windows off the HDD?
6. Can you make Windows load Safe Mode?

7. Can you boot some disk other than the HDD?
8. Floppy?
9. Optical disk?

[marydiv]

Hi again,

I found out it is not my power supply, the motherboard is gone, and lucky for me, I still have a few months left on my warranty. Once i get the new one, I will be back to try to clear up some of the other issues. Great info on this forum!

[marydiv]

Well,

New motherboard was reassembled and still the same problem. I will work on answering those questions syl.

[marydiv]

ok..well it turns out that the power supply we had was not holding the charge, that is why it kept blinking. Replaced it with a thermaltake 430 watt power supply, and now the computer is as quiet as ever. However, all of a sudden the dvd burner, blinks however, it won't open. Is it possible that the dvd burner suddenly is gone and needs to be replaced or could it be something else?

[Sylvander]

Is the optical drive power supply properly connected?

Will it open right after you switch on the PC, during the POST?

If it doesn't, will it open if you disconnect the optical drive signal cable?

Opening a Stuck CD or DVD Drive Tray (http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=bph07168&lc=en&cc=us&dlc=&product=94378)

[mjc]

When power supplies go bad they can often take other things with them...and vice versa (especially if the power supply in question was borderline for the hardware it was being asked to run...).

Try different cables on the DVD drive, if that is no help, then yeah it is very likely gone too...

[marydiv]

the power to the optical drive is properly connected.
it will not open after you switch on the pc or any other time (unless you use a paper clip). We tried a different optical drive in the same spot and it opened. I guess maybe i should take that particular drive out and try it in another computer as a last resort?

[Sylvander]

"maybe i should take that particular drive out and try it in another computer"
Yes, it can do no harm.

I have 4 optical drives sitting here taken from other PC's.
I think 3 of the 4 are faulty; they're not made to last.
I decided to buy a new DVD-RW drive and it only cost about £20, and it works just fine.