I came home last week and tried turning my computer on and got absolutely nothing. The only sign of anything happening was the mechanical click of the button when I pressed it in (no fan - nothing). The monitor and everything else that's plugged into that surge protector works fine. I assumed that the power supply had gone (although it'd survived the most recent power outtage just a few days before), so I bought a new one (the original was a 250W, the new one a 300W) and switched them out. I also disconnected all the cards before trying it again. Nothing. I even tried buying a can of compressed air and cleaning out the insides. But the computer still won't turn on. I'm not really sure how to check and/or replace the switch itself. Is that the only other possibility besides the power supply? I haven't (un)installed any hard/software recently. Any ideas?

I know this sound stupid, but one time this happen to me, unplug the computer from the serge protector and plug into the wall by itself, also if it does not start put a floppy start up disk in turn off and turn back on see if it boots to a: prompt if it does type scanreg /restore leave space where indicated try that...

Unfortunately that's not the only possibility. Bad RAM, a bad CPU, bad BIOS/motherboard can cause your system not to power on. If you've removed all cards (except video, which could also be the problem), the next thing to try would be the RAM. If you have more than one stick, try swapping the sticks one at a time. Few have access to another CPU to swap but if you find one try it. Same applies to the video card. I think it's possible but unlikely it's the switch itself, but I believe they're fairly standardized and have heard you can find replacements, either rocker or plunger type at any Radio Shack depending on your system. The fact that your pc died shortly after a power anomaly is suspicious. If it happened RIGHT after the power outage I'd say one or other component got fried or the BIOS got corrupted. These can be very frustrating problems to solve because it's hard (and often expensive) to isolate them. Sometimes there's no choice but to keep swapping hardware.

hello sounds like your surge protector did its job.as sue said just plug it into the wall to be sure. if bios was corupted just remove nickle sized battery from mobo and leave out for 10 minets and or set csmo jumper to other postion and set it back. have a nice day OT Forum d/l xp free

Unplug all cards from the system board, including the memory modules. So that you only have the power supply, the system board and the cables connected to it from the front panel and power switch. Plug in power plug, then watch the fan in the power supply real close as you first push and release the power switch. If you see the fan "jump" or start to turn, but stop, then that is a symptom of something shorted out somewhere and the system board is the only thing in your system. If the fan never moves, that is a symptom of either the power control circuit on the system board blown or the switch and/or wires open. The wires and switch can be checked with an ohm meter. At this point you need to make sure the power supply(s) are good to, but it would look like the system board is gone. To make sure, unplug the processor (careful, note position) and repeat the power/fan test to make sure it is not the processor shorting out the power supply.

tom b, Try this simple fix, unplug the power cord from the computer, wait 15 seconds and plug it back in. If this dosnot work then swap computer power cord with monitor power cord. I hope this helps you. thebest2uDon

Also, try this, on studying for A+, read upgrading and repairing books by Mark Minasi, and have seminar as well. The auther lives in the south, same as myself, New Orleans, and we get bad weather, hurricaine alley, electrical and the like. He puts knots in every appliance, anything that plugs in, including your modem line!!!!!! Without doing this he has fried modems 2-3 times every summer. For some reason when the surges connect, they stop at the knots if too great for the surge protector, sounds whacky, but I have done same!!!!!!!!!