OK, a little background on whats happening. Im working on a PC for a lady who said she was having trouble getting it to come on. Sometimes she said you would have to push the button 3-4 times before it would even try to start. Well it got to where it is now, it doesnt come on at all. You press the button and the CPU fans runs, the hard drive spins and the HDD light stays orange. Well she took it to best buy and the geek squad want $1000 to replace the motherboard (told her thats what it was) Of course she said no way and brought it to me. Ive recently replaced the mobo with a new one, checked the voltages on the PSU and still the PC doesnt boot up. Nothing appears on the monitor, no clicking inside, nothing but the CPU fan running loudly, hard drive spinning, CD/DVD drive will open and close and the HDD light stays solid orange (no flickering).

Ive removed the RAM and tried starting it, no beeps no nothing just the same thing. Which is kinda leading me to the CPU. Im not sure what else to try. I ordered a new PSU last night even though its prolly not the problem. Id try another mobo but the problem is, its one of those BTX mobos that gateway decided it would be a good idea to try so as far as i know theres no aftermarket one to replace it with beings everythings backwards from a normal mobo.

Here are the specs:

Gateway GT5228 (pruchased new last year)
2gigs RAM
250gb SATA HD
FCI K2BC51 LF BTX Motherboard
AMD Athalon 64 Socket AM2 CPU
Bestec 300w PSU (waiting 320w from tigerdirect)


Any thoughts?

I'd definitely check on the PSU, it could be the problem, but then again, as you mentioned, so could the CPU. Give the new PSU a try and let us know how it goes.

Originally Posted by owen

I'd definitely check on the PSU, it could be the problem, but then again, as you mentioned, so could the CPU. Give the new PSU a try and let us know how it goes.

Im hoping that the PSU is the problem, I should know today or tommorow.

Please come back and let us know if that solved your problem or if you need any further help

I will here shortly. Just tracked the PSU and its was out for delivery today so we shall see in a bit

FIXED! The PSU was bad. I dont understand though, all the voltages were what they were suppose to be. Oh well, it fixed. Thanks!

Sometimes voltages don't tell the whole story . Thanks for letting us know and glad you got it fixed.

Originally Posted by owen

Sometimes voltages don't tell the whole story . Thanks for letting us know and glad you got it fixed.

There was probably too much "ripple" - small variances in the DC voltages caused by poor AC voltage suppression/regulation. That's why the best way to test a PSU is while under a true load, and with an oscilloscope by a trained technician - or you can do what you did, and swap it out!

How much does that cost to get somebody to do testing on your PSU? It definitely sounds like swapping is the DIY and cheaper way!

How much does that cost to get somebody to do testing on your PSU?

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I keep a FrozenCPU Ultimate PSU Tester in my travel tool bag. It is not as good as a qualified technician testing the power supply unit (PSU) under a "true" (realistic) load with an oscilloscope or power analyzer, but close. The advantage of this model is that it has an LCD readout of the voltage. With an actual voltage readout, you can better detect a "failing" PSU, or one barely within specified tolerances. Lesser models use LEDs to indicate the voltage is just within some "range". These are less informative, considerably cheaper, but still useful for detecting PSUs that have already "failed". Newegg has several testers to choose from. All these testers contain a "dummy load" to fool the PSU into thinking it is connected to a motherboard, and therefore allows the PSU to power on, if able, without being attached to a motherboard - great for testing fans, but again, not a true load. Alternatively, you can swap out the PSU with a known good one that meets the computer's power requirements.
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The problem is, to truely test a PSU properly, you must do it under a full rated load across all the rails at once. This takes special test equipment and training.

Some shops have expensive power analyzers and charge a small fee. Some will use one of those Newegg testers and test it for free, or for a small charge - but then you still don't know for sure. Others will test it right and charge for an hour labor. If you take in the whole computer, they may swap in a known good one and charge you 1/2 hour.

It definitely sounds like swapping is the DIY and cheaper way!

Because it does take a long time and sophisticated test equipment to do it right, if you don't have a known good supply, then you are right, it is often just easier to buy a nice brand name supply, and one of those testers. Then if your old supply turns out to be good anyway, you can use the tester to provide a load so the PSU turns on, then use PSU to test fans.