Heya all! Unfortunate probelm here. My computer wont turn on. The fancy lights on my front panel work, so its not the power supply. BUT, when I disconnect the power to the motherboard, then reconnect it, when I turn on thr ecomputer the fans turn like once and stop. Any ideas what is wrong here. Its a problem that I've had since my power supply blew up - I've had to unplug the mobo everytime I turn off the machine to make it turn back on - now it wont at all Any help greatly appreciated Dan M

I'm not 100% sure on this, but I recall in an old computer of mine, when the fan stopped working the computer would overheat and the computer would turn itself off. But that's probably not the case here...did you replace the power supply yourself? Maybe the new PSU is faulty...

Sorry, need to define the problem a bit better The fans turn like once and thats it - the computer doesnt load any futher than that. It doesnt turn on. I was just saying that I get some response from the mobo cos the fans turn. The PSU is fine, I've been using it successfully ever since my last one blew up

You have what I call a "low-level" mechanical (not operating system) problem. If a unit starts but shuts down, it can only be one (or more) of four things: > Bad power supply > memory > CPU > Mainboard Since your problems started with a blown power supply, that is suspect #1. As I have said countless times on this forum, get yourself a power supply tester. It can save you hours of time in a few seconds. Newegg has a Powmax for $14 inc. shipping. Next: swap out your memory with a stick you know is good and see if it boots. Next: Pull your CPU, clean it with a little mineral spirits (paint thinner), reapply thermal grease and reseat it. If none of those work, most likely your mobo is blown, but I doubt that is it. Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime; Then industry pollutes the water and kills all the fish.

Thanks for the comments I took your advice and bought a PSU tester, it'll arrive in a few days. Anyway, I pulled everything from the mobo and it boots - well the post LED says its booting. I attached everything to it and it wouldnt. So, I then went around unplugging bits one by one till it booted. It would boot after I detatched the power to the hard drives. Seems odd to me that it wont boot with them attacthed, not just when both are attatched but when only one is - either of them. Is it the IDE channel thats gone?

I need some clarification. If you have pulled the power cable to your harddrives, why do you say the computer boots? It cannot boot without an operating system (XP)and that OS is on the harddrives, right? Do you mean that it posts the BIOS screen? After posting the BIOS screen, does it continue running with the fans and all? Next: Because your front panel lamps come on does not mean the power supply is 100%. It only takes one rail to be dodgy and you can have problems. Did you check your CPU to make sure that the thermal grease is properly applied? Did you check the plug on the main power cable and the receiving socket on the mainboard? When it is running, try wiggling them and flexing the wires to make sure the contacts are tight. Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime; Then industry pollutes the water and kills all the fish.