Computer power problem

Ok - not a mains power problem

A fault condition in the PC , will lead to the situation you describe.
What you have is a PC that fails to boot and hangs on power up.

Same solution - test all cards seated ok.
test all cables are secured to whatever they are connected to.

The power supply could be faulty - you can only really test by substitution.
Or the power could now be overstressed and not capable of delivering the demand - happens with old age, happens on expanding the PC also.
Did you recently add any hardware component ? That might demand more power .

It is possible with an old PC(or a new one even ) that you are not getting a reset condition on the motherboard. This could be due to capacitor failure . it would not normally happen overnight. You would expect a few failed attempt to start initially and then it would get worse as time went on, until eventually it would not come on.
If that's the case - give up !
If you can see the motherboard are there any obvious capacitors that are faulty - they would have swollen tops - where the can is scored with a cross, you would see it bulged upwards.

I still say - moving it = some internal component has movedmost likely

Denis

Hi,
With alot of the PC power supplies, if it detects that there is no load on it when you turn the switch on, it will come on for a second and then go off automatically and everytime you turn it on it will do this.

I discovered this when I used my kendrick dew heater with a pc power supply, for the power supply to stay on, it must by under a load constantly, or it will auto turn off, and you must turn the powersupply off and back on with a load to get it working again.

You might need to look at the powersupply calbes to the motherboard/harddrives, you might need a new powersupply or motherboard or harddrives if there is an overload condition, you'd need to experiment to see what is causing the problem in there.
Some older motherboards have fuses on them, so if its loose.
See if anything on the motherboard looks burnt out or corroded.

Something occurs to me

I have seen situations where the mouse and keyboard are plugged in the wrong way round (mouse in KYB connector and keyboard in MOUSE connector . In older Siemens Nixdorf , this leads to a hang like you describe.
(stupid design !)
You have checked ?

Some newer PCs will report on screen the wrong connections

Denis

Thanks Dennis. I shall try and check cards, but as soon as I open this carcass I'm going to be confronted with a heap of spaghetti that is quite meaningless to me, but I shall see if everything is secure that looks like it should be secure, I suppose I can push and prod :oops: failing that I shall get my high power hose and rinse it out in case it's dust somewhere. Only joking I save that sort of thing for cleaning my scope after polishing the mirrors with brillo pads
I will push and prod then report back, But I think you might be right, the PC's history is; Bought new in February 2002, securely packed up and moved to Lucan when we left Scotland in May 2002, securely packed and moved to here from Lucan in September 2002, Packed away in a bedroom corner in August 2004 when I replaced it, pulled out to retrieve a file in December 2004, then packed away in a corner again until today. Sound like a loose card?
Bill H.

Yep, Dennis, Mouse is PS2 (is that correct?) it just plugs in and is colour-coded along with everything else, keyboard is USB. So no mix up there.

See if anything on the motherboard looks burnt out or corroded.

Dave, is the motherboard the one with the curlers in making my supper?
Hope I don't blow this lot up, better still I shall open it up, my mother-in-laws here, I shall get her to poke around in it :twisted:
Bill H.

If you are not used to fiddling with PCs , you could try reading this site
before tugging at anything.
It would give you an idea what to expect


www.hardwarecentral.com/hardwarecentral/tutorials/109/1/

The following topics are presented in simple to read language- not too hi tech;

1 Introduction
2 Purchase/Collect Components
3 Remove System Case
4 Prepare Case
5 Install Floppy Drive
6 Configure Hard Drive & CD-ROM
7 Install Hard Drive
8 Install CD-ROM
9 Configure the Motherboard
10 Install the CPU
11 Install Heat Sink
12 Install Cache Module
13 Install Memory
14 Install Motherboard
15 Install I/O Port Connectors
16 Connect the Motherboard to the Case
17 Connect Floppy to Motherboard
18 Connect Hard Drive
19 Connect CD-ROM
20 Install Video Card
21 Post-Assembly
22 Initial Boot-Up
23 Configure the BIOS
24 Test Your System


Denis