A friend called me who has a HP Pav 533W. When he turns it on, all that happens is the "Monitor is in power save mode, activate using PC" on the screen. Thats it, can't get to Safe Mode or anything. I told him to check the PSU. He says that when he pushes the "on" button, that all the fans start to run and when he lets the button out...the fans stop. (jumping the switch does the same thing) Is this indicative of a PSU problem or something else? I am hoping this combine of great geekness can give me a quick answer. Thanx in advance!!!

When you push the power on switch the power supply tries to power up fully. The motherboard then checks all the voltages to make sure that they are all within the required specifications. If they are ok it tells the power supply that all is well and the power supply stays up. If the motherboard doesn't let the power supply know that all is well, the power supply shuts down. So, you need the power supply and motherboard working correctly to get full power up.

The power supply (PSU) should be tested or replaced as part of the troubleshooting for this problem. Then you need to open the computer and pull out/disconnect all the peripherals. That the motherboard appears dead is a more important clue than if the fans turn on and off. Numerous posts in this forum deal with dead systems. Compaq Presario SR1720NX Desktop Computer AT&T SBC Yahoo DSL Home Linksys Router/2 computers

Thanx for the replies. I had already disconnected all drives and peripherals to see if maybe something was shorting out. I tested the PSU by jumping P13 and P14. The fan won't run, no power on the molex'. So now I'm just waiting til Monday when I can borrow a good one to try (and go from there). Keep on keeping on!

check the switch power button on your computer.. maybe it shorted!!