Comp wont power on

[twinsmom]

My sons 3 yr old emachine has decided to die. When u plug it in and power it on only the fans are working. No power light at all and you can hear the hdd trying to think but thats as far as it goes. No beeps and no images on screen.

 

[raybay]

Please tell us the brand and model. If not known, look for the model number on the center area of the mother board, (if you know how to remove the cover).
If you know how to get at it, tell us the brand of the hard drive.
This sounds as if you have a failed hard drive... but could be a power supply... (some devices work on one part of the power supply, while other parts are defective).
Can you tell if the video graphics socket is part of the motherboard, or is on a pci slot near the modem?
The problem is, it is difficult to guess at the problem: It can be power supply, hard drive, cpu fan, cpu thermal paste, video graphics card or socket or driver, memory module which has failed.
We need as much information as you can provide, so as to make the best guesses at a solution.
Do you have the original Windows disk, or computer recovery or restore disk set?
Do you have valuable data installed?

 

[twinsmom]

the hdd is a western digital WD400 mdl wd400eb-00cpf0 ;date mar 12/2003; dcm hsbbhv2a. the computer is a emachine w2040 amd processor 2000+; integrated graphics; not sure where to find the mobo model

 

[Mu5ician]

If the HDD is faulty it should still boot into the DOS startup screen.

Disconnect the HDD cables just from the HDD itself, not the motherboard. Then try to power up again.

Do the fans continue moving? or do they stop after say, 5-8 seconds?

 

[twinsmom]

with the hdd unplugged nothing happens no power at all

 

[Bruce2]

It is very likely your power supply went bad.

 

[Bluemouse]

1) Make sure all the wires are secure. I can't tell you how many times the cable from the psu to the mobo has come loose on people's computers and nothing happens.

2) Is the LED on the mobo lit up?

3) Make sure the PSU is both plugged in and switched on in the back of the psu (I know it's obvious, but a lot of people forget).

4) If you have a voltmeter or something see if you can get power at various parts of your computer. Especially try checking the power of the PSU. If there isn't enough power, your power supply is faulty and you should buy a new one.

Emachines in general seem to have a lot of issues with their power supplies. Especially if this is the one that came with your computer, it is most likely faulty. Disconnect all the components from the PSU, unscrew the PSU from the case and go and purchase another one. You can get decent ones for about $50 (Canadian) and it should be much better/more stable than your current PSU. All you need to do is screw the new one in, connect the larger cable to the motherboard, and then connect the other components (hdd, dvd/cdrom drives, fans, graphics cards).

5) If you've tried another power supply and still no go, and all the wires are connected properly and securely, then you have a motherboard issue and you need to replace the motherboard.

 

[twinsmom]

great thank you all i have it out now and going to go get a new one