Why doesn’t my wife’s computer turn on after moving it?

Hi there,

I just moved my wifes computer downstairs and for some reason it wouldn't turn on. I replaced her power supply with mine and it momentarily turned on but i heard a click and it shut back off. Now neither of the power supplies work in either computer. Is it possible her motherboard or other hardware fried both PS's? And what are the odds my mother board is fried also now after putting in the bad ps? Thank you for your time

This question was answered on October 13, 2004. Much of the information contained herein may have changed since posting.

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There could be several things that are causing this problem Below are a couple things you might be able to do to check and see if the problem is the motherboard or the power supply.

1 Check that all power cord connections to the PC, the monitor, and the power source are solid.

2 Check all switches make sure that they are turned on.

3 Verify that the circuit breaker does not need resetting.

4 Look for a voltage switches on the back of the computer case and make sure that it is set to 115volts and not 220 volts.

5 Make sure that the surge protector is on and that it doesn’t need replacing or resetting.

If none of the above works then check the motherboard for damage on the bottom side The circuits are coated with plastic and quite often damage is hard to see Also frayed wires on the cable connection can cause shorts Disconnect hard drive cables connected directly to the Motherboard and try powering up the computer with just the power supply If the problem proceeds then you must replace the motherboard and the power supply.

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Posted by julie of Katharine Gibbs School - New York on October 13, 2004

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