I must have the worst luck with computers. I bought a new computer in January (it had been almost a decade, so I felt it was probably time). It worked fine up until yesterday when it refused to power up. It's under warranty (HP) and they think it's a bad mother board. It seems odd that this would happen all of a sudden. Anyway, HP was nice enough about it and supposedly will replace my mother board for me (I've got to ship them the computer). But, I did spend about two hours on the phone with them. I understand that they have a script they have to follow, but it's annoying to go through all of the "is the computer plugged in?" questions.
Sorry this is a bit of a rant, I'm just frustrated with my computer luck (or lack thereof).
Sorry this is a bit of a rant, I'm just frustrated with my computer luck (or lack thereof).
What makes them think it's the motherboard?
It's certainly not quite so odd when you read stories of manufacturers fitting defective capacitors that burst: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capacitor_plague - leaking electrolyte over the circuitry inside the PC.
Ouch.
It's certainly not quite so odd when you read stories of manufacturers fitting defective capacitors that burst: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capacitor_plague - leaking electrolyte over the circuitry inside the PC.
Ouch.
I'm not sure what makes them think the motherboard is the problem. Initially I would have thought that it was the power supply unit. But, they had me disconnect the power supply unit from the motherboard and then plug it in. The power supply was getting power (at least that's what they said the light on the power supply indicated). So, I guess they thought it must be the motherboard. I just hope that they don't screw around with my hard drive while they have the CPU, but the chances of that may be slim.
Hey. You think you've got bad computer luck? In just the last wo weeks my PalmPilot died, my laptop died and my cell phone died.
Ok. I got my laptop fixed - required a reformat. I sent my cell phone back to Nokia for repair (still waiting) and my PalmT3 is still dead.
Just a couple of months ago, both my desktops died during some power fluctuations and blew the video cards.
Arrrggg!
Ok. I got my laptop fixed - required a reformat. I sent my cell phone back to Nokia for repair (still waiting) and my PalmT3 is still dead.
Just a couple of months ago, both my desktops died during some power fluctuations and blew the video cards.
Arrrggg!
Very coincidental dcat...
Just came back form a short trip to Melbourne, and I went to power up my fathers PC, and it would not boot up (pretty much the exact same thing you are experiencing)... the light would flash on for a split second, the fans would move slightly, I would hear a feint sound of it struggling and then nothing! What was funny; all the lights on the Motherboard (including the network adapter indicator that tells me when the network cable is plugged in) were on... which told me the motherboard was still working, and that it was a power issue.
I immediately thought it was the Power Supply, so I unplugged the current one and attached a spare one to it and it powered up fine. So in the end it was a dodgy PSU that has just failed during it's 'off time'.
So, in talking from your end, if this is the case, a simple un-plug and plug-in will not fix it. Get them to check your PSU first as it will cost significantly less to replace that then your motherboard (becuase they will charge you more for the work performed such as CPU removal and all that crap, in which case your CPU will need to be re-pasted etc...) whereas a simple PSU replacement requires the removal of no other parts.
-Cub. =o)
Just came back form a short trip to Melbourne, and I went to power up my fathers PC, and it would not boot up (pretty much the exact same thing you are experiencing)... the light would flash on for a split second, the fans would move slightly, I would hear a feint sound of it struggling and then nothing! What was funny; all the lights on the Motherboard (including the network adapter indicator that tells me when the network cable is plugged in) were on... which told me the motherboard was still working, and that it was a power issue.
I immediately thought it was the Power Supply, so I unplugged the current one and attached a spare one to it and it powered up fine. So in the end it was a dodgy PSU that has just failed during it's 'off time'.
So, in talking from your end, if this is the case, a simple un-plug and plug-in will not fix it. Get them to check your PSU first as it will cost significantly less to replace that then your motherboard (becuase they will charge you more for the work performed such as CPU removal and all that crap, in which case your CPU will need to be re-pasted etc...) whereas a simple PSU replacement requires the removal of no other parts.
-Cub. =o)
The bursting capacitor problem is primarily a problem of the past though. Working in a computer store I saw lots and lots of those. Mainly Socket 7 and Socket 370 motherboards. Some graphics cards. All of them needed quite some time to develop this problem. Two to three years was common.
The first batch of an Asus motherboard released about two years ago had the same problem (and the problem appeared almost instantly). Since then I havn't seen any burst capacitors (though I havn't worked with computer sales for a year now).
If it is the motherboard I'd be surprised. But as long as they actually test the computer before they return it, it doesn't really matter I suppose.
In any case never trust tech support.
The first batch of an Asus motherboard released about two years ago had the same problem (and the problem appeared almost instantly). Since then I havn't seen any burst capacitors (though I havn't worked with computer sales for a year now).
If it is the motherboard I'd be surprised. But as long as they actually test the computer before they return it, it doesn't really matter I suppose.
In any case never trust tech support.
When I pressed the power button, nothing happened: it was just like the CPU was not plugged in. The first thing I thought of was the PSU, but the HP guy assured me that it wasn't that. I just bought the computer in January, so all repairs are covered under warranty. I'm just bummed that I have to ship the computer to them to get it repaired.
"If at first you don't succeed,
redefine sucess."
- Sowden
www.nineteenthstar.cjb.net
www.sowden.cjb.net
redefine sucess."
- Sowden
www.nineteenthstar.cjb.net
www.sowden.cjb.net
... model also known as the Dell Emasculator 2500.
