[Ungeniusman]

I recently got a computer from my Grandparents. I tried it at their house, then at my own, and at both places the same thing: It is totally unresponsive. It is not the cord, nor the power strip, as I have tried several different cords, and all of the cords work for the monitor. When I open the case and it is plugged in, there is a small green LED that lights up on the motherboard, but other than that, nothing. Absolutely nothing. I have checked all of the cables, and they are all plugged in. Any suggestions?

PS I wasn't sure of where to post this, because it seems to be a general problem with the computer, but this topic-area seemed best.

David

 

[crjdriver]

I am going to assume that this is an older system that was running and not a new build; correct?
Have you or anyone else removed the leads to the motherboard ie the power switch, reset, led, hd led, etc?

 

[Ungeniusman]

This computer is a few years old and never had any problems before. I do not know what you mean by leads, but if you mean the power connectors inside the case, I have checked all of those, and they are all connected properly. Because it was my grandparents' computer, I do not know when exactly it stopped working.

David

 

[DoubleHelix]

You're facing a whole lot of troubleshooting time. Is this system worth it?

If nothing at all is happening when you push the power button, and you have absolutely no idea when it last worked and what could have possibly happened, you could spend weeks and still not have a functioning system.

It could be damaged from a power surge.
The power supply could be blown.
The motherboard might be fried.
A wire could be loose (cables, power, etc).

Are you serious about putting time into trying to get this computer up and running? If so, plan to spend at least a few weeks here trying various things. And there's no guarantee you'll end up with a working system.

People here will try to help you. I just want you to know what you're up against.

 

[crjdriver]

I agree. If you are doing this for a learning experience, that is great. You will find a lot of help here. You do have quite a bit of work to do and the system is a few years old. You can buy a new one quite cheaply so it would not be worth putting much money in an old system.

 

[Codemaster]

Theres a chance his grandparents are hip and had an awesome machine, so this could very possibly be worth putting time into.

 

[Ungeniusman]

I don't know whether I would call it an awesome machine, but it is, in all seriousness about 100 times better than the one I am using now. It is VERY worth putting a ton of time into. The exact symptoms are:

No response when power button is pushed AND
There is a motherboard light when I plug the computer in with the case open.

Starting from the basics, what are categories of what could be causing this? My dad is going to check into the power supply, and see if he can fix it tomorrow. We don't *cough* exactly have the most money in the world, so this computer is huge for us. Plus, my nerdiness was being seriously hampered by my current computer's lack of power.

Thanks!
David

 

[crjdriver]

It would help if you posted the exact make and model of the system [if pre-built] If it is a custom build, the make and model of the motherboard.
Note the make and model and ver # should be written somewhere on the board itself.

 

[Ungeniusman]

What exactly do you mean by make and model? Dell gave me too much information to just post it all here (plus it's kind of hard to read.) What exactly do you want me to post here?

 

[Ungeniusman]

If this helps, it is a Dell Dimension 2400 with a 2.2 GHz processor, and an Intel 845GV chipset. It says that it has... a 200 or 250 w DC power supply... I think that it says that it has 256 mb of DDR SDRAM...

Anything else that you want?

(You're all amazing for helping me!)

David

 

[crjdriver]

If it is a dell from a few years ago, there is a very good chance the ps is proprietary. You cannot swap in any standard atx ps to test; it must be a dell.

With a system that will not power on [and it was working] the first part you suspect is the ps [power supply] You have a problem in that you must have a dell ps to test your system. It is expensive to buy one just for testing your system.

Do you have access to any other dell systems?

 

[ceri sheeran]

Hi

Does the computer give any beeps when you try and start it.

On the rear of the casing are four disgnostic LED's

Please advise the colour and sequence of these

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/dim2400/en/sm_en/advtshoo.htm

A B C D yellow or Green Y or G

Next start with the basics

Take anti static precautions

Then ensure all cards are fully seated. I would assume that the computer has travelled to reach you,. A jolt in a card ride can easily loosen something.

Reseat all PCI cards
The computer has on board graphics. Have you connected to this graphics port or was an aftermarket PCI graphics card fitted.

Reseat the memory modules.

reseat all other cards

Try the monitor with a different computer and computer with a different monitor.

Post back

hth

Ceri

 

[johnpost]

I recently got a computer from my Grandparents. I tried it at their house, then at my own, and at both places the same thing: It is totally unresponsive. It is not the cord, nor the power strip, as I have tried several different cords, and all of the cords work for the monitor. When I open the case and it is plugged in, there is a small green LED that lights up on the motherboard, but other than that, nothing. Absolutely nothing. I have checked all of the cables, and they are all plugged in. Any suggestions?

PS I wasn't sure of where to post this, because it seems to be a general problem with the computer, but this topic-area seemed best.

David

Often an LED on the board means that it is getting some power.

Even if all the wires are plugged in you still may have problems like
you are.

Concerning the small wires going to one or two regions on the
board. These are very easily plugged in the wrong spots or
can be loose. Often the plastic connector on the wires will
have a label, the board will also be labeled; make sure these
match, it is very easy to have these off by a pin.

Those connections can easily get loose give them a wiggle.

There is only one coonector that is a big issue here, the power
switch. These can easily go bad.

If you have a steady hand and can clearly read the label on
the board, maybe PWR for power, then making a connection
between them with a small bit of wire or a paper clip could
start the computer.

You can test the switch on the case with a VOM meter or
continuity tester. If that switch is bad it could be replaced
by any momentary contact switch, door bell switchs are
just dandy.

 

[Ungeniusman]

Thanks, I'll try that...