My pyaara PC is giving problems . Help

[cute.bandar]

This could be long. please bear with me.

Yesterday I attempted to switch on my PC , but it didn't start, no bootup. I opened the case , pressed the power button , got no signs of life i.e no fan spinning, no bootup . turning off and on power switch on the PSU, resulted in the fans (cpu and psu ) spinning and then stopping after a couple of seconds(again no bootup). But pressing the power button still had no effect whatsoever.

Next to check the PSu I shorted the green and black cable on the 20pin connector. It ran just fine.

Next I shorted the power button jumper, with the result that the fans started spinning, but they stopped after a couple of seconds(still no bootup).

I did a bit a fiddling around ( tried to tighten the power button jumper, removed the HDD and DVD etc) , and the next time I tried the PC booted up! . but this didn't last for long , next time tried it didn't bootup . Since then when I press the power button , sometimes it boots , other times it doesn't boot. Sometimes it boots only after the power switched on the PSU is turned off and on

Once the system get getting hanged when my OS (xp and 7) were loading . It only got fixed after turning off the main power .

Current status is that it is working for an hour ! But I worried sick about what has happened to my pyaara . what could be the problem ? PSU going dead , mobo going bad or just moisture(heavy rainfull here) ? I am pretty sure there is no problem with HDD and DVD. gonna run a memtest now.

My temps are fine.

Pyaara PC:

AMD X2 4000+
Asus M2a-mx mobo
1 Gb corsair
Sahara 230W PSU ( I know)
Seagate 500GB HDD

Thanks for reading!

Edit; memtest ran for 1 hour without giving any errors.

[pimpom]

You've done a good job of describing the problem and of trying to isolate the defect.

As often happens, it's impossible to say "That's the culprit". Possibilities are -

1. Dying PSU. Could be a low voltage rectifier. The quickest way to find out is to interchange the PSU with a working computer.

2. Loose RAM stick. Motherboards don't always beep these days when the RAM is not seated properly.

3. Moisture. Requires cleaning and drying everything.

4. Power or reset switch getting stuck intermittently. Not the button, but the contact inside the switch.

[Gauravs90]

For how much time you are using your PC or sahara PSU
PSU's loose their efficiency with time and your PSU's rating is already low that too its a local one.
Try with different PSU

[cute.bandar]

thanks for the replies!

PSU and PC are 2.5 years old.
I had reseated the RAM, with no apparent change.

Currently the PC is running fine, so I don't plan on shutting it down . If it refuses to start the next time , I'll try drying and cleaning it, if that doesn't fix it . I'll try procuring another PSU

Motherboards don't always beep these days when the RAM is not seated properly.

I don't have a case speaker, should I get one ?

[pimpom]

Originally Posted by cute.bandar

I don't have a case speaker, should I get one ?

Well, it helps diagnose many startup problems.

[cute.bandar]

^how much does one(case speaker) cost ?

[pimpom]

I don't really know as I've never bought one separately, but it can't be much - a few tens of rupees perhaps. Many motherboards come with a tiny enclosed speaker with a short wire and a plug. It's left hanging free from the motherboard. You may be able to get that from a computer shop. A small radio speaker will also do.

Another way in which a BIOS beeper can be useful is that some antivirus progs beep a warning when it detects a malware.

[cute.bandar]

so its cheap , good thanks, will get if the PC gives problems..

[asingh]

PSU is dead..!

[cute.bandar]

update:
day before yesterday pc wasn't booting, so I cleaned and dried the whole thing after which it worked.
Yesterday again the PC wasn't booting normally. and only switching off and on the power switch on the psu did the PC boot. Today even that didn't work as the PC simply refused to boot(even with shorting the power button jumper) . so I took the PSU to some computer shop , where they checked the PSU in another computer and it worked just fine! Back home, I attached the pSU and it booted just fine!!! arghhhh
what is the problem ?? PSU dying a slow stuttering death

[Sam]

change PSU. else when your PC dies, blame yourself.

[pimpom]

Originally Posted by cute.bandar

update:
day before yesterday pc wasn't booting, so I cleaned and dried the whole thing after which it worked.
Yesterday again the PC wasn't booting normally. and only switching off and on the power switch on the psu did the PC boot. Today even that didn't work as the PC simply refused to boot(even with shorting the power button jumper) . so I took the PSU to some computer shop , where they checked the PSU in another computer and it worked just fine! Back home, I attached the pSU and it booted just fine!!! arghhhh
what is the problem ?? PSU dying a slow stuttering death

I could make some guesses as to what's wrong with your PSU - dry solder, dried up capacitor, leaky rectifier, etc. - but it won't be of much help to you unless you have some good experience in electronics.

With any technical product, especially with electronics, intermittent faults are usually the most difficult to diagnose. The best way for you to know for sure is to get a new PSU or one that's known to be good, use it for a few days and see if the symptoms come back.

[cute.bandar]

well I got a new SMPS. it seems to have fixed things, but I think the power button on my cabby is now partially broken or is sticking, as you said pimpom. BUt that I can think is not much of big deal.
Thanks a lot for your replies pimpom & others, appreciate it.

[pimpom]

If it's the switch (not the plastic button) that's sticking, you can do either of two things. You can use the reset switch to replace the power switch. Or you can replace the power switch with a new one. It's a micro-switch and can be bought separately.

If your local computer does not have a spare switch with the wires already attached, an electronics parts shops should have the switch, but you or someone else will have to solder the wires onto the pins.