Hey everyone, Well, I'm more than slightly frustrated. Last night, I finally got a case for my MSI K7N420 Pro MB. Put everything in, and booted it up without a problem. Had to install an OS, so I started that process and went to work. Came home to find it finished, but since I used an old version of FDISK it only recognized about half of the actual capacity of my hard drive. So I decided to repartition and start from scratch again. After installing the OS a second time I suddenly decided it would be a good idea to move the physical location of the computer. So I push the power button... no response. I try again... still won't turn off. I hold the power button in for about 4 seconds and it finally shuts down. Move the computer to the side of my desk and reattach all the plugs. Push the power button. It won't come on. Now, I've tried all numbers of things to get this sucker running again... ... first I thought the power supply went nasty, although brand new, but its fine as I checked it. ... then, I realized I had done some stuff to the BIOS, so I clear it using the jumpers but it still doesn't boot. ... next, I'm thinking the actual case's switch (also brand new) may have shorted out. So I replace the entire case and the switch is obviously fine, because it still won't boot up. I can't help but think that the motherboard is probably okay, only because the integrated LAN shows status lights whenever connected to the power and the RJ-45 cable. However, I'm at a complete loss at this point, and in the back of my mind I am thinking that it probably is the motherboard in all honesty. I don't really know how to fix/check the 'integrity' of the motherboard itself, as I'm thinking it wouldn't be a good idea to stick a volt-o-meter on it anywhere for fear of causing more damage. Keep in mind, that when I say it "won't boot up," I'm talking at ALL. The CPU fan doesn't even come on. ARGH! HELP!!! Thanks, Jared

It could be your RAM or the CPU. If either are bad you'll get just the symptoms you described--nothing. Unfortuntely in cases like yours there's really no way to eliminate the possibilities (bad ram, bad cpu, bad motherboard) without swapping out the parts for known good ones. If you have more than one stick of ram you can test this possibility buy removing one stick, testing it alone, then the other, and trying different slots. You may need to take it in to a local PC shop to be diagnosed.

Good call. I've thought about that, but I want to see firsthand what they find. Considering I put this together myself, I don't want this to be like a car mechanic who's trying to get you to spend even more money. Speaking of which, how much does running a diagnostic on a system usually cost?

I'd just like to say that I'm having similar problems with an older laptop I have recently bought. The only difference is that when I turn on the power on my machine the caps/num/scroll lock LEDs light up. Normally when booting the laptop they flash for a second and then go off, and the power indicator light comes on. The problem here is that they _remain on._ When I remove all power sources (battery and AC) and then reattach it to power, the computer turns itself on without any switches being pressed. The only way to turn the system off is to let the battery die. I believe the problem here is with the BIOS, but I think I'll try removing some of the RAM before taking it to a professional. I hope you get your problem solved, as it is of some interest to me. Kevin Wilson Black Myst Project Leader