Help! My PC won't turn on!

[Tenko]

I recently bought a computer that costed around $1300. It has been working fine since I bought it. Now, I woke up this morning, hit the on button, and nothing happened. I went to see if there had been a power outage or if the breaker was malfunctioning, but everything was fine. My monitor will turn on and off but none of my computer lights are on and it won't work at all. I was really wondering if you guys could help me because I don't have money to replace the PC right now

Also, just to let you know, in case it will help somehow. I originally bought a Gateway and put in a new video card and PSU myself.

Also, I have had this PC for about six months and it's always worked fine. It didn't shut down on me in the middle of anything either, I just shut my PC down like usual, turned off the monitor and went to bed, now when I hit the power button NOTHING happens. No noise, no lights, nothing. I tried unplugging everything and re-plugging it in. Also, I looked in my case to see if I could notice anything, but I don't know if you can tell if your stuff is broke or fried.

Well, I unplugged everything from the PC (mouse, keyboard, monitor, net adapter, etc.) besides the power cord, then plugged it into the wall and it worked. Then I plugged everything back in and plugged the PC into my outlet strip and it didn't work. Then I plugged everything (PC w/ all external things plugged in and monitor) into the wall to see if my outlet strip was faulty but the PC wouldn't turn on. Then, I plugged my lamp in my outlet strip and it worked fine which means the outlet strip isn't faulty. Then, I unplugged everything and plugged the PC into the outlet strip and it worked. Then, I plugged everything (external stuff) back in and it didn't work. Then, I unplugged everything and it didn't work. Then, I plugged everything back into the outlet strip and now it's working again. It seems like it only is turning on when it wants to. Anyone know whats wrong?

Specs:
PSU http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16817103937
Video Card http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...31&Submit=ENE&Manufactory=1402&SubCategory=48 (The actual video card has been taken off the site, but it's one exactly like these)
AMD Athlon 3200+ Dual Core Processor
250GB Hard Drive
1GB RAM
20" Flat Screen Monitor

If you need any more info, just ask. I'll do just about anything to get this PC to work

 

[Jesse_hz]

When a PC that has previously worked suddenly wont boot at all (nothing happens when PWR-pins are shorted on the mobo), it's usually one of the four:
1. Bad powersupply (PSU) // Try shorting +5VSB to Ground (Green+Black) and see if the fan inside the PSU starts spinning.
2. Bad motherboard // Examine the motherboard for any blown capacitors and try CPU and PSU in another motherboard
3. Loose or bad wires/connectors. // make sure both ATX power connectors (20/24 pin and 4 pin) are proper seated on the motherboard.
4. Outlet doesn't provide enough power. // Try plugging the computer in another room of your house and see if it will turn on.

 

[Tenko]

There hope I cleaned that part up a bit. I know its confusing haha. Also, my outlet can't be the problem, because they don't lose power over time and I've been using the same one for this whole time. Now I'm afraid to turn off my PC at night in case it doesn't turn back on.

 

[Tarkus]

one problem may be if the PSU senses a fault it will 'crowbar' itself and wont turn on untill it has been unplugged from the wall for a few seconds then plugged back in. So if it happens again give that a try.

 

[Tetra-Stryf]

As to what I have seen on the customer reviews on that PSU on multiple websites it seems to be one of those good while it lasts PSU's. Next time it does that try using onboard video (if you have it) or unplugging your floppy and cd\dvd drives to see if the PSU is just not supplying enough power out to run the system. If that works then you may need to contact the manufacturer and see what you can do as far as an RMA or maybe replacing it at a lower cost.

 

[Tenko]

It might be not supplying enough power, but this never happened before so I don't see why it started happening now. If I unplug all the external stuff from the computer, it will turn on every time, but if all that stuff is plugged in, 3/4 of the time, it won't turn on. Right now I'm on the computer, I unplugged everything, turned the PC on, then everything back in and it's running fine. It ran good all yesterday after I got it started too, so it seems like the only problem is starting up.
Also, my mom talked to the guys at Best Buy (where I bought the gateway), and they said that they could look at it and see what's wrong. Do you reccomend me having them look at it? Also, if it is my PSU, should I just RMA it and get the same one, or should I get a whole new one?

 

[beef_jerky4104]

I put my money on the power supply. You might as well let the people at Best Buy look at it, as long as its for free. But if the come up with something like "The case fan is drawing to many amps from the power supply" then they are stupid. If it is you power supply, then go with a new one. Still make sure its from a reputable company like OCZ.

 

[foozy]

PSU would be my main bet as well, though it could be the MB as well.

The whole situation seems confusing to me, thats an odd array test results.

 

[Tenko]

Well, I'm guessing it's my PSU because now, my PC won't turn on no matter what I do. We're going to Best Buy soon because they said they'd look at it for free. The bad part is, apparantly my mom threw out the box for the PSU, so I can't RMA it, so I'll have to get a new one.
Also, since I am going to have to get a new PSU, what brand do you guys reccomend I get? What's a nice reliable one, that preferably is less than $100? I hear that Antec, Enermax, and OCZ are the best brands. Oh, and should I get one that's like 400w, or 500w?
This Enermax looks really nice and is affordable. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817194002
The only thing, is that my current Antec PSU barely fits in my case, and as you can see, the Enermax is even bigger. Also, the Gateway case had these pre-mount things for the PSU so only smaller ones will fit, and if I got the Enermax, it wouldn't even be mounted in the case because it wouild be too big for the pre-mount slot thing.
Well, I went to Best Buy. I looked at the prices and laughed really hard. $200 for a diagnostic and repair. Luckily, the guy I talked to was nice and said he wouldn't charge. It probably helped that he was a WoW nerd like me Anyways, turns out the fan in the PSU burnt out, which caused the PSU to burn out. So now, I'm going to RMA the PSU and get a new one. I might mount an extra fan also to keep it from overheating. I don't know if I still have the box for my Antec still, do you think they'll let me RMA it anyways?

Off topic: Is everyone here nocturnal? All your posts are around midnight or early morning lol.

 

[Tedster]

https://www.techspot.com/vb/topic53866.html

Antec generally has good PSUs. Go to Tom's hardware website and look up PSU reviews.