Blew out my case now computer wont turn on.

My computer recently picked up some antimalware virus(s) and I finally got the information I needed, (from this site, thank you all that helped me), to get rid of it. I decided it was a good time to blow out my case before I get to what I know would be hours of work. I blow the case out, hook all the needed items back up, hit the power switch, and got a big nothing, no power up at all, not a twitch. I thought this is either really odd and coincidental, or somehow I loosened a connector on the mobo, or possibly dust is shorting something out. I pulled and reseated every connector on the mobo and attempted to fire it up, still nothing.

So that's where I'm at.

Any advice would be great.

OK so before you blew out the case everything was working fine, now it isn't.

You might want to double check your work here, you may have blown a jumper loose off of a jumper location. You know those little black plastic looking things that jump two pins together on the motherboard?

Make sure none of those are missing, by referencing your motherboard book, make sure those that are still present are fully seated on their pins, these are often over looked as a problem, because they don't stick out as obvious as the wired connecters.

Double check all your connecters including the one that goes to your power on switch on the front of the computer to where it connects on your motherboard. (another one which is over-looked)

There might be a jumper that allows your motherboard to accept both Baby-AT or ATX PSUs that jumper may have come loose on the motherboard.

If it worked before, it means it will work again once you pin-point what was disconnected during the blow out with compressed air.

You are correct MrBruce, I did not check those pesky little jumpers. And yes, the computer worked fine, (except for the virus issue), before blowing it out. I will have to re-check the jumpers. The one thing I DID NOT do was open the power supply to see what's going on in there. Is that something I should even consider doing? I suspect not as I don't remember there being anything removable/detachable in there, but I've been wrong before.

I'll post back later tonight or tomorrow in regards to those jumpers.

Thanks again Bruce!!!

Robert


Edit: Edited to remove unnecessary quote. ~ tg

You're welcome!

In reference to your power supply, you can usually blow that out with air, however I always recommend not allowing any fan to spin from the pressure from the compressed air.

The reason for this is because a fan is spun by power being applied to it, however a fan can act like a gererator when it is powered by air pressure, same as to the theroy of how a wind mill works to

generate electricity. If enough pressure is used, a curent can be produced by the fan that back tracks into the circuitry of the motherboard causing an over-load to any circuit in line with it and thus

can destroy a low voltage component. So to avoid this, I suggest you make sure the fans do not spin while compressed air is being applied to it.

With that precaution out of the way, another is if you decide to service the inside of a PSU, you have to be careful of being zapped by a current that is stored in those large cylander looking objects we call electrolytic capacitors, those can store a lethal amount of current long after the power has been cut off.

Rarely have I seen movable jumpers used inside power supplies, there is usually one or two switches, however, one is the power on/off switch and the other is a voltage selection switch which is for 120 Volts USA current or 240 Volts for the UK region.

Rutt-Row, this may not work out so well.

I've blown my case out plenty of times and have never had a problem. I'm aware of not spinning the fans up with air, but I will admit they have spun a little, but not nearly what the speed would be if running on their own power. Not really sure if that matters but I suspect it doesn't as voltage is voltage.

Lets assume for the moment that I did what you said above in regards to the fan voltage and such, but wouldn't the computer do something when turned on?


Edit: Edited to remove unnecessary quote. ~ tg

Boy, does this sound familiar:
Routine Maintenance & Cleaning - A Cautionary Tale!


doingitwell,
When replying to a post, don't use the QUOTE button under the post, unless there is something specific in the post, that you want to quote.
Either use the button at the top of the page labeled Add Reply, or one of the 2 buttons at the bottom of the page, labeled Fast Reply, and Add Reply.
It keeps from cluttering up the board with unnecessary quotes.

Sorry TG, I guess I'm still trying to get used to the etiquette of the site.

Thank you for the link and the post.

Robert

Lets assume for the moment that I did what you said above in regards to the fan voltage and such, but wouldn't the computer do something when turned on?

Well for the sake of what if it did cause some type of damage, if your controller IC is damaged, then no, the computer will not power on.

The chances of this happening are indeed low, however not worth the risk. So it is best to not let the fans spin at all during the compressed air cleaning procedure.

You'll most likely find a loose or missing jumper being the real cause of the problem. At least that is what I am hoping.

No problem, Robert.
Just takes a little time to get used to a new forum.

You're welcome, for the link.
Might give you other possibilities, to check out.

I looked through the case again, unplugged and replugged it all once more, checked the jumpers, (I only have 2), but have not fired it up yet. Probably tomorrow.

Food for thought, what would prohibit the PSU from starting up even if I messed something up with the Mobo? Worse come to worse, I could jump the power on button in case that's the problem? I'm assuming that when I hit that power button, there needs to be circuit completed on the Mobo before it actually begins the start up process?

I'm assuming that when I hit that power button, there needs to be circuit completed on the Mobo before it actually begins the start up process?

In the case of ATX powered systems, the power on button on your computers case is wired directly to your motherboard to two pins, which creates a momentary closed circuit, thus sending a signal to your controller chip. Once this is done, the controller chip sends a signal to your power supply (PSU) which powers on the PSUs power output. The switch in question is only a momentary switch, once it is released the circuit is now open, as it should be, because it has done its job of powering on the system.

If you have a manual that came with your motherboard, it should show the motherboard layout for connecting the various features found on the computers front panel. Such features are the harddrive status LED and the power LED. There is usually two wires wired to the power switch, however some have three or four wires so sleep mode can be activated through the same switch by depressing it in what is called soft mode.

You want to check this wire, your motherboard manual should show where it is located.

Also some systems have the ability of being powered by either a ATX power supply or a Baby-AT type, if yours has such a feature, you will find a jumper located on your motherboard that is either for ATX or Baby-AT type power supplies, if this jumper is missing or loose, you will not be able to power on using an ATX power supply. Please check your motherboard's manual carefully for this feature.

On another thought, I want to see if I can find an owner's manual or motherboard map for your computer, however before I can do that you need to give me some information about your motherboard.

I need both the brand name and the model number. You'll find that printed on the motherboard somewhere near where the RAM module slots are located, if you could plase provide that information, I can better help you solve this problem.

Many thanks in advance.

Bruce, you're clearly going the extra mile for me, I appreciate that.

First I will let you know that the computer is a Sony VAIO that I bought roughly 5 years ago. I did check quickly about the start up switch and it
does have the option of soft start/sleep mode, I remember that anyhow. I did not get a manual for the Mobo, so can't really confirm 100%.

I looked at the wires coming from the turn on switch and followed them back to the Mobo. Leaving the Mobo there are 9 wires in total but one wire splits into two wires before it hits the switch/led area. There are no jumpers at the area on the Mobo where the hard shell connector with the 9 wires plug onto the pins on the Mobo.

The brand of the board is Intel, and the model is D915PRO, but I suspect it's considered just D915 according to the little bit of search I did on Intel's site.

Thank you again!!!

Robert

Does this motherboard have any of the following letters near the model number?

GEV
GUX
GAV
GAG

Or possible any other letters beginning with the letter G?

Or did you give me the specs on the processor? Because there is an Intel pentium D 915 processor out there as well.

It reads, "INTEL DESKTOP BOARD" and centered right below that it says "D915GRO/D915PRO/D915GVRO".

Does that help?