Troubleshooting help?

[Arctucas]

Anyone want to assist me in troubleshooting a PC?

It is a Gateway I am trying to fix for a friend's mother.

She is a retired widow and does not have a lot of money to spend sending the PC to a shop, so I told her I would try to fix it for her.

Here is the rundown; she said she was moving it to another room and when she went to restart it, it would not come on.

I thought maybe the front panel on/off switch went bad, but I have continuity when the switch is pressed.

Next, I put my power supply tester on the PSU and all the voltages were there on all the connectors.

The RAM is only a couple months old, but I tried a test stick I keep around, and that did not do it either.

Looking closely, I noticed a capacitor on the board that was bulging at the top, and I figured the motherboard was probably bad, and I ordered another one, but even with the new board, I am having the same issue.

I tried using a PSU from one of my other PCs, no help.

I took the CPU out a put it in my other PC and it fires right up.

What else is there to check?

 

[CrAsHnBuRnXp]

Have you tried plugging her computer into a different power outlet to rule out it being a socket problem?

How many sticks of ram does she have and how many ram slots? Have you tried each slot if there is more than 1?

Does she have a video card? Have you tried reseating it?

Are you sure there isnt a short somewhere between the case and the motherboard?

(socket is a weird word btw lol)

 

[Arctucas]

I took the PSU from my other machine, (which is working OK), and put it the Gateway.

The receptacle is good.

The Gateway simply will not come on at all, no fans or anything, although the stanby power on the motherboard is lit, so I would say the board is getting power.

I tried two sticks of RAM in each of the slot pairs, and one stick in each slot.

 

[mlee49]

Try removing everything and booting outside the case.

 

[Arctucas]

@mlee49,

I will try that, although I merely removed the factory motherboard and installed an identical replacement.

 

[CrAsHnBuRnXp]

@mlee49,

I will try that, although I merely removed the factory motherboard and installed an identical replacement.

Still could be a short between the motherboard and the case.

Off topic, but what happened to the "thanks" button?

Edit: now its back.

 

[Arctucas]

OK, outside the chassis on a catalog, same thing, it simply will not fire up at all.

I suppose I could have gotten another bad motherboard, but what are the chances?

 

[95Viper]

I suppose I could have gotten another bad motherboard, but what are the chances?

50/50, maybe?

When you tried in/out of case, did you dis-connect the drives(cd/dvd,HDDs,SSDs,thumb drives), fans(except cpu cooler), usb headers, riser cards, and any other not needed devices(audio, 1394, etc.)?
Tried without using the start and reset on the case, but with jumper and/or wire?

You probably did if you tested outside of case, but, I thought I would just ask.

 

[Arctucas]

50/50, maybe?

When you tried in/out of case, did you dis-connect the drives(cd/dvd,HDDs,SSDs,thumb drives), fans(except cpu cooler), usb headers, riser cards, and any other not needed devices(audio, 1394, etc.)?

Yes.

Tried without using the start and reset on the case, but with jumper and/or wire?

You probably did if you tested outside of case, but, I thought I would just ask.

No, but I am certain the on/off switch is working as I tested it with my ohmmeter.

Also, the chassis does not have a reset button, and the PWR led and HDD led did not light up.

I believe (please correct me if I am making an incorrect assumption) that it must be the motherboard, since all the other components check out.

 

[stevednmc]

I had the exact same issue n my brothers dell inspiron, the standby light would flash but it wouldnt turn on at all. Just outta the blue. A new PSU took care of it. Hooked the psu to the mobo and HDD outside of the case and it fired right up. Seems this is of no real help to you though...

 

[95Viper]

I was going to say, what stevednmc said, try another PSU, first.

It could be the power good signal is out of range.

Edit: I had a PSU in a Gateway that did that cr*p once.

 

[Arctucas]

I was going to say, what Stevednmc said, try another PSU, first.

It could be the power good signal is out of range.

Yes, I did that, along with testing the CPU in another PC and trying a known good stick of RAM.

It appears the motherboard is DOA, now if only the seller does not try to give me a hassle.

I noticed the ant-static bag the motherboard came in had the original seal broken, and another seal placed over top, even though the item was listed as "New: A brand-new, unused, unopened, undamaged item in its original packaging" on ebay.

False advertising?

 

[stevednmc]

Perhaps sooo....I hope that is the issue then. Definitely try to get a replacement and see if that fixes it. I really cant think of anything else that would cause the issue. IMO PSU or mobo are most likely..Just cant shale the thought that its psu related though. You check the pins on the mobo connectors? See if any look burned or pushed out. The 4 pin and the 20/4 pin as well.

 

[Arctucas]

Perhaps sooo....I hope that is the issue then. Definitely try to get a replacement and see if that fixes it. I really cant think of anything else that would cause the issue. IMO PSU or mobo are most likely..Just cant shale the thought that its psu related though. You check the pins on the mobo connectors? See if any look burned or pushed out. The 4 pin and the 20/4 pin as well.

The connectors and pins look fine, no burns, no pushed pins.

I sent the seller an email requesting RMA.

Thanks to all who replied.

 

[stevednmc]

Good luck! Please post back when you get the new mobo in, let us know how you go.

 

[Arctucas]

Good luck! Please post back when you get the new mobo in, let us know how you go.

Thanks, will do.

 

[Iceni]

make sure you have the front panel connected properly. The switch could have a fault. Work out the 2 pins for the switch on the motherboard and short them over with the tip of a screwdriver... If it powers up then you have a faulty switch. Some motherboards have bad pin out diagrams so check and recheck. Also make sure you have a motherboard speaker attached. Could be your getting a fault that is causing a non post. Normally a motheboard will let you know with a series of beeps.

You can test the basic function of any PSU with a simple short as well.. Unbend a paper clip and short the grey and green connectors. If the psu fires up then you know the problem lies elsewhere.


The cheap man's fix for a bad switch is to modify the reset switch

If you have no pin out for the motherboard front panel header then you can test the pins with a screwdriver shorting in pairs. The header is passive so there is little chance of breaking the motherboard if it's not powered on.

Also disconnect all the fans including the cpu fan. If the coating on the copper wire is shorting then it could cause a non post event. Just make sure you be able to switch off the system as soon as you get power, pre post this should not affect the system or cause enough heat to damage the cpu.

 

[Arctucas]

make sure you have the front panel connected properly.

I downloaded the manual and, yes, I did have the switch connector on the proper header pins.

The switch could have a fault.

I tested the switch at the motherboard connector with my ohmmeter; switch is functioning correctly.

Work out the 2 pins for the switch on the motherboard and short them over with the tip of a screwdriver... If it powers up then you have a faulty switch. Some motherboards have bad pin out diagrams so check and recheck.

See above answers.

Also make sure you have a motherboard speaker attached. Could be your getting a fault that is causing a non post. Normally a motheboard will let you know with a series of beeps.

The motherboard has an on-board speaker, which never beeped at any time.

You can test the basic function of any PSU with a simple short as well.. Unbend a paper clip and short the grey and green connectors. If the psu fires up then you know the problem lies elsewhere.

Actually, the green is to be shorted to any black wire, not the grey, but yes, I tried that, and the PSU works perfectly in another PC.

The cheap man's fix for a bad switch is to modify the reset switch

I believe the switch is functioning properly.

If you have no pin out for the motherboard front panel header then you can test the pins with a screwdriver shorting in pairs. The header is passive so there is little chance of breaking the motherboard if it's not powered on.

As stated, I have the header pinout, the switch is good, etc.

Also disconnect all the fans including the cpu fan. If the coating on the copper wire is shorting then it could cause a non post event. Just make sure you be able to switch off the system as soon as you get power, pre post this should not affect the system or cause enough heat to damage the cpu.

The fans do not come on at all when connected to the motherboard headers. When I connected them directly to the PSU, they work. There are no issues with any of the wiring insulation.

I have already shipped the motherboard back to the seller, hopefully the replacement is not also DOA.