Hi All, I'm hoping for some help on a problem I'm having with my pc: it refuses to power on!

Its not the power supply because I have swapped power supplies with my brother's PC and my old one works fine in his; his one doesn't work in mine. I thought it might be the power outlet, so I moved my PC to another room, but still no joy.

I have heard of motherboard batteries dying - could that be the problem? Or what about the cpu being fried? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

dendol, hi, the problem you pose may not be cut and dry. The problem could have a lot of causes. But before you replace the motherboard, I suggest the following:

Purchase a multimeter at RadioShack or the like for about $20.00 to test the power supply. You can find a lot of info about it at http://www.doctronics.co.uk/meter.htm & http://mechatronics.mech.nwu.edu/mechatronics/design_ref/tools/multimeter.html.

But have you gotten a new round-shaped Lithium battery yet? Most of the time, it should say "2032" on it. But whatever the number type of battery it is, it costs about 2 or 3 bucks at your local CAMERA LAB store. I'm presuming, of course, you have the modern or ATX motherboard right? If you have an old, I mean really old computer like on some x86s , the cylinder or the DALLAS-brand type of battery is soldered in, in which case, it is next to impossible to replace it.

Next, if the new battery does not work, just leave your computer alone for up to 10 days or so, with no battery in the battery compartment, so that the circuits are completely discharged. What happens is you may have accidentally bump into some circuits while re-setting the CMOS jumper, for example. After the 10 wait-out days, your computer (power supply) may miraculously come back alive. There were times when I waited 30 days or so just so the motherboard is completely discharged!

Then next, check and re-check your motherboard jumpers with the manual. But then again, if your power supply worked, say, yesterday, and not now, then you may have accidentally zapped your motherboard with static electricity, especially if you are working on a carpet with no anti-staic wrist wrap or FARADAY ANTI-STATIC MAT.

Next, try removing some power cables from devices you may not need yet, such as from the other 2 or 3 fans you may have or, even the extended Y-SPITTER cable.

Next, check to make sure all your computer parts are firmly seated in the slots, connectors, etc. or firmly snapped in, especially your DIMM, DDR or whatever type of memory card your motherboard have. Memory cards that are NOT firmly seated onto its DIMM or other type of slots can cause all sort of nightmarish problems. This is especially true if the memory card (s) have different memory bus speeds or is not recommended for your particular motherboard. :) ::)

Another possibility is that the button you push does not connect with the power switch. I recommend removing the front panle to see if the real power switch is engaged when you press the button on the case.

Regards.

Phil