Hello. I recently got a used computer. History is unknown. The computer will not start up. When I press the power button, nothing happens. I can see the power led come on as soon as I plug in the power cable, but that's it. No activity at all. I've checked the psu, and everything seems connected. Everything appears to be plugged in correctly. From what i can figure, the cpu is some sort of celeron, based on either a p2 or p3 core. Roughly 32 mb of some type of ram. Unknow video card/modem/sound card. My first instinct tells me it's the psu, but I'm loth to go out and buy a new one before I know the exact problem. As always, andy comments/suggestion are welcome and greatly appreciated. If at first you don't succed, cheat!

Do you mean the led on the front of the case? If so, check for a stuck button. The tried and true method of troubleshooting is to strip the machine down to the bare basics. Those are: Power supply, CPU/HS/fan, 1 stick of ram, video card. Disconnect all drive power and signal cables and pull all other cards. Make sure the case speaker is connected if available. Attempt to boot the machine. If all goes well you should be able to get a single beep at startup and then get to a screen that says boot failure or something like it. This is due to no boot drive being avialable. If you don't get that far then you need to try swapping parts either in or out, depending on what parts and other computers you have available. When you get that far repost with the results for further help. One other thing, examine the motherboard carefully for bad capacitors. They are the little upright cylinders scattered around the board. They have a top on them that is segmented like cutting a pie. Those tops may burst open and/or leak electrolyte. also look for signs of burning or overheating on the MB. If you can find a model # on the board you can download a manual from the Manufacturers site.

You can check the power supply for the correct voltages if you have a Digital Voltage Meter. Here's a site, where if you scroll down, you'll see a chart that shows what voltages for each pin/wire. Make sure you're getting 5V out of that green one. Here's the link Power Supply Good Luck raincheck

raincheck, Nice link. YO

I've checked. The button is totally functional. I can even hear a small noise, usually sounding electronic. So far though, nothing can start this computer. The power led, the little green one in the front, will light up, but there is no sign of any life. The fan's don't come on, nothing. Do you think it's the psu? The fan on it doesn't even come on. I've tried the darn thing on every outlet in my house. If at first you don't succed, cheat!

Tried unplugging seperate parts. Got rid of the add on cards, unplugged power from hard drive, etc. Computer is still totally dead. Not a sound. If at first you don't succed, cheat!

Does the PS fan spin? If any of the fans inside the case are not connected to the mboard itself, they should come on when you switch on the power, even if the computer does nothing else. Sounds like a dead PS to me. Try a friends PS before bothering to get a new PS.