Give us a clue

Hi

I am trying to power on my PC, all that happens is the 2 fans (CPU and back of case) spin for like half a turn and then stop, there is a light on the motherboard so am asuming its gettin power.

I have to unplug the cable from the back of the tower so i can switch it on again, and the same happens.

My first guess would be the PSU but its very new

Help!!!!!

Lee

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Comments

royal

There are certain essentials needed to have a successful POST (1 short beep). This includes memory, cpu, motherboard, and power supply. I would try powering up with only these essentials and see what happens. Also, make sure the pins for the case speaker are plugged in correctly so you can successfully hear a beep. If you still hear no beep, it is either your motherboard or power supply. You can test this using a cheap tool or a voltimeter. A cheap tool such as this which will test many different components (20/24pin, SATA, PCI-e, cpu, etc). If your PSU is functioning normally and you hear no beeps, it is most likely your motherboard. Also, make sure your motherboard isn't shorting out by touching the metal. Make sure you have the standoffs where they are supposed to be, and if there are any washers that were supplied with the motherboard, make sure you are using them. Also, try opening the case and making sure there aren't any items that aren't supposed to be inside your case that could be shorting it out (such as bobby pins or cheerios, right sprkymrk?

)

Plantwiz

Lee, I think I've mentioned to you before to be more descriptive in your title/subject line and similarly in your text.

Can you provide more information regarding WHAT type of hardware you have?

1. PS = model/watts
2. CPU = type/series
3. Ram
4. Mobo = brand/model
5. Graphic Card = brand/chipset
6. chassis type

then other pertinent information such as....did this problem just begin after a change in hardware or software? Did you just build this box and it's never worked?

The hardware specs are needed because depending on the hardware you may not have a large enough PS. Some GC require and even larger PS then the MOBO, so this needs to be confirmed prior to just making good guesses.

The members love to help out on these sorts of questions, but as a fellow member you need to do your part to make the subject interesting to the correct people and then provide us with the best info so we can help.

FWIW

blargoe

You either have an issue with your power supply or your motherboard, most likely. Failed power supplies are fairly common particularly for self-builds because the cheap ones most people buy are complete crap or they aren't powerful enough to run all of the stuff people add to their computer.

seuss_ssues

Id second the power supply or mobo option.

also make sure you have all needed power connections attached to the mobo.....they dont all just use 1 anymore

Lee H

Here you go plantwiz

1. PS = model/watts Brand ? 550 W
2. CPU = type/series Dual core AMD socket 940
3. Ram 4 GB OCZ Platinum Edition
4. Mobo = brand/model ASUS M2N-SLI Deluxe
5. Graphic Card = brand/chipset 2 X 512 MB Ram (brand?)cant check i am in work
6. chassis type Coolermaster Centurion 5 Silver

Digital TV tuner card
Creative sound card
300GB Sata Drive
80GB IDE Drive
Plextor DVD Writer
Floppy

The mobo was £125 so fingers crossed its the PSU which was only £25

Lee

RussS

OK, here's the deal ...

Unplug everything except the motherboard connectors from the PSU. Remove all the RAM and any other cards and light the switch - should fire up and beep at ya.
Next, introduce 1 RAM stick and the graphics card - tap the TAB key and you should see a few boot messages. Next at the drive with your OS on it. Then one reboot at a time add another drivew, RAM stick or PC card until it faults.

garv221

Lee H wrote:

1. PS = model/watts Brand ? 550 W

Dead give away. It is your power supply. Try a different one and see what happens, simply process of elimination.

Plantwiz

Lee H wrote:

Here you go plantwiz

1. PS = model/watts Brand ? 550 W
2. CPU = type/series Dual core AMD socket 940
3. Ram 4 GB OCZ Platinum Edition
4. Mobo = brand/model ASUS M2N-SLI Deluxe
5. Graphic Card = brand/chipset 2 X 512 MB Ram (brand?)cant check i am in work
6. chassis type Coolermaster Centurion 5 Silver

Digital TV tuner card
Creative sound card
300GB Sata Drive
80GB IDE Drive
Plextor DVD Writer
Floppy

The mobo was £125 so fingers crossed its the PSU which was only £25

Lee

Thanks

Follow what RussS posted.

The Power supply brand being a mystery is a concern, so the next step if RussS solution doesn't pan out is to obtain/review the power details listed on the sticker of the PS. In most cases today you'll need 18A on the 12+ lead. (16A is acceptible, but you should easily be able to find 18A PS today).

While there are many comments about the PS being the likely culprit, when someone genuenly is interested in troubleshooting his/her problem please help them get there without the knee-jerk reaction, so they don't repeat the problem in the future. Best way (IMNSHO) is to remove everything non-essential and test it component by component to identify the likely weak spot.

When you have time at home check the mfg book of the Mobo and the GC to confirm their recommended PS Specs. Then compare it with your PS. Generally, it's a bad idea to go for the cheap PS. They get hotter, they die quicker, they are underpowered for what they are advertised (it's sized correctly, but they'll **** you on the voltages you really need). Go for quality....and the good ones are around $70+ US so about $150ish UK.

Lee H

Thanks guys

for a PC of this spec what power should the PSu be, is 550 enough and it should just be a good brand?

only asking if i need to buy a new one what should it be

will update you later when i have done what you suggest

Lee

Plantwiz

Lee H wrote:

Thanks guys

for a PC of this spec what power should the PSu be, is 550 enough and it should just be a good brand?

only asking if i need to buy a new one what should it be

will update you later when i have done what you suggest

Lee

Plantwiz wrote:

When you have time at home check the mfg book of the Mobo and the GC to confirm their recommended PS Specs.

READ THE MANUAL. If you don't have a manual that came with the Mobo and one with the GC then GO to the mfg's website and see what they recommend.

james_

Weird, a guy brought a PC into work one day with the exact same problem. The problem was he was hitting the restart button instead of the power button to initialize the system! In his defense, I did the same thing about 3 times, the power button was kind of disguised. Anyways it is a quick check.

Could be though that the power and reset pins are misconfigured on the mobo? But more likely a faulty PSU. Try hitting the reset button instead of the power just in case!

RussS

I just noticed your RAM size. Personally I have found most XP machines that have come across my workbench with more than 2GB RAM tend to have issues. I would perhaps drop some out of that unit of yours and check performance results.

Lee H

Guys

The PSU fairy must have shown her face overnight, when i looked inside the case fiddled with a few wires, then wallah it worked.

I have also upgraded the PSU to this baby

http://www.hipergroup.com/English/products/hpu-4k580.html

Icing on the cake i feel

Lee

Plantwiz

Lee H wrote:

Guys

The PSU fairy must have shown her face overnight, when i looked inside the case fiddled with a few wires, then wallah it worked.

I have also upgraded the PSU to this baby

http://www.hipergroup.com/English/products/hpu-4k580.html

Icing on the cake i feel

Lee

First, Thanks for replying and letting us know how things were going!

Second, congrats on narrowing it down to the PS and realizing that just by jiggling wires and having the original one start to function that it's a GOOD idea to just replace it to prevent future headaches.

I've not heard of that brand of PS, but it does seem to be pretty good.

Good work!!