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E-Machine power supply trouble

5K views 9 replies 4 participants last post by  dustyjay 
#1 ·
Hi everyone!

My girlfriend has an e-machine model w4682. When I press the power button the power light around the power button turns on and stays on. The lights on the keyboard for the num lock, caps lock, scroll lock blink on and then turn off, then they flicker before turning completely off. Nothing else turns on (no fans, no monitor input and no laser mouse). Do you think its the power supply?

Thanks!
 
#4 ·
Open case...

Disconnect ALL drives from mobo... Even unplug any modem or expansion cards.

So all there is, is a Power Supply (PSU)---> MOBO (with RAM & CPU)... and of course cable pack to powerswitch/light. Of course the monitor is still plugged into the video port.

See if that works. If not, even pull the RAM out... and see if you get any ERROR beeps. Turning on a PC without RAM won't hurt it... We need to see if something is wrong with the mobo. Also a bad drive can keep your system from booting.
 
#5 ·
Nothing.

I didn't have the monitor hooked up but the fan in the power supply should at least kick. It's all still the same.

I tried unplugging everything aside from the main motherboard plug ("the big one"). I also took out the RAM and heard no error beeps.

It's the motherboard, isn't it? :(

I had used a vacuum that day to lightly clean the tower's insides. I guess that must have done it. Curse you, static electricity! :mad:
 
#6 ·
I don't recommend using a vacume cleaner hose (or floor type roller) inside a PC - the suction isn't great for the dust that can be caked to the electronics. You might have bumped into a part and damaged it - I doubt static electricity was the cause unless your hose was metal.

In the future, I recommend a can of AIR (About $3-5 a can) which can do it safely. Sometimes I use an air-compressor (friends) - but it maybe possible to damage with that because of the extreme pressure, but it does do the best job for dirty computers.

If the mobo is fried - your data is still GOOD, but you'll need to replace the mobo (which may require another winxp key) and install windows on another drive - then xfer the data from the original drive to the new drive.

But lets try to see if its DEAD DEAD... Locate a jumper on that mobo, it should have 3 pins in which 2 are covered. Switch position with power plugged in, but not ON. Let it sit for about 10secs - then put in original position. With RAM/CPU and MONITOR plugged in - see if it lives. (Monitor is NOT keeping the system from booting - if its using the onboard video) - remember, NO DRIVES or extra cards attached.

If still dead -Pull RAM & CPU(unplug power) - repeat jumper thing - then power it up WITHOUT CPU&RAM for about 5 seconds. Unplug power - reinsert CPU&RAM and power up. Yeah it SEEMS strange, but I have recovered more than a few computers this way.

If dead... you have a girlfriend to please.

The motherboard on ebay goes for about $10 - but it needs to be available.

You could also go to Frys or newegg and get P4 board (Socket 478) which will cost about $140~150. But we also don't know what else is damaged... RAM, PSU (doubt - unless you vacumed with the power on) or CPU.

And youre kind of throwing good money after bad (unless you can test things out) - but the remaing parts are good (HD, DVD drive). So you may end up spending $200~300 trying to replace any bad parts.

So ya may look at getting a new computer or building a new one...
Here's a Compaq for $400 and would SMOKE that emachine
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage...ategoryId=pcmcat103700050049&id=1156607398079

For $100 more, doublethe ram to 1GB, 250GB HD and card slots:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage...ategoryId=pcmcat103700050049&id=1164155599289

good luck!
 
#7 ·
Believe it or not most people do not understand that a plastic hose on a vacuum cleaner creates more static electricity than a metal hose does. The action that creates static electricity is the movement of 2 insulators (non cunductive components) moving against each other. Air is an insulator and so is the plastic. This is the generator of static electricity. This is why when you rub a balloon across your hair or your shirt you can hang the balloon on a wall or a pane of glass. Because the static electric charge holds it there. Also why walking across a carpet in rubber soled shoes will cause a shock when you touch a door knob. Using a vacuum inside of a computer is a dangerous situation waiting to discharge itself. There are very expensive vacuums designed for the internals of sensative electronic equipment. But unless you have a few thousand dollars for one most people will never see one. THe static charge generated by a standard household vacuum is actually thousands of volts at a very miniscule amperage. and that could easily destroy components on your motherboard.
 
#9 ·
I am really almost in disbelief that the vacuum shorted out the motherboard. I was letting the thread go but the issue has me steamed. I had cleaned the inside of my home computer, a PowerSpec, more than enough times for any kind of static shock to occur yet every time it turns back on without any problems. Albeit it is not the best, nor safest, way to clean a computer's inside, vacuuming had yet to short out anything on my PowerSpec.

My girlfriend's computer, an EMachine, on the other hand, gets a light cleaning with a Kirby vacuum, and now it refuses to work.

There has to be other factors here or it just doesn't make any sense.

Other Factors:
Kirby vacuums are no joke. They are powerful vacuums.
My girlfriend ran her computer 24/7 since 2003.
EMachine probably does not make durable systems/components. (I'm not a hundred percent on that though.)

Disclaimer: I've been using a can of air on my PowerSpec, even before the problem with my girlfriend's computer. I knew the risks of static electricity that day I used a vacuum on her computer, but figured, I had done it so many times to my computer before, it wouldn't hurt.
 
#10 ·
No Emachines does not make the best computer inthe world. If it is that old, you say 2003? You may be just looking at a new Motherboard. Emachines use PcChips or ECS motherboards generally. IT may not be impossible to find a working replacement for it and fairly inexpensively I might add.
 
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