• Fans turn on, nothing else.
    24 replies, posted
So one day, I walk into my room and hear my computer running, but the mouse, keyboard, and monitor weren't on; the usb ports don't work. The power button wasn't lit up. The drives open and close. Is this a PSU issue? I'm not sure because power is obviously being received. Maybe it's a CPU issue?
I think it's your motherboard.
What happens when you turn it on/off? Does the computer work at all?
[QUOTE=Pvt. Banana;28273889]What happens when you turn it on/off? Does the computer work at all?[/QUOTE] Yes, the fans run, drives open, etc. But it doesnt boot up, doesnt give a video signal, and the usb ports dont recieve power.
Does the computer make any beep sounds? (Except for the normal POST beep that you should hear every boot.)
[QUOTE=martijnp3000;28320080]Does the computer make any beep sounds? (Except for the normal POST beep that you should hear every boot.)[/QUOTE] Nope.
Take out all your ram and then try boot. Does it beep like mad?
Could be a lot of stuff. I'd try resetting the CMOS and removing all RAM & expansion cards. I had a computer that refused to boot with a certain NIC.
I've already tried booting without the RAM, video card, hard drive, etc. There was not any beeping/response. How would I go about resetting the CMOS?
Check on the motherboard if there are any jumpers, instructions should be written around them If there are no jumpers, looks for the CMOS battery. Remove it and wait for a few minutes then put it back. Watch out not to break the pin, sometimes there's a weird latch system.
Reset the CMOS; didn't have any affect, both by reseating the battery and through the jumper.
Open up the power supply and check for leaking/exploded capacitors. Just make sure you unplug it first.
[QUOTE=bohb;28353070]Open up the power supply and check for leaking/exploded capacitors. Just make sure you unplug it first.[/QUOTE] This sounds kind of dangerous. Couldn't the capacitors give me a shock? At least that's what I'm reading.
?
That's why you unplug it first.
[QUOTE=Kirad;28432381]That's why you unplug it first.[/QUOTE] Doesn't some of the charge stay in the capacitors a while after you unplug it?
All PSUs have bleeder resistors across the caps to drain them when power is removed. They'll at most have a charge for a couple of seconds after the PSU is unplugged. The devices attached to the PSU drain the residual power faster, so you're safe. I work on PSUs all the time and have yet to be shocked by one.
And if you want to be 100% sure that there is no charge left, just hold the power button a few seconds while the system is unplugged..
[QUOTE=reeferdk;28435221]And if you want to be 100% sure that there is no charge left, just hold the power button a few seconds while the system is unplugged..[/QUOTE]That's what I do. It discharges the left over power.
do you by any chance have an asus motherboard?
Alright well I'll take a look at the PSU a little while later, and I don't have an ASUS motherboard.
it's definitely your motherboard.
I opened up the PSU, I think there is very minor leakage. One of the smaller capacitors has some orange-red paste on the top and is bulged.
If that could be what's causing the problem, I have salvaged pretty much the the same PSU from an old computer. No more automerge?
If the capacitors are leaking, then the PSU is bad. You can recap a PSU (I just did one earlier) for about $20, but it's easier and usually more cost effective to just buy a new one.
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