New computer troubleshooting Options

[Maccabee]

I made the mistake of taking apart an old computer and putting it back together. i wanted to gain that experience so that when I come to building my own box from scratch I will understand how. Well I took everything apart and cleared all the dust, and then i put it back together and to my sunrise...it didn't work. I took another look inside all looked for mistakes but couldn't find anything. I did see that I had put the led light cables on the wrong spot on the mobo so I fixed it and tried again. Nothing. So I was wondering if someone could give me a checklist of things that could have gone wrong. When I pres the power button i don't even get a beep. All wires are plugged in. I did remove the fan from the heat sink over the CPU and then put it back in. Could I have messed something up? I have never seen the latching mechanism for the heat sink so maybe it isn't secured. I appreciate the help.

[Deospeon]

why do you keep asking silly questions?

Check the PSU.

I suggest you use the
Energizer 4xAntiAliasing Batteries.

[Maccabee]

Whats a psu? And why would I use batteries in a computer?

I asked it on this forum but the guy stopped answering.
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/topic226937.html

Sorry for asking so many questions. Theres just know other way i can figure out how to do it.

[Deospeon]

psu = power supply unit

batteries work best, you can easily change them

[Uronacid]

I feel so bad for you man, but every computer geek goes through this. It's what makes us great. What happens exactly when you press the powerbutton? Do any of the fans spin or anything?

[kryogenix]

I was actually thinking of telling you to do something that would result in you electrocuting yourself at first, but I decided not to.

Stupid conscience :(

But, how about you do us all a favor and just stop posting here?

[Maccabee]

I feel so bad for you man, but every computer geek goes through this. It's what makes us great. What happens exactly when you press the powerbutton? Do any of the fans spin or anything?

nada.

I was actually thinking of telling you to do something that would result in you electrocuting yourself at first, but I decided not to.

Stupid conscience :(

But, how about you do us all a favor and just stop posting here?

How kind. I deep down you really are a nice person

[kryogenix]

Yes, and deep down under that thick skull of yours, they may just be more than a half dozen brain cells.

[Uronacid]

nada.

Check the connections to the power supply:

1. Make sure both 24-pin power connector (Main Power Connector) and the 4-pin power connector (+12V Power Connector) are connected to the mother board.
2. Make sure all fans are connected to the motherboard as some computers will not turn on when fans aren't plugged in and recieving power as a fail-safe.
3. Make sure the connection from the powerbutton to the motherboard is in place.

[kryogenix]

jcp if you have a soldering iron, you can fix it yourself. Just solder a 8-ohm resistor onto the technodrome of the front side bus to your CPU's flux capacitor.

[Maccabee]

No clue what that means.

Check the connections to the power supply:

1. Make sure both 24-pin power connector (Main Power Connector) and the 4-pin power connector (+12V Power Connector) are connected to the mother board.
2. Make sure all fans are connected to the motherboard as some computers will not turn on when fans aren't plugged in and recieving power as a fail-safe.
3. Make sure the connection from the powerbutton to the motherboard is in place.

Im only not certain about the powerbutton not being plugged in. And the fan is plugged into the motherboard but something may have happened when I took it off and put it back on.

[heyo-captain-jac...]

jcp if you have a soldering iron, you can fix it yourself. Just solder a 8-ohm resistor onto the technodrome of the front side bus to your CPU's flux capacitor.

Good plan.

Joseph, either you didn't hook up the PSU right, or you fried the motherboard.

See any sparks, or smell anything burning?

[Maccabee]

Good plan.

Joseph, either you didn't hook up the PSU right, or you fried the motherboard.

See any sparks, or smell anything burning?

Nope. After I took it apart it has just not done anything. I have plugged the Power Supply into the motherboard. The big 10x2 plug and the 4x4 one. But from the first time I tried turning it on their was no noise, no sparks, no smell. I took the floppy drive out of the computer. Could that have made it not work?

[heyo-captain-jac...]

Taking the floppy drive out would do nothing.

Did you put something in backwards? I've put RAM in backwards before, but that's pretty hard to do if you're not using SO-DIMM.

[Maccabee]

No I checked where there is a gap and made sure it lined up. I honestly have no clue what could have happened. bad first experience making a computer.

[heyo-captain-jac...]

Everyone screws up a computer at some point. Don't worry about a bad first experience.

[Maccabee]

Everyone screws up a computer at some point. Don't worry about a bad first experience.

haha, ya but I still need to fix it cause its the only computer that I have permission to do whatever on, and change the os.

[Maccabee]

I think the motherboard is broken. I am so bummed. I need a nerd.

[Uronacid]

No clue what that means.
Im only not certain about the powerbutton not being plugged in. And the fan is plugged into the motherboard but something may have happened when I took it off and put it back on.

Well get certain.

[Maccabee]

bump...Still wont start...Im gonna take a crapload of pictures and see if anyone can determine whats wrong.

[heyo-captain-jac...]

bump...Still wont start...Im gonna take a crapload of pictures and see if anyone can determine whats wrong.

Pictures might be good. I'm thinking you didn't hooked up the PSU right.

[illriginal]

bump...Still wont start...Im gonna take a crapload of pictures and see if anyone can determine whats wrong.

A lot of PCs now a days has two power cords (not the ones you connect to the wall).

1 power cable is a 20 pin the other is a 4 pin. Make sure both are plugged into the motherboard correctly (they click/snap into place)


Look at this diagram: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ShowImage.as...0Power%20Supply

And click the image with the wires.

[Maccabee]

Im know that the PSU is plugged in right!

[heyo-captain-jac...]

Im know that the PSU is plugged in right!

Unless you used the wrong cable or something.

Tama is probably right about the PSU.

[Maccabee]

I know its freaking plugged in right! I have tripple check everything! Thats the weird part!

[heyo-captain-jac...]

Did you flip any strange switches on the PSU?

[Maccabee]

umm, a little red one that changes the voltage but I put it back.

[heyo-captain-jac...]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

[Maccabee]

what.

[Maccabee]

here. Kinda random but i thought a geek might notice something im not seeing.

pix: http://img30.imageshack.us/gal.php?g=img0112q.jpg

Ps: I tookout the floppy drive, and one of the two sticks of ram, and some drive, that im not even sure what it was. I think it was plugs for wired internet.

[heyo-captain-jac...]

Integrated graphics? Try sticking a dedicated GPU in there if you have one.

Also, lolfoot

[illriginal]

lol... can make sure that your power button's cable is connected properly? I'm getting a brain fart as to what it's called, but typically it's a little cable that consists of two wires that's attached to a little black plug which plugs into the motherboard. The other end of course is plugged into the power button of the PC. And if you have a reset button, just for the sake of it.. press it to see if it starts.

Oh another thing is if the motherboard is making contact with the chassis of the desktop. Unless of course you didn't unmount the motherboard.


This is what I want you to do. Open the PC up, lay it on it's side so that the open side is facing up and you can look into it.


Press the power button and tell me if anything lights up, or if the fan spins, even if you hear the slightest sound other than the button being pressed.


By the way.. for all we know, that PSU is shot. So that's also a possibility.



P.S. Your pictures are damn blurry! D:

[heyo-captain-jac...]

By the way.. for all we know, that PSU is shot. So that's also a possibility.

He said he flipped the voltage switch. I'm thinking he raped that PSU to death.

[illriginal]

He said he flipped the voltage switch. I'm thinking he raped that PSU to death.

The only thing I can assume is that it didn't do any harm since he's not even able to get to post. I don't know what exactly he might have uninstalled then reinstalled.

[heyo-captain-jac...]

Try sticking a new BIOS in there,

[Maccabee]

Whats a chassis? And how can I give it a new bios? From the time I took it apart and put it back together, when I turn it on there isn't a light, r a fan or any noise. And I took everything apart, and put it back together. Everything.

[illriginal]

Whats a chassis? And how can I give it a new bios? From the time I took it apart and put it back together, when I turn it on there isn't a light, r a fan or any noise. And I took everything apart, and put it back together. Everything.

Ok... The chasis is pretty much all the metal parts of the tower. It's the frame inside... where you screwed down your motherboard onto.. (does that make sense? lol)


Do you have a manual... if not, go to the appropriate manufacturer's website, look up the model of that specific computer (typically on the face of the tower), and download / print / whatever the manual. You want to look for "jumpers". That was the word I had a brain fart on. Anyways, you want to look at the diagram of the motherboard (make sure the motherboard is the same motherboard in the PC, most often, it's not -.-). If the motherboard itself has tiny print labeling each jumper, then match the names. If not, and the mother board is not the same, you need to now look up your motherboard. Typically all motherboards have some sort of (white, gold, black, red, blue, green, silver etc..) print on it that represents the make and model of that motherboard. Google that, get that manual to that motherboard and make sure the jumpers are right.

If the motherboard isn't touching the chassis directly, it could be a bad PSU (I need to know which number is exposed on that "red switch" you flipped).

Does your motherboard have a power button on it anywhere? If so, try turning it on that way, if it turns on, then it's the power button's jumper that's on incorrectly.

[Maccabee]

The jumpers on this mobo are rather confusing. There is not pwr switch jumper but there is a D/C switch. Im guessing its the same thing. Most of the things everone has said I already know. Why would the PSU be bad, if riht before I took it apart it worked.

[illriginal]

What do you mean there's not a "power jumper switch"? It's not labeled "power" but labeled D/C? Or...?

If it worked perfectly fine right before taking it apart, then no worries.

[Maccabee]

Like on the motherbaord, there are those little pins sticking out. One says hdd led. another says pwr led. And another says D/C power. I read somewhere shorting the black and green wire to make it start. How do I do this?

[illriginal]

Ah ok ya... D/C power. Shorting I can imagine is by unplugging the power button's cable from the motherboard and using a screw driver to touch the pins, you'd touch the D/C power pins.

This is particularly done when the power button cable itself is bad.

[Maccabee]

Ah ok ya... D/C power. Shorting I can imagine is by unplugging the power button's cable from the motherboard and using a screw driver to touch the pins, you'd touch the D/C power pins.

This is particularly done when the power button cable itself is bad.

And would that make the fans spin or something just so ill know that the mobo is broken? I have an odd feeling that maybe just the power button is broken...not the cord but the power button. Cause I took off the case, and the power button came off and there is just a little button type thing. So i think ill take the front tapnel off again and push that when im testing it.

[illriginal]

lol


Ya the fan will spin up, you'll hear the beep (post), then loads up OS

[Maccabee]

well nothing is working. I guess the computer really is scrap metal now

R.I.P

The homicide case has been solved. The death of "computer" was caused by Joseph Cohen a geek trying to learn how to make a computer...

[illriginal]

Ya that's a little scary if you some how shot your computer dead. Take the processor off and try to turn it on.

[heyo-captain-jac...]

Ya that's a little scary if you some how shot your computer dead. Take the processor off and try to turn it on.

It's probably glued in. A lot of pre-assembled computers come with the proc glued in.

[Uronacid]

You know, I had this happen to a freind the other day. He plugged his PSU in wrong and attempted to turn his machine on. He fried his:

• Motherboard
• Power Supply
• Hard Disk Drive

It's possible you just mixed something up while putting your computer back together. Next time you need to be more careful while putting all the components back into the case.

Another thing that people tend to f*ck up on is the location where they decide to pull their compuer apart. Most people decide to pull their computer apart on their living room rug. Well guess what, rugs create lots of static electricty that zaps that shit out of computer components.

Dust is another thing that people worry about when looking at the inside of their computer. Oh, and what's the first thing that comes to mind when dust is gathering in a small area that cannot be swept by a broom. BING! A Vaccum!!!! Standard house vaccums create a massive whirlwind of static electricity... do not clean out your computer with a standard vaccum.

[heyo-captain-jac...]

Another thing that people tend to f*ck up on is the location where they decide to pull their compuer apart. Most people decide to pull their computer apart on their living room rug. Well guess what, rugs create lots of static electricty that zaps that shit out of computer components.

Actually now that I think about it, that album he posted with pictures of the case open, the case was sitting on carpet. I bet that's exactly what happened.

I didn't even think of that.

[Uronacid]

Actually now that I think about it, that album he posted with pictures of the case open, the case was sitting on carpet. I bet that's exactly what happened.

I didn't even think of that.

yeah, I always pull mine apart on my hardwood floor.

[kryogenix]

PEBKAC motherf*cker

[illriginal]

ROFLMAO Did OP take his PC apart on the rug?!?!?

Oh man.. total fail if so =X

[heyo-captain-jac...]

Serious extremefail.

[Uronacid]

ROFLMAO Did OP take his PC apart on the rug?!?!?

Oh man.. total fail if so =X

Live and learn. :/

[Maccabee]

No, I did it on a hard wood floor.
Again, I am not a noob.

[heyo-captain-jac...]

Man, you probably don't even know the difference between x86 and x64.