1st post... need help Computer won't power on.

[bflanigin]

ok well ill start by giving background. I am a college student with a wealth of knowledge about cars, and have worked several jobs in trhat industry. I recently purchased a computer that a good freind of mine built. I dont know alot about computers so i know spec of the system and not brands etc. Well the computer has functioned great but the wiring inside was a little ho hum. So i got a sleeving kit to sleeve a few of the wires. Well i only got a couple done when i decided it was time to do some gaming for the night, so i plugged everything back ain turned it on and.... nothing. Now i know the immediate instinct for everyone (including me) was i forgot to plug somthing in. I double check and everything was correct i even marked in several places and only pulled one wire at a time. Now heres the kicker. While im poking around i left the power supply on and suddenly the green LED on the mother board pop on for a second then off again. I wiggled mt hand around in the area i just touched. (the 20 pin connector into mother board) and the light came on and stayed on. Hit the button and the beast fired up. Ok so i slapped the panels on set it on the floor.... then nothing. Put it back on the table wiggled wires to no avail.


Long story short i beleive this is a lose wire. Anyone have any ideas? Also, if its not the 20 pin connector, there is a wire going from the power supply that is white and black braided and connects to a 3 pin connector on the motherboard about 2 inches above where the 20 pin connector is. What does this wire do?

Well there it is i hope Someone can help. Thanks everyone.
(hlep the noob....)

[Cymae]

sounds like a connector or pin you might have wiggled kinda loose or off when you started taking everything apart..

So it doesn't turn on at ALL? like..none of it? does a fan work plugged into the PSU? or is absolutely nothing working?

Oh and welcome to the forums <3

[bflanigin]

thanks for the welcome. Againim not really down with the lingo so forgive me. PSU.... power supply unit? If so all i know is that there are a bunch of wires comming out it. a couple of them must me made for fans and accesories because the only things on them are the molex 4pins. I think your asking that if i plug the fans directly into one of these do they turn on? if so then no. However they never did the fans only came on when i hit the on switch on the front. So the rocker in the back could be on and the fans would urn on when i turn the computer on.

Maybe your asking if i have tried to hardwire a fan to the psu to make sure it (the psu0) is working. in which case no i have not opened the PSU for any reason... it scares me. Similer im sure to one of you guys opening up a motor. Its a simple beast but its scary the first time.

should i try this. I suppose i could also take a volt meter to some connectors to make sure its working. However it did work. It turned on and i had to turn it off manually. so are PSU's intermittent llike that?

[Cymae]

Nononono...do NOT open the PSU. Sorry for the lingo, yes PSU = Power Supply. I'm just thinking what you could possibly do to test that the Power supply is functional and it's not the motherboard..because it would suck if it was the motherboard..try a voltage meter on the molexes..I'm not ENTIRELY sure if this will work but it's worth a shot. Know anyone who can let you borrow a spare power supply? That might be an idea too, to try a different power supply and see if it works. It could be a range of things wrong with it.. It's a bit hard to tell without getting to poke around in it....But see if you can test that the power supply works somehow. But again, do NOT under ANY circumstances open it. This can lead to...unfavourable events.

[calumc]

from what your saying it sounds like one of the pins on the 20 pin connector is loose. On the pins there are little springy barbs that hold then inside the connector, id say youve pushed in some of these when removing them. so the best solution might be to take out all the pins again and make sure all the barbs are out enough to hold the pin in place.

[bflanigin]

A agree that it does sound like a loose wire, however i did not remove the pins from the 20 pin connector. but i will try to wiggle the indeviduale wires on the 20 pin connector to see if it is a loose connection at one of those. thanks for the help everyone.

Any other thoughts? I am at work now but i was hoping to get a whole list of things to check when i get home then i can report back the results.

[Cymae]

again..it's really hard without seeing it..I get my best brainwaves when i fiddle with things...

[bflanigin]

lol i'd invite you over but i could buy it again for what it would cost to bring you here (USA)!.... is there something that shows me when the poer is on what pins on that 20 pin connector should have power? i assume all of them because it goes straight to the PSU but just wondering. Also does anyone know what the other wire i mentioned is?

[calumc]

when the power should be on the fan inside the psu should be spinning

[Cymae]

when the power should be on the fan inside the psu should be spinning

That's only true if the PC is turned on. He said nothing turned on...so I can only assume that theres either a problem with the connection to turn the pc on or theres a problem with the power supply