So I go to use my desktop and the thing is shut down, hmm that's not normal. It has power to the LEDs and I tried swapping out the power supply to no avail. It don't matter how many times I mash the switch, or how long I push it, it won't power up. Any Ideas?

Thanks, Chris

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Quick context: several replies (notably and ) have seen eMachines that only light the front LEDs but refuse to start, and describes a disconnect/reconnect symptom that let one machine boot. Replacing the motherboard can cure some cases, but there are cheaper, safer checks to do first that will often identify whether the fault is the case wiring, the PSU, or the logic board.

  1. Front-panel switch and wiring — with the PC unplugged, pull the small front-panel power connector off the motherboard header. Plug the PC back in (mains on) and briefly short the two power-on header pins with an insulated jumper or a screwdriver tip. If it starts, the case switch or wiring is bad. If you have a multimeter, test the switch for continuity when pressed.

  2. PSU standby and PS_ON behavior — with mains connected and PSU switched on, the purple wire on the ATX connector should show +5V (5VSB). When you press the button the green wire (PS_ON) should be pulled low to ground to tell the PSU to spin up. Missing 5VSB or no PS_ON transition points at a bad PSU or a motherboard power-circuit fault.

  3. Minimal-boot isolation — remove all drives and add‑in cards, leave one RAM stick and the CPU (and onboard video if present). Try the power-on short again. A peripheral or shorted board can prevent startup.

  4. Visual inspection and signs — look for bulging/leaking capacitors, burn marks, or a weird smell on the PSU or motherboard. Those are real failure signs and justify replacement.

If the unit only comes to life after unplug/replug tricks (like saw), that behavior often means the PSU or the board’s power-control circuitry is latching off. Because many eMachines use nonstandard PSUs or connectors, match the replacement parts carefully. If unsure or uncomfortable with mains-level checks, stop and take the machine to a shop — it is safer and often cheaper than buying the wrong replacement board.

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My idea!,motherboard bad ,had one last week doing the same thing ,replaced the motherboard and away it went !

Yup, Motherboard might be dead. My brother in law was using his, then shut it down, next time he went to use it it would not turn on. On his, it killed the USB mouse and the Keyboard too, everything else is ok though.

We bought one and I replaced it and it's running.

whats the brand of your system??
if it has lights on the LEDs, this means it has power... you might need to call the manufacturer of your system to find out what the LED lights mean... sometimes it could just be the memory.. the diagnostic LEDs will be the one to tell the tech if it means it has a problem with the memory, motherboard, or hard drive...

whats the brand of your system??
.

the post title says it all EMachine ,i assumed the led refer to were the front case lights ,and yes it could be ram , ram usually causes a beep on startup

Thanks for the input. Yes when referring to LED's I ment the switch on the front of the case. It lights up but that's all I get. When I hit the switch nothing happens, no beeps, no boops, nada. I'm leaning towards the motherboard, is there a way to double check that? I don't want to buy a replacement and then find out that it isn't the problem.

is there a way to double check that? I don't want to buy a replacement and then find out that it isn't the problem.

I know what you mean! ,no way i know of except taking it to a good repair shop that has the tools to do so ,Im self taught at computer repair ,I own post cards that are suppose to tell me why the computer will not boot but they really don't work all that good ,only way i know of is the way i do it ,i tried the ram and cpu and harddrive in another tower and they all worked,reset Bios to defaults with jumper pins no difference so i replaced the board with one i had, and wala the computer boots and I reinstall winxp and it goes back to the owner.

Well, Like I said in my pervious post, brother in law same problem, and his is an emachine too.

sometimes it could just be the i/o panel card...

sometimes it could just be the i/o panel card...

please explain ,as far as i know not all computer have i/o panel cards ,if i think its what you are talking about

my friend had the same issue last week... and when he called tech support, they replaced the i/o card, then it got fixed...im not sure if emachines has one...

my friend had the same issue last week... and when he called tech support, they replaced the i/o card, then it got fixed...im not sure if emachines has one...

yeah ,i/o card is a general term ,it means input /output ,it could be a video card and nic card a sound card ect ect

I have an interesting problem like this...I'm not sure how to repair it yet, but I have found a temporary solution: Unplug the small, 4-wire connector that comes from the Power Supply from the logic board. Turn on the machine and let it run for 15 secs or so. Now, you HAVE to unplug the AC cord from the Power Supply...pressing the button seems to have no effect, no matter HOW long I hold it. I reconnect the wire and VOILA! the thing boots like there's no problem. There is no BIOS update available (as of 2008-Jun) and the only card in the machine is the modem that it came with, so I'm gonna replace the CHEAP 120w PS with a beefy one and see if it's the PS.

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