I have a dual-core Athlon PC that is refusing to turn on. I had assumed it was the power supply, so I've just purchased a new one. But after connecting it up I find that nothing has changed.
When I turn on the power, the only sign of life is an LED on the Ethernet socket that flashes on for half a second. Then nothing – no fan movement either on the PC or the power supply, no beeps, no clunking of hard drives, nothing.
My guess is a short circuit somewhere, but I am very inexpert on these things. I tried removing a few unused cards to eliminate problems with them, but no change. Any suggestions?
I have a multimeter if that helps…
UPDATE: It's alive!… I'm not quite sure what did it as I was plugging so many things in and out… thanks for all the tips.
Best Answer
Check for ballooned capacitors...the little cylindrical things on the board. They should have flat tops. If one/some tops are convex, the board is hosed. Failing that remove the board and check behind for pieces of metal that may have fallen behind the board to create the short. Sounds dead, cheaper to buy a new board to me though (for a dual core athlon almost surely cheaper). Think: If I pay myself $10/hr(Wal-Mart wages) for messing with this thing how much am I out before I fix it?