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Posted: 3/12/2006 5:39:18 AM EDT
Okay, not EXACTLY the situation, but nearly so.  Recently, the front power button on my tower has been kind of "slow".  I push the button and it takes a second for the system to actually turn on.  Well, it's been getting slower and slower and yesterday I couldn't get my computer to turn on.

Sooo, I took the case apart and cleaned everything ( this worked last time ) but still no go.  Now if I turn the case off from the back at the MAIN power switch and I just wait for a minute, I CAN turn the system on that way.  but I have to leave the switch in the off position for about one minute or so.

I noticed that the little Power on button in the front just pops right out of the case front and that it plugs directly to the mother board.....can I get one of these little buggers at Fry's electronics and just replace it?

 
Link Posted: 3/12/2006 6:00:44 AM EDT
[#1]
Link Posted: 3/12/2006 6:05:41 AM EDT
[#2]

Quoted:
sounds like the button is stickng. if you can find one at a store yes you can replace it. hinestly i have never looked for one so i have no idea if they carry them or not.

mike



Well, I think the button is just finally busted...or maybe is just stuck for good.....this part is soooo simple and soo convenient to replace that I'll be there isn't one within' two gagillion miles of my current position.

but I'll give it a shot!!!
Link Posted: 3/12/2006 6:09:06 AM EDT
[#3]
It may not be the button.  In more modern motherboards the front switch is generally not an interrupt of the power, it is more of a request to turn on or off.  When you turn off the computer from the front switch there is still power being consumed in the computer because something is awake and polling that switch.  So when you kill the main switch and wait you're allowing the charge in the system to leak off.  This has the effect of causing those polling circuits to forget the weird state that it's in.

You can do a couple of things here:

1. Try replacing the switch.  You can find these at Fry's.  The problem will be finding something that fits the case.

2. Try leaving power off and unplugged over night.  There's a chance that even with the main switch off there are still circuits consuming power and thus retaining state.  By removing the power and waiting a long time everything should leak off.  Overnight is not really necessary most discharge times in the circuits are in seconds or minutes.

3. You could try resetting the BIOS.  There's usually a jumper that you use to short two MB pins together for a couple of seconds to return to factory settings.  Down side is you'll probably need to tell the BIOS somethings about what your system contains.

4. It could be that the BIOS has corrupted code and needs to be re-flashed (unlikely)

Did you build this system yourself?

Jeff
Link Posted: 3/12/2006 6:24:07 AM EDT
[#4]
Well, the system was built for me by a friend when he upgraded to a Dell...he just upgraded the one he had and gave it to me.....

it's a couple of years old now....

I was thinking of getting a new one soon, anyway but would like this one to last a bit longer.  I will try to "bleed off" the system today and see how it goes.

Thanks for the tip!!
Link Posted: 3/12/2006 7:15:26 AM EDT
[#5]
Link Posted: 3/12/2006 7:18:30 AM EDT
[#6]

Quoted:
The power supply has died or is nearly dead.

-Troy



I am thinking this is more likely than the switch as well.
Link Posted: 3/12/2006 7:23:30 AM EDT
[#7]
The front power switch is just a momentary switch, you can test it with a simple ohm meter or bypass it temporarily by disconnecting it.  Just touch the contacts that come from the motherboard the now disconnected switch to simulate the switch being pressed.  If the switch isn't the problem you're next most likely trouble area is the power supply.  Replace it with a good one, not a cheap POS.  If the switch and PS don't solve the problem the next most likely trouble area is the power control circuitry on the motherboard.
Link Posted: 3/12/2006 9:53:33 PM EDT
[#8]

Quoted:
The front power switch is just a momentary switch, you can test it with a simple ohm meter or bypass it temporarily by disconnecting it.  Just touch the contacts that come from the motherboard the now disconnected switch to simulate the switch being pressed.  If the switch isn't the problem you're next most likely trouble area is the power supply.  Replace it with a good one, not a cheap POS.  If the switch and PS don't solve the problem the next most likely trouble area is the power control circuitry on the motherboard.



Thanks for tips, guys.
Link Posted: 3/13/2006 9:13:41 PM EDT
[#9]
motherboard is toast.....looks like I'll be buying a new system.....the one I have is handbuilt and about 5 years old....I am not even gonna bother with it....hopefully transferring my hard drive won't be a bitch....my life is on that thing....
Link Posted: 3/13/2006 9:16:09 PM EDT
[#10]

Quoted:
motherboard is toast.....looks like I'll be buying a new system.....the one I have is handbuilt and about 5 years old....I am not even gonna bother with it....hopefully transferring my hard drive won't be a bitch....my life is on that thing....



Not at all.. just toss the old drive in as the secondary on your new machine, you'll be good to go in no time. I have two drives in my machine for just this reason.
Link Posted: 3/14/2006 12:01:48 AM EDT
[#11]

Quoted:

Quoted:
motherboard is toast.....looks like I'll be buying a new system.....the one I have is handbuilt and about 5 years old....I am not even gonna bother with it....hopefully transferring my hard drive won't be a bitch....my life is on that thing....



Not at all.. just toss the old drive in as the secondary on your new machine, you'll be good to go in no time. I have two drives in my machine for just this reason.



That's what folks are saying.,....I'll probably start with this as my primary until I can transfer stuff to the newer drive....
Link Posted: 3/14/2006 1:08:59 PM EDT
[#12]
Well, I am back online.  Got a new system and I even have my old hard drive ready to slave up...to bad my stock data ribbon is too short for hooking both up....I'll be correcting that soon!!!

Anyhow, flat screens are sweet!!!

and so is the Chrysler 300C
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