motherboard power problem

[Mr. Rogers]

My friend bought some upgrades for his computer, and he brought his old system board here. It's not very old, it takes a PIII. For some reason, it wont boot at all. It get's power, because the LED on the board turns on, and as far as we can tell, everything is plugged in exactly like it should be, but it just wont turn on. Anyone have any idea what is going on?

[Mithrandir]

Does the power supply fan turn on?

[Mr. Rogers]

first it wouldnt boot at all, just like now. but then eventually, somehow we got it to boot but the keyboard wouldnt work, so he said he'd bring over some diagnostics stuff and we would check it all out. but then this morning i tried to boot it again, and same thing, it wouldnt boot at all. but i didnt check when it worked to see if the power supply fan was spinning.

[Mr. Rogers]

i tried taking everything off except for just the power supply, and it still wouldnt turn on, so im thinkin its gotta be the supply or the board

[Zedian]

Well I had a problem a long time ago when I added a new HD in my computer...I didn't properly ground myself so I shorted out the computer. I'm sure this isn't the case with you though it sounds to me like a problem with your power supply. It probably shorted out due to a high volume of electrical current activity that flunctuated to it. If this is the problem I highly suggest upgrading to a 400 Watt power supply and get a Thermaltake cooler.

If it doesn't boot up then and it's not as a result of a shortage, then it could be an internal problem with the Hard-Drive...maybe one of the neccessary physical drivers to boot up the computer gave out. If so then you'll have to send it in to the computer manufacturer.

[Mr. Rogers]

i found out the problem was that something in the case was shorting out the board. i took it out of the case and it works again. so ill just look around and see what was doing that.

[LorentzForce]

If you use the hexagonal screwers to hold the motherboard, watch if any of the holes on the motherboard where the screws go in have open circuitary. If it does, spray it with hair-gel. Get the one that doesn't make any foam. It'll insulate that part of the motherboard, as long as you don't scratch it off again. So just gently.

Or a rubber ring could work, but then again you'll still have to make sure it doesn't short out.

[Mithrandir]

LOL. I always just used a piece of cardboard and some zip ties, but that was back when computers only had one fan - so we didnt' have to worry about heat...

(Yeah, yeah, go ahead, get it out of your system. *LF: That was also when they used vacuum tubes!*)

[LorentzForce]

They used what when they used vacuum tubes? Hair-gel? Heck, hair gel solves all electrical/computer problems, including mending scratches certain brands of CD-R, fixing circuit boards, insulating parts of circuitary etc.

Still not as effective as a good soldering iron, but many people don't know how to use one correctly, so meh. Hair gel is a good alternative to coat a circuit board so it's insulated and protected from outside hazard, like oil from your hands, water, dirt and heat.

[Zedian]

Hair gel ?? Wow, I tell some of the things we humans apply to our bodies are in no way, shape or form good for us. I mean if it can solder just as good as a iron or thermal glue that's telling you a whole lot about it. Anyways thats a great idea -- I know what to do next time I have a short. And OldPhilosopher are we talking about the old Commodore 64s or older ?

[Mithrandir]

Nah... I never felt the need to take apart my motorolla-based boxen. This was on the tandy I aquired in the late 80s.

[LorentzForce]

Well, it doesn't solder. But it insulates. If you know how, you can utilise either of them to insulate things.