Dead PC :(

[Oz]

My new computer crashed a few times yesterday. I figured it was because it was overheating with that processor and such. I checked bios and adjusted the fans a little bit, but the heat inside was nothing to worry about, generally 45-55 degrees celsius for the video card, CPU, and PSU.

It crashed a few more times after that, and ever since the final time it crashed, I have been unable to power the new computer back up.

I need help badly, im really pissed off, and so are my parents gonna be when they found out I blew all this money to build a computer, and cant even to get it to work now. Do you think I have a bad power supply? Bad power switch on the front of the computer?

The specs are below

DYNAPOWER Black ATX Mid-Tower Case with 430W Power Supply
SONY Black 52x32x52 Internal IDE CD-RW Drive
SONY Black 1.44MB 3.5inch Floppy Disk DriveWestern Digital Special Edition 80GB 7200RPM IDE Hard Drive
Corsair 184 Pin 1G(512MBx2) DDR PC-3200
ASUS "P4P800 SE" i865PE Chipset Motherboard for Intel Socket 478 CPU
Intel Pentium 4/ 3.0E GHz 800MHz FSB, 1MB L2 Cache, HT
Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy 2 PCI Sound Card
ATI RADEON 9600XT Video Card, 256MB DDR, 128-bit, DVI/TV-Out, 8X AGP

I sent the case back to newegg the other day for a replacement. It had 1 fairly small dent on the windowed side, and a large dent on the opposite side. Also I sent it back because I dont think the power supply is working properly, or else the power button on the front isn't working correctly.

I know when the switch on the back of the computer was on with the power cord attached, the green light on the motherboard did turn on. So there was power coming from the power supply, but somehow the power button on the front of the case wasn't working properly and wouldn't start the computer.

[racerboybmw]

Silly Question-- is the thing wired right? If true- does the dent on the side the MB attaches to deep enough to short out (touch) the board?

[ski]

racerboy makes a good point.

If that's not the cause and nothing happens(no fans or lights) when the power button is pressed, then turn off the power, disconnect the power cord, disconnect the power button's leads from the MB terminals, reconnect the power cord, turn on the power, and use a metal object(screwdriver, etc.) to make contact between the 2 terminals for the power button leads.
If the system turns on, then check the power button's wires for a bare spot.
If no bare spot is found, then replace the entire power button assembly.

If the system does not power up by doing the above, then install/connect only the power supply, MB, CPU, case speaker, and power button, and make sure the power supply's voltage selector switch is set to the correct voltage and the PS connection to the MB is securely seated.

Next, then make sure the 'Clear CMOS' MB jumper is not in the 'Clear' position(see MB instructions). If the jumper is in the proper position, then turn off the power, disconnect the power cord, and clear CMOS with the MB jumper.
If no luck with the above, then place the MB on a piece of cardboard. If the system powers up, then the MB is shorting out when installed in the case. Check for a loose screw, standoff, etc., inside the case, and also remove any standoffs which do not line up with MB holes. If none is found, then remove all MB screws and metal standoffs, and install paper washers(manila folder paper works good for this) between the MB and the screws/standoffs.

If it does not power up with the MB placed on a piece of cardboard, then either the MB or PSU is bad. Swap them out, or have them shop tested.
If you have a voltmeter, then you can check the PSU as shown here:
http://www.ochardware.com/articles/p.../psuvolt2.html