Computer won't turn on, blinks when power button pressed

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As the fans don't turn, just move a little bit and stop, it is most likely that your PSU is dead.

See also this post : Any way to tell apart a CPU defect from a mainboard defect?.

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SUM1
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SUM1

Updated on September 18, 2022

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  • SUM1
    SUM1 about 1 year

    My computer won't turn on. When I press the power button, the LED lighting at the back flashes, and the fan moves a tiny amount, but it doesn't turn on. It does the same when I release the button. I had put the computer to sleep the night before (as usual), and it just wouldn't wake up today. It was showing the flashing sleep signal on the power button, indicating it was asleep and not off, but it still wouldn't wake.

    I've tried holding down the power button, and I've tried removing and replugging the mains power, to no effect. There is a green light on the motherboard, so I believe it to be a power-related issue, but I don't know. All USB-plugged devices have their lights on as normal.

    This is a video of what happens when I press and release the power button: https://www.dropbox.com/s/prgni6lixlyk4pk/TRIM_20180623_103057.mp4?dl=0

  • harrymc
    harrymc over 5 years
    Any reason for the downvote?
  • SUM1
    SUM1 over 5 years
    I just tried unplugging and replugging the power cables inside the computer, as well as vacuuming out the copious amounts of dust that had built up. Now there is no light or fan movement when the power button is pressed, but there is still a green light on the motherboard.
  • harrymc
    harrymc over 5 years
    I think you have reached the limits possible for a non-professional. Your computer is sick. My guess of the PSU might be correct or not, but a professional repairman has the tools and the exchange components necessary for analyzing the problem. Recommended.
  • SUM1
    SUM1 over 5 years
    I did the paperclip test (stuck a paperclip into the green and black wires of the 24-pin connector) and the power unit worked, surprisingly. The fan and LED stayed on until I cut the power. This makes it likely that it's a motherboard issue, but what are your thoughts on what I should do next, given this new info? I'm considering researching how to replace a motherboard, rather than sending the whole thing to a repair shop (last time I did that, they cleared some files without me requesting them to).
  • harrymc
    harrymc over 5 years
    The motherboard is certainly one possibility, but I can't really tell what's wrong on your side from here. To avoid lost files, put your disk on another computer and take a backup, or maybe an image of the disk, before sending it to the repairshop. Otherwise you might spend your money for nothing.
  • SUM1
    SUM1 over 5 years
    I've ordered a disk enclosure and will be doing exactly that very soon. Still hesitant to send to the repair shop, will see what other tests I can do before doing that. Do you have any thoughts on what they could be? Just to remind, the power supply gives normal fan and LED operation, but when the power supply is plugged into everything (motherboard, disk and CD drive), there is zero activity when the power button is pressed, except for a solid green light on the motherboard.
  • harrymc
    harrymc over 5 years
    I don't know your motherboard well enough. You could try Breadboarding, which is striping everything and adding them one by one. Maybe it's only one bad component and not the motherboard.