M13KYF Posted October 14, 2009 Share Posted October 14, 2009 Just had a call from the wife. The PC at home isn't turning on. When she presses the power button, there is a little whirr as it begins to come to life then turns off completely. Nothing comes up on the screen. Any ideas please? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cookiemonster Posted October 14, 2009 Share Posted October 14, 2009 How olds the computer? Is it Mac or PC? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beavis Posted October 14, 2009 Share Posted October 14, 2009 Could be one of many things like a dead psu (power supply) but may be worth checking the cpu fan Mike to check that it is turning. Some motherboards monitor the fan and will shut the pc down if not rotation is detected. Can you provide any more info? Cpu type, motherboard how old is the pc? Any beeps at all? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chesterfield Posted October 14, 2009 Share Posted October 14, 2009 What he said ^^ But first, try unplugging the power cable from the back of the pc, leave for a few seconds then plug back in and try again. Even though it is not switched on, most still draw power to the board for various reasons. It could be that it is in a resume or suspend state that it cant wake from for some god only knows reason. Just remove it from all power sources for a few seconds and try again before you start opening it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M13KYF Posted October 14, 2009 Author Share Posted October 14, 2009 pc is 18 months old and is a DELL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beavis Posted October 14, 2009 Share Posted October 14, 2009 What he said ^^ But first, try unplugging the power cable from the back of the pc, leave for a few seconds then plug back in and try again. Even though it is not switched on, most still draw power to the board for various reasons. It could be that it is in a resume or suspend state that it cant wake from for some god only knows reason. Just remove it from all power sources for a few seconds and try again before you start opening it up. +1 Normally a 5v rail is kept active so you can power it up, when you press the switch this command the psu to supply the other voltage rails to the computer. But my money is in a dead power supply. But well worth trying what Chris said just incase it as got its knickers in a twist for whatever reason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cookiemonster Posted October 14, 2009 Share Posted October 14, 2009 Good old Dell, bet the warranty is up after 18-24 months. Had the same thing happen to mine a couple of years ago. If the above doesnt work its best to take it back to the manufacturer as if its not something simple that a master reset wont solve it could be a whole number of things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beavis Posted October 14, 2009 Share Posted October 14, 2009 Are you brave enough to take the side of later Mike with your cabbage hands and post up a pic of the internals for me? I assume its a tower style? Just want to see that it would take a standard modular psu and that its not some fancy Dell effort. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M13KYF Posted October 14, 2009 Author Share Posted October 14, 2009 yes it a tower one. We always turn it off at the wall when not in use so sounds like power supply is tripping out. Got a computer repair shop up the road so may try there tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beavis Posted October 14, 2009 Share Posted October 14, 2009 yes it a tower one. We always turn it off at the wall when not in use so sounds like power supply is tripping out. Got a computer repair shop up the road so may try there tomorrow. Ok. Even though we live in an age when everyone is trying to save power and enery i think it is sometimes wise to keep certain things powered up all of the time. Over my 30 years of electrical experience i have seen many things fail simply because of the fact that people power up and power down frequently which causes big differences in operating temperature. Many capacitors used in modern electronics have been known to fail becuase of this very reason (sat receivers are a very good example) . For what enery your psu uses Mike when not in use i would be tempted to leave it powered up. Just mho of course Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M13KYF Posted October 14, 2009 Author Share Posted October 14, 2009 I know. always leave them on at work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goatboy Posted October 14, 2009 Share Posted October 14, 2009 There is obviously a lot of people who know their stuff on here but many times I have had a computer not start up its been the memory has become unseated, always worth having a go at taking it out and putting it back in... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarmac@TarmacSportz Posted October 14, 2009 Share Posted October 14, 2009 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M13KYF Posted October 14, 2009 Author Share Posted October 14, 2009 and that wasn't set up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neo Posted October 14, 2009 Share Posted October 14, 2009 had similar trouble with a laptop, the single ram chip had worked loose, simply clicked it back into place and it worked straight away. if there is fan noise i'd guess it's not the psu that is dead as there wouldn't be any fan movement at all. take the side off the case and try switching it on to see where the whirring might be coming from ? dead cpu or graphic or case fan made stop it from working as previously said. fingers crossed it's a easy fix Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beavis Posted October 14, 2009 Share Posted October 14, 2009 if there is fan noise i'd guess it's not the psu that is dead as there wouldn't be any fan movement at all. Have had this happen before Lyndon, certain parts of the psu will still be working but that does not mean that all voltage rails are The pin-outs for an ATX power supply Pin# Color Function 1 Orange +3.3V DC 2 Orange +3.3V DC 3 Black Ground 4 Red +5V DC 5 Black Ground 6 Red +5V DC 7 Black Ground 8 Gray Power OK 9 Purple +5V standby 10 Yellow +12V DC (11) Orange(22) +3.3V DC (11) Brown(22) 3.3V sense 12 Blue -12V DC 13 Black Ground 14 Green PS-ON 15 Black Ground 16 Black Ground 17 Black Ground 18 White -5V DC 19 Red +5V DC 20 Red +5V DC There is a lot that can fail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neo Posted October 14, 2009 Share Posted October 14, 2009 true i guess usually when i've had a PSU die it totally dies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beavis Posted October 14, 2009 Share Posted October 14, 2009 But at the end of the day it could be lots of things but my guess is the psu, just hope its not the motherboard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin W Posted October 14, 2009 Share Posted October 14, 2009 I used to work for Dell. Its very unusual for a PSU to go so soon. Check your warranty. (They retail with 1, 2 or 3 years support) Plus, Dell support staff used to be told, that if a customer tells them twice that a computer is under warranty, the customer is right! You'll need your Service Tag tho Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
choptop Posted October 14, 2009 Share Posted October 14, 2009 If you have a Novatech nearby, take your PC in and they will have a look at it, maybe even FOC. They are very good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin W Posted October 14, 2009 Share Posted October 14, 2009 I'd get the Vacuum cleaner out and remove what dust you can from all openings as a first step. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marzman Posted October 14, 2009 Share Posted October 14, 2009 Mike, Take the side off and first of all, check all the connections are solid. If its still not working, start unplugging components systematically and turning on again each time. Yes i've had a failed PSU before, but that came with a distinct smell, and no brief whirring sound. The last time i had the issue you describe, it turned out to be a failed hard disk. So, you can remove the following restarting every time: CD/DVD-ROM Floppy Hard Disk Individual Memory modules Graphics Card Even without these items, your computer should still POST - which is the bootup procedure. If you remove one and you get further, then thats your culprit. Lastly, flip out your bios battery and leave for 30 seconds. It could even be something as nasty as a virus affecting your bios. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beavis Posted October 14, 2009 Share Posted October 14, 2009 Mike, Take the side off and first of all, check all the connections are solid. If its still not working, start unplugging components systematically and turning on again each time. Yes i've had a failed PSU before, but that came with a distinct smell, and no brief whirring sound. The last time i had the issue you describe, it turned out to be a failed hard disk. So, you can remove the following restarting every time: CD/DVD-ROM Floppy Hard Disk Individual Memory modules Graphics Card Even without these items, your computer should still POST - which is the bootup procedure. If you remove one and you get further, then thats your culprit. Lastly, flip out your bios battery and leave for 30 seconds. It could even be something as nasty as a virus affecting your bios. But with removing all that you have said bar the graphics card you would get the post screen up. Even if the hard drive had failed his screen should still show something? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marzman Posted October 14, 2009 Share Posted October 14, 2009 Not definitely. What if a component has failed creating a short? As i said, my desktop PC failed last year with exactly these symptoms, and it wouldnt go into Post... until i disconnected the HDD. Fingers crossed its the PSU, but my suggestion is simple enough to try if no spare PSU is available (probably should have mentioned that - the first thing i tried was a spare PSU ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BulletMagnet Posted October 14, 2009 Share Posted October 14, 2009 I have in the last two days took my mates Dell tower apart and upgraded the internals. When disecting the Dell, I noticed that Dell uses their own mounting mechanisms for the mobo, so my replacement mobo wouldn't fit at all, so another tower was recycled for the job. But the main thing I noticed was, when I completely took the Dell unit apart, when I got to take the CPU heatsink off, I was horrified. Whoever assembled the unit must have been a total idiot, the pink protective film that covers the thermal paste on the heatsink was still in place, I did wonder why the CPU was so clean when I took the heatsink off....numptys. This also explained why my mates PC was frequently overheating and why when he had iTunes open and tried to UnRAR a file, the PC would grind to a halt! If Dells quality control comes down to this, then no thanks Dell. Mind you, I've had a Dell laptop for a few years now and it's still going strong (XPS Gamer model M1707) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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