Member Avatar for just.ice

I recently moved to Hawaii and packed up my computer in a box protected as well as it could be and then after unpacking it, the face to the case was smashed up pretty bad. I plugged it in and the it acts like it's powering up and then shuts down after like 3 seconds. LED on MoBo stays on indicating it's still getting power. I get no display to monitor, no beeps and no display to monitor. I have a Pentium D processor using OCz Ram and the MoBo is an Intel D945PSN. I have attemped removing the connections from all periferals and tried again, no change. Tried removing RAM and booted up with both sticks individually and still no change. I also cleared CMOS with no effect. I can turn off Power Supply and turn it on after just a few seconds and it repeats the same problem. I would try changing to a different Power Supply, but the back of case was the farthest from the apparent damage and I don't have another one. Also, the keyboard does light up during this process. I've also checked all connections to MoBo and can't see anything lose or disconnected including processor. I'm running Windows XP Pro. I was going to try resetting the processor, but it looked to be seated firmly and I don't know where I can get arctic silver here. Any suggestions would be highly appreciated. Thanks so much.

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Good outcome from : the front-panel power switch was the culprit. That is a common, inexpensive failure after a case gets crushed, and it is worth testing before replacing PSU, motherboard, or other parts.

Quick, safe checks that save time and money:

  • Identify the two power-switch pins on the motherboard front-panel header (look for PWR_SW on the silkscreen or in the manual). With the front-panel connector unplugged, briefly short those two pins with a small insulated screwdriver or a jumper wire. A single brief contact should start the machine. If it stays on, the case switch or wiring is bad.
  • Use a multimeter in continuity/ohms mode on the switch leads (with the connector unplugged). The meter should read open when the button is not pressed and near-zero when it is pressed. That confirms a bad or intermittent switch.
  • Inspect front-panel wiring and the switch housing for crushed insulation or metal contacts touching the chassis; a pinched wire can intermittently short and cause power cycling.

Safety and follow-ups:

  • Always work with the PSU powered off when connecting or disconnecting headers. Only briefly short the two PWR pins to test — do not probe randomly or short other pins (LED or voltage pins).
  • If shorting the PWR pins does not change the symptom, continue with isolation steps suggested by (remove the board from the case to rule out chassis shorts) and the hardware checks noted by (heatsink seating and look for visible shorts). If those still fail, the fault shifts toward PSU/motherboard/CPU and needs component-level testing.

Cheap fixes: a replacement momentary pushbutton (electronics shop), a salvaged case switch, or a temporary wired switch will get the machine back to normal without expensive parts.

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Member Avatar for cguan_77

hi, try to check your processor make sure that the heatsink is seated properly, remove it then if you got thermal compound better put some..and check also if there is no component that is short to the ground..try to power on the mobo without the casing check if it will works..

Member Avatar for wayne.coulthard

Yeah I agree. I had a similar problem and I removed the motherboard, placed it onto a piece of cardboard so there was no danger of shorting the motherboard.
This booted fine so I inserted some rubber washers behind the screws to eliminate the chance of a short and it worked!

Give it a try

Member Avatar for just.ice

ok, i removed mobo from case and placed it on cardboard and tried again...no change, i then went out today and got some arctic silver thermal compound and reseated the processor but still no change, thanks for the suggestions, i'm willing to try anything else u'd suggest.

Member Avatar for jbennet

dead power supply?

Member Avatar for just.ice

I went out and bought a replacement power supply and after plugging it in it did exactly the same thing, I think I'm going to try a replacement case, any other ideas from anyone? I'm willing to try anything. Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

Member Avatar for wayne.coulthard

The other alternative is to try another motherboard

Member Avatar for just.ice

Thanks everyone for all your suggestions. I was going to get a new case but computer parts here in Hawaii are very expensive, back home I could easily get a case with a PS included(which I don't really need) for like 30 Dollars, here the only case I could find had a 350 watt PS included, but the store wanted $130.00 for it. Fortunately, a tech I met here on the Island hooked me up with a power switch for an old computer case. I believed this might fix the problem as the power switch was the only remaining piece of the case after removing the front panel that still seemed damaged. Anyway, I rewired the power switch into the case front and turned it on and voila, it booted up no problem. I was able to take back the PS I had purchased and it only ended up costing me seven bucks for that thermal compound I used to reseat the processor. Thanks again for everyones help on this, I really appreciate it.

Member Avatar for cguan_77

hi just.ice, nice to hear that your problem was solve..
.......THREAD CLOSED........

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