Power problem or motherboard?

[Liquidsnake]

Reading a couple of your posts in here and the great responses, so here goes mine!

I came home from a weekend trip and went to boot on my computer, the power light is on in the back, but when I hit the power button on front, the computer does not even make an attempt to boot up. I pulled open the computer, everything seems connected to the computer (cords, boards, cards, ect.). I seem to think its a MB issue, so my next question is how hard is that install and which one do I get? And how do i know which one I need and a realible place to get it from. My computer is custom built from a friend, about a year and half old, not sure why it would go bad. Thanks for your help!

The motherboard I have is the.....

Asus A8N-SLI

PowerSupply - Hiper Type R Series 580W

[Tbear]

Hi Liquidsnake, this is a complex issue. Have you tried troubleshooting the system? If not first remove all bus cards except for the video card, disconnect all external attachments, USB, printers, and I have even seen a bad keyboard keep a computer from booting. If the system then comes up you have only to elimanate the devices removed one by one. If it does not come up then check the capacitors on the system board, if any are bulged at the top then that is the problem. Usually this manifests itself in random problems but it could still be the problem here. I spoke to Dell tech support about this problem last week and they are saying that it can be caused by a current surge (not voltage but current) through the power supply. If that is the case they reccomend replacing both power suppy and system board. In my case the systems are old enough that we just junk them but you don't need to do that.
Ted

[Liquidsnake]

the little green light on the MB is on if that is good or bad..might help someone know what is going on.

[Liquidsnake]

I tried unplugging everything like you suggested and the light is still on but the computer wont even turn on at all.

[bigblockmatt]

try unplugging the computer from the wall. once unplugged, hold teh power button on the computer down for about 10 seconds (it might still have some electricy running through.) Plug back in and try turning on.

also, you can test the power supply with a power supply tester. i picked one of these up. http://www.radioshack.com/product/index ... age=search works great.

[Methious]

Test the power supply before you write it off, the green light being on won't tell you if the PSU is good just that there's power to the board. If the power supply or Motherboard see bad power they won't start.

If you've got another PSU around try that.

[Liquidsnake]

K, I will pick up a tester at lunch and try it out, if that is the problem, what would someone suggest getting for a new one? I have a Hiper Series 580W. I'll let you know if that works.

[Alathald]

Corsair make quality power supplies if you need a new one...the HX520W is modular and very reliable and can be found for around $100. if you don't need a modular PSU the VX450W runs around $75 and should be enough unless you're running higher end GPUs and/or overclocking.

BTW, be sure you have a motherboard speaker plugged in while trying Tbear's suggestion, it's how you usually get POST codes and it's a pretty easy thing to overlook.

[Liquidsnake]

Well, I found out its my MB, so im going to try to get a new one with a warranty from Asus. Whats another MB company if that doesnt work?

[martini161]

if it doesnt work and its still under warrenty then rma it again and again until they send you one that works. have you sent it off yet? if not, try ungluging the psu from the wall, press the power button, then take out the battery from the motherboard, wait 10 seconds, then put it back in, plug the psu back in then try booting again

[Liquidsnake]

Well I have recieved a new power supply and motherboard, and my computer boots up, but I get a big green screen. I posted in the General boards about it, im sure i installed something wrong!