The time has come, I need your help...

Last night I went to bad leaving my moms computer on overnight, which is nothing new, I leave always leave it on overnight. Well, last night, while everyone was sleeping the power temporarily wen't out, resetting our clocks and stuff. This is also nothing new, it has happened numerous times. Well After resetting my clocks and stuff I wen't to my mothers computer and tried turning it on, it wouldn't turn on. Immediatly I considered the power supply wen't bad after the power outage. I never really looked at my mom's computer before, my step dad bought it (it's an HP) and installed it before he passed away. So this is my first time looking at it from a troubleshooting point of view.

As I took the computer out from underneath the desk, I looked behind the computer where the power supply is and saw a blinking green light on the PSU. The computer was still plugged into the surge protector so I'm guessing that means it is receiving power. So a horrifying thought came into mind, maybe it's the motherboard! Or worse, maybe a number of things are damaged. But as for now, I'm trying to figure out why it won't turn on, and my 2 thoughts are the PSU or the mobo.

What do you guys think? The only thing stopping me from trying another PSU is the green blinking light. So I want to be sure before I go through the hastle because I opened the case up and it looks like I'll have to take half the components out to exchange PSU's (Damn HP!). I unfortunatly don't have a voltimeter handy. And I hope it's not the mobo, and my mom is flipping out because she can't afford a new computer, though If it's the mobo i'll end up buying the a new mobo.

The thing is I really hope it's not the mobo, because if it is then I have to find out the right size and everything, and it will be the biggest hastle ever, HP managed to JAM everything in such a small case, it's almost worth buying a new computer then removing everything and stuff...

Thanks for your reply's :)

And sorry for the long explination, it probably doesn't need to be this long but I wanted to make sure everyone understood my predicament.

Well if you have Volt meter you could test the PSU..

you need a wire to jump start the PSU.. then measure off the various voltages..

the jumper needs to go from Pin 14 to one of the grounds..

check the attached Pinout diagram..

cheers

Some psu units have a fuse or two inside ..might want to check that as well..If it was a power surge your surge protector should have taken care of it but i have seen pc,s get blown even with that installed, especially with things like lightning..

One question though??Can you hear anything running like the harddisk or any sound from the inside or maybe a led on the mobo ??If so your screencard or modem (if you have one)or the ram could have gone..

hope it helps
cheers
vanman

I wouldn't dare open my PSU, that's just unsafe, as I, I suspect very few here are qualified to work on such things like PSU's and monitors. And no, I don't here anything because the computer doesn't even turn on, if it were a ram problem or video card problem, the computer would still turn on. And There is no LED on the mobo, at least I couldn't find one, and if there is one and I couldn't find it it's not lighting up lol, which would not be good.

Thanks for trying though, I appreciate it :).

Well I have no idea what the problem is, but let my experience serve as a warning to you.

In a case such as this, tread the PSU as if it were dead. If it is in fact fried, it could be a short curcuited transformer sending out the wrong voltages, or not regulationg those voltages properly (a voltmener will pick up the voltage bu what that voltage does under a load is rather difficult to predect even with a voltmeter). A bad PSU can fry almost any component.

Replace it.

It's not worth the $40 (and that's for a decent one - a cheapo should run you $15-$20) loss to run the risk of a motherboard you may decide to try and install first.

I had a bad PSU which burnt out two CD drives, a mobo and a processor before I wisened up and replaced the PSU before going further. It's just not worth the risk

Sorry I can't help you other than that, but I though I'd throw in the benefit of one of my bigger brain farts for you.

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I suspect very few here are qualified to work on such things like PSU's and monitors.

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I have been shocked twice by 20 - 50 thousand volt plate current on the electron guns inside CRT monitors while adjusting the exlectron beam. Wonder how many years that took off. :D

Not to make light of the situation, but nowhere in the thread do I see where you said you unplugged it. I have seen cases where the powersupply dropped into a safety state and unplugging the machine for 5 minutes fixed it. Give this a shot as it can't hurt anything

I have seen that blinking green light on HP PSU's a couple of times. No clue why it does that, but replacing the PSU has always solved the problem.

Hi The Duck,

This guy had a similiar problem...it doesn't look like there was an answer but...the power cord was mentioned as a possibility...

Quote:

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The power supply is very easy to test. Here is how you do it:
Take the power supply out of the computer and before you plug it in take a paper clip and short the green wire (pwr on wire)from one side to any black wire (ground wire) on the other side, then plug the power cord and turn the Power supply on. If the fan does not start, that means the power supply is dead and you have to replace it.
Sometimes the fan gets overheated and the rotor dislodges from the case, but the PS is still O.K. check if the fan rotor is loose and if it is, may be you just have to replace the fan only

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http://www.techspot.com/vb/all/windo...rn-onHELP.html
My computer doesn't TUrn on..HELP!! - TechSpot Troubleshooting

Eg ;)

Eg > that's about the worst advice I've seen in a while ;)
I bet a lot of people have ruined a perfectly good PSU by trying that "trick"...
What happened to just getting a $7 multi-meter at RadioShack, checking out the voltages that each cord is supposed to have, and testing it...

A blinking green led on a HP means a bad PSU... it's as simple as that.