After working without any problem for 3 years my eMachine now won't start. The power supply seems to still be working OK and the internal fan starts up OK. But the light on the power switch on the front and the disk access light are strobing and it sounds like it's there's some disk access but this strobes with the lights. Any ideas what's going on here. Is the disk lost or does this suggest some power supply or motherboard problems. No new hardware has been added other than a USB wireless adaptor several months ago ... but it's worked fine since then until now. Any guidance appreciated Thanks Keymer

emachines are famous for failing power supplies. I would say it is the power supply, they just die with no warning. If you have another one, give it a shot. That should solve your problems Some HELP in posting on Cnet plus free progs and instructions Glad to Help!

I agree. Just because you see some indications of power, does not mean the power supply is ok. It needs to supply several voltages. You could take the power supply to a shop and have it tested. The next most likely suspect is the motherboard.

Same thing happened to my sister in laws emachine. Her hard drive was destroyed too. Be glad your emachine lasted 3 years, thats about 2 years longer then normal for those machines. Asus K8V-X Athlon 64 2800 ATI AIW 9800 Pro 1Gig PC3200 WD 80 GIG LG DVD-RW XP Home Full time employee of Dharma. One of the "others".

eMachine won’t start? If all else fails, and you are ready to trash your e-machine, unplug it from electric socket, pull side panel, and pull front panel (may have to pry front panel a bit to get it loose). If you see real small black and white wires going to a little box the size of a pencil eraser, next to the start button, that is the "starter" switch. The wires going to the start button if for the light in the button (leave them alone). The "starter" switch is not a toggle switch, but rather, starts the electric signal to the machine, after which is stays on. Sort of works like the starter switch on your car. Hold it until car starts, then let loose. Remember that if you had pushed and held the "starter" switch on your computer for 5 seconds or so, it would cause the machine to turn off? Well, the design of the switch is such that a little internal contact from heat expansion, vibration, etc., can happen and it cuts the machine off the same way. This is not guaranteed to work in any way, but I cut the little wires to the switch right at the switch, drilled a 1/4" hole in the side of the face of the machine, soldered each wire to a contact pole on a $3.00 10 amp toggle switch from Radio Shack, put the switch toggle thru the hole and fastened it, re-attached the two outside panels, and tested the ides. Just flip the toggle on, and almost as quick as possible, flip it back off. It is a starter, not an on-off if you do this. If you leave it in the on position, the machine will cut off after about 5 seconds. So just flip it on and off. The machine started fine, has run perfectly ever since. The first time this happened, it cost me $100.00 for an exact replacement switch, which failed after a year or so, the same way as the first one. This time, I just spent $3.00 plus some of my own time and labor, and it works. No guarantee, as apparently a lot can go wrong, but just before you head to the dump with your machine, you might want to try this. Good luck. Charlie