whats it mean when my computer does this.

M

merfolk smash

New Member
Hey guys im new jujst looking for some information before i go buying stuff that i dont need to fix this computer. My desktop has been down for quite some time now since it broke. i soon after bought an Iphone and between the phone and PS3 i have not really needed the computer. But i paid for it so i want to at;least have it up and running. Its only about 2-3 years old (i believe, memory is bad lol) but its a Gateway DX4200-UB00A, thats what it says on the side with its stats.

I moved from one house to another and when i hooked up my computer this is what happened.

I pushed the power button, the light came on the fans kicked on....then the fans kicked off and i could hear the computer power down. it was on for about 5 seconds total. But the power light remained on and it wouldn't turn off until i finally had to unplug the tower. Every time i try the same thing happens. Power light on, fans on, then everything powers down except the green power light. One guy told me i needed a new motherboard, someone told me they have no idea and someone else told me the computer is fried. Any insight would be much appreciated.

James.
 
It sounds like you're motherboard may be messed up. Either that or the processor came loose in the move. Does anything appear on the screen when you turn it on?
 
Del_Monico said:
It sounds like you're motherboard may be messed up. Either that or the processor came loose in the move. Does anything appear on the screen when you turn it on?
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nothing on the screen. i dont think its even powered up for enough time for anything to come on the screen. i dont think my processor comes off my motherboard so if its one of them two options im looking at a new MB

lion149 said:
I would take a hard look at the power supply.
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this was my first thought! i bought a different powersupply and the same thing happened. what are the chances of them both being bad?
 
Look inside and make sure nothing has been knocked loose. Try pushing the power button a few times with it unplugged to discharge the power supply. Hook it back up and see what happens.
 
Be sure that nothing is preventing your fans/ventilators to spin completely free and properly.Because if something does,the heat tells your hardware to turn off your computer automatically.

Also take a look that the CPU cooling paste on your processor is fine.If it's not,replace it with the new one,but be sure to remove the old one from the cooler and processor before putting the new one!

As for the power unit/supply,that is not a problem considering you already tryed to replace it with the new one.

Also this can be caused if your BIOS is messed up or completely blocked.So try to UNPLUG your computer from the power source,REMOVE THE CMOS battery and then hit the POWER button few times to discharge the power from the system completely.Now leave your computer like that for at least an hour and after 1 hour or more return both things back: the CMOS battery and plug it back to the power source.

Some motherboards have set the jumpers on the specified places so BE SURE THAT YOU DID NOT TOUCH THEM!Because if you did,you will need to return them back on the correct places.

The RAM wether it is good or bad is not a reason because that would NOT cause the computer to power down.Computer would simply keep working,only you would have the blank screen.


If none of this did not help,then some of your IMPORTANT hardware such as the processor or even the entire motherboard is damaged or fried.

Report back with the results :D !





Cheers dude!
 
S.T.A.R.S. said:
Be sure that nothing is preventing your fans/ventilators to spin completely free and properly.Because if something does,the heat tells your hardware to turn off your computer automatically.

Also take a look that the CPU cooling paste on your processor is fine.If it's not,replace it with the new one,but be sure to remove the old one from the cooler and processor before putting the new one!

As for the power unit/supply,that is not a problem considering you already tryed to replace it with the new one.

Also this can be caused if your BIOS is messed up or completely blocked.So try to UNPLUG your computer from the power source,REMOVE THE CMOS battery and then hit the POWER button few times to discharge the power from the system completely.Now leave your computer like that for at least an hour and after 1 hour or more return both things back: the CMOS battery and plug it back to the power source.

Some motherboards have set the jumpers on the specified places so BE SURE THAT YOU DID NOT TOUCH THEM!Because if you did,you will need to return them back on the correct places.

The RAM wether it is good or bad is not a reason because that would NOT cause the computer to power down.Computer would simply keep working,only you would have the blank screen.


If none of this did not help,then some of your IMPORTANT hardware such as the processor or even the entire motherboard is damaged or fried.

Report back with the results :D !





Cheers dude!
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the fan are moving just fine, i can spin them with my finger just fine. Im not sure how to tell if the paste is fine or not, but i dont think this is the issue, what do i know though lol. Also the power supply was not replaced with a new one. There is a chance the used one was also bad, i didnt want to spend like $50 on something that may not be the problem, thus why im here right now, im not quite sure what a CMOS battery is so ill either google it or wait to see if someone answers in the morning. I assume your tapling about jumpers on the CMOS battery?

So far what i can tell is were still between, whole motherboard or powersupply. Can any of this be caused by cleaning it with compressed air? maybe knocked something loose?

Also thank you for typing all that up for me i appreciate it.
 
In that case try to replace the power unit/supply with some other power supply taken from some other computer and see if that is fixing the problem.

NOTE: Be sure that the voltage is the same.If it's higher on the power supply you are putting as the replacement of the old one,your motherboard can fry!!!




Cheers!
 
Ill look into getting anew new PS, until then any explanation on why it might be the power supply? why does it start up for 2 seconds then shut back down, and why wont the power buttons LED light turn off until i unplug the the computer?

just ordered a new PS
 
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From the situation you described, I would bet most on S.T.A.R.S's comment about the CMOS battery. If you left the computer disconnected from the mains for a lengthy period of time, it's likely the battery is dead. If the PC has simply been sitting around disconnected, there is no particular reason for anything else to fail.

The battery is on the motherboard. Check your motherboard manual for location and/or the type of battery. If you remove the battery (PC powered down) you can read the battery type off it directly.

Every time you touch anything inside the PC case, first discharge any static on you by touching the metal parts of the case with your hands.
 
The first thing I would do is disconnected everything one by one. Starting with the COMS battery and leave it unhooked for a while. Just unplug a connector look at it and make sure it has no damage and plug it in again. Make sure it is seated properly. I would also do this with the RAM and CPU.

Maybe that's just me though.
 
The power supply came in today!

I unhooked everything from the old power supply and hooked up the new one. I didn't hook up the monitor,keyboard ect yet I just wanted to see if it would turn on, I pushed the power button and it kicked on. The fans stayed on and I could hear the harddrive working. But I did notice the power light was fading in and out as if it were hibernating or something. So I lpower it down and hook up the rest of the computer and power it up again.

Nothing else worked that I plugged in. The mouse, keyboard, or monitor seem that they are getting power, and the power light is still fading in and out.

So I grab the computer and push in a button on the face (located directly above the button to open the CD drive) I've never knew what it did but it stopped the power light from fading. So i assume this button I pushed was the "sleep" button.

Either way, checking all connections and what not I have a computer that powers on (and instantly goes to sleep apparently) but won't power up anything. My keyboard has a red light under the keys for in the dark, and if I unplug the USB and plug it back in the underlights flash as if they are going to turn on for a split second then flash off. (like turning on a light when the bulb busts).

The monitor says no input detected and goes to sleep. So I'm one step closer, but still not working yet. Atleast the computer and fans are staying on now.

Anymore help would be amazing.
 
Also note I tries plugging in other various things, iPhone charger, different mouse, and tried using a different av plug for the monitor, all to no avail.
 
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