Hi ,

I have been looking at a friends computer and am a bit stuck!

Firstly the machine is a Packard Bell Imedia 1308. When you press the power button nothing happens, cpu fan turns approx 1/4 of a turn and thats it!
Suspected power supply! So not having a psu with p4 connector i tried a basic atx psu, with this the cpu fan and power light all are working fine but no display/ hdd clicks etc!
I bought a connector from ebay to convert to the p4 connector Click here!
My way of thinking being rather than buy a new psu try this as a cheap alternative to identify if its definately the psu or not!
However with this plugged in, again nothing but possibly a 1/4 turn of the cpu fan! and without(4 pin p4 connector) cpu fan constantly turning and lights on the front!

So using the original psu but without the p4 connector (me thinking it would do the same as the atx psu) cpu fan turned about half turn and no lights etc!

Would i be right to suspect a motherboard fault? (or possibly psu and motherboard?)

Ive noticed that once i have pressed the power button, if i press this again then nothing at all happens untill i turn off at the wall and then turn back on again!

Any suggestions greatly appreciated!

Thanks sooty

It is always good to know the history. What happened to this computer?

Did it just one day work ok and the next didn't start?

During your testing I wouldn't let it run without the CPU fan for more than a second or two.

I also wouldn't "trust" that molex adapter. At best verify that it is on a dedicated line from the PSU and not split to other devices.

Short of a new PSU right off the bat you can also get a PSU tester as this one just for example:

PSU Tester

........................................

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/40...l?tl=g11c28s88


Check the motherboard for any damaged capacitors.

Remove everything save the PSU / CPU / RAM / graphics card (if not onboard).

Does the board beep at all?

This is whats confusing me, no beep or nothing coming from the motherboard, and if im right if there was a fault with the RAM /graphics etc then i would get some error beeps from the bios? Everything is onbaord except a 56k dialup modem!

As for running with the cpu fan off, sorry i only used this as a guide to tell me if i had power or not, when the cpu fan stops there is no light etc!

I dont really know the history as far as im aware it was ok 1 day then all of a sudden it just stopped!

Ive looked at the motherboard and cant notice anything that looks damaged/blown!

My problem is i havent got any spares a home and i know it may sound tight but i dont want to buy a psu for someone else`s pc to try as my pc has a different connector to this!

Thanks for your advice its much appreciated!

Well if the CPU is not properly powered then the board would not respond with beeps or anything. This is why I question that adapter.

Your PSU was pre P4 so it does not have the 4 pin lead. It might not have the necessary power to start that CPU. Here is a brief description of this issue I found online (typos left as were):

4 pin connector and has sufficient wire guage from the supply it may work. HOWEVER the 12 volt rail must also have the capacity to handle the extra load.

Before this the mobos powered the onboard regulators for the CPU from either the 5 volt or the 3.3 volt rails. The high current demands of the P4 caused too much current to flow, mainly in the printed wiring on the mobo. This could cause poor regulation due to varying voltage drops, but in some cases melted the lands.

By trading voltage for current they got the power at a lower current. Then the onboard regulators had to reduce the higher source voltage down to the very low voltages that the CPU uses. The total load on the supply doesn't change however the 5 or 3.3 rails get unloaded but the 12 volt rail gets increased loading.

so the only way really to completely rule out psu is to try 1!

Will have an ask round see if i can borrow one to try!

Thanks for the help, much appreciated!