Ivyboy was on it Friday night, checking his e-mails and feeding his Neopets. He shut it down as normal, and everything was fine.
Saturday, I couldn’t turn it on. Push the button, nothing. Ivylad checked power cords and connections, and even pulled the cover off the box to clean out the dust. There’s a battery in there, but does the battery need to be working in order to turn the computer on?
Just our luck…tomorrow we’re supposed to have someone come out and hook up our broadband. I think we’re going to have to take it in somewhere, but damn! Any ideas? (I typing this from work, so I will relay any suggestions to Ivylad.)
If everything’s hooked up properly, try unplugging the power cord from the back of the computer for a few minutes (the part that plugs into the computer’s power supply, not the part that plugs into the wall). If there was a power outage or flux (no matter how brief) while the computer was turned on, the power supply may need to be reset, and removing the power cable for a few minutes will cause it to reset itself. I know you mentioned the computer was shut down normally last time, but it doesn’t hurt to try.
My power source got fried in the Great Blackout of 2003, even though it was plugged into a qualified surge protector. It does happen.
You can replace the power source for ~between $20-$100 – if you have any geekish friends they can probably hook you up with one they have lying around.
This is absolutely ridiculous (IE I really don’t think this is the problem), but there should be a switch near where the power chord is plugged into the computer… it has two otions 115V and 230V… if it’s on 230 and you’re in the US, your computer won’t turn on…IIRC…
But the odds of that having been flipped are near zero…
have you tried physically moving the computer and trying a different outlet?
One thing to do is to take the cover off and look at the fans when you turn the power on. If they start to move at all then stop, then the problem is likely to be a loose connection somewhere like ram or vid card or something.
If you get absolutly no response at all from the power switch, no starting to come on then halkting or anything like that, then the problem is more likely with the power TO the box. If all the power connections check out, and have power and the switch on the back of the computer (by where the plug attaches to the computer) is on, then you may have a dead power supply.
One more thing to try…Hold the power button for about 5 seconds when you go to turn it on. If the computer slipped into a hibernate, or sleep mode, this should reset it.
Just another thing that hasn’t been mentioned. Be sure that the case or front bezel are in their correct position so that the button you push is making contact with the microswitch that actually powers the machine on. Depending on the case design, you may be able to directly access the switch and give it a push. Also, while it is rare for power cords to fail, try swapping the power cords from the CPU to the monitor.
Good luck, and don’t forget to let us know what it really turns out to be.
Ivylad took it to a repair shop yesterday. It turns out the power supply inside the computer was blown. $117.50, and Ivylad has to go buy a decent surge protector.
We should be back online at home tonight!
Hell, I’d do a belly dance wearing nothing but a smile if I thought that would work.
