Almost Dead PC

My wife has phoned to say our home desktop PC has died. The monitor and speaker power lights are on (so AC is OK); all lights on the main box are off and the power switch doesn't fire it up. All lights on the USB hub are off (except the power light) but she says the NumLock LED is lit on the keyboard and red light is still on on the mouse (a Microsoft IR model) - both plugged into PS/2 ports.

It's an 800MHz PIII in a full tower ATX case.

I'm guessing the main PSU is probably OK. I'll not be home until late tonight, so will probably spend most of tomorrow trying to chase down the fault. Unfortunately, it's a 70 mile round trip to the nearest component store, so I don't want too many trips trying replacement parts. Any suggestions on what/where to check next or what it's most likely to be?

 

No info you gave would rule out the PSU. That is the first thing I would check. Were you effected by the recent blackout? Or has there been power outages or surges while the cpu is on?

Most motherboards keep 3 volts on the board even when off to enable wakeup events. So first thing is to unplug from wall for 15-30 seconds and then plug back in. This is a normal occurance if it fixes it. Can occur after a power outage.

Be sure to also check the power strip and the wall recept. And for sure don't forget the on/off switch on the CPU. If it don't feel right when you push it. No click, then I have had many of these go bad over the years.

Mike

 

No blackouts recently. The powerstrip is OK because that also provides power to the speakers and monitor (whose lights are still on).

I'll try killing all power for a few minutes and switch on again. If that doesn't work, it will be a poke around for signs of power at the various connectors.

If they have power, my next suspect will be the CPU and MB...

 

Home and, after being unplugged all day, it now fires up fine. I guess it was overheating. Something to look into over the coming weeks.

 

From my message:

"Most motherboards keep 3 volts on the board even when off to enable wakeup events. So first thing is to unplug from wall for 15-30 seconds and then plug back in. This is a normal occurance if it fixes it. Can occur after a power outage. "


Mike

 

Mike: Love your motto. It is me.