PC won't power on

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computer froze up and had to do a manual restart. Waited and tried powering up again. Nothing. Dead. Just a steady green LED in the back which indicates the power supply is fine and that something else went bad. My wife is thinking worse-case scenario. I'm thinking we should just have it serviced somewhere.

It's an HP D5000z about 3 years old.

anyone know how to swap out a motherboard?

know of someplace that sells them cheap?

Don't jump to conclusions. A motherboard failure is only one of many things that can cause a computer to fail to start. And you can't just buy a new motherboard and pop it in. You have to get a form factor that fits the computer, and you have to find a CPU, RAM, and PCI cards that are compatible with the motherboard. You will also need the right equipment, such as anti-static straps, bags, and mats and philips and torx screwdrivers. Don't attempt to fix computer hardware yourself unless you know exactly what you're doing.

First I'd try re-seating the video card. If that doesn't work, I'd give it a light dusting and press in all the other connectors and cards to be sure they are seated properly.

If that doesn't work, I'd try a different hard drive because I usually have one on hand.

If it's not that, I'd still suspect the video card.

If that doesn't work, I'd suspect a memory module or the power supply.

Your prime suspect is the video card though. Motherboards themselves rarely go out and when they do the capacitors usually start to sing.

Replacing parts is actually fairly straight forward (for me anyway) but can be time intensive. I don't advise people who tend to be rough with things service their own computers because you need to know how to apply controlled force, and where.

Most PCs will beep on startup if the video card is not working. It's part of POST.

You generally don't need to take anti-static precautions to fiddle with a computer. Most of the static charge, if present, is going to be discharged when you touch the case. Torx screw drivers help but I've made do with a butter knife.

I do recommend, however, that you unplug it and wait a few minutes before working on it. And disconnect any devices that might be attached to it.

Or they should anyway. But sometimes they just don't.

If absolutely nothing happens (meaning the fans aren't spinning) when you press the power button, it's most likely an issue with the power supply. It could just be a loose connection to the motherboard or it could be completely shot. Check it out and make sure the voltage slider near the power plug is set to the right amount of voltage.

Simple and cheap/free solution

What to do, find out how much RAM is in the system - the computers short term memory.

Take out one RAM module from the computer and then try booting it up -if this works then the RAM is causing the problem, If it doesnt work still, put that back in and try the other. [if it only has one then find out what type it is and try to obtain [borrow] another stick of that type]

Try putting RAM module back in and make sure it is connected up properly [tightly] when the computer is off.

The same thing happened with my Sony Vaio, I removed one of the two 1GB ram modules and it worked when I turned it on. I got the idea to do this from Googling Sony Vaio and a description of the problem eg wont boot or start up problem.

RAM is the easiest thing to change - and for a 3 year old system you don't need to bother with antistatic wristbands if you dont have them. Just make sure you open your computer on a clean surface in an area where there isn't a lot of dust.

If it is RAM in a laptop it is a bit harder to change because of how it is installed so check your manual carefully.

Let us know how you get on, thankfully you probably don't need to change the motherboard over, If it is a desktop with additional graphics card you could also see if the onboard graphics work, by taking the blue VGA cable out of the blue socket on the Graphics card and inserting it in the blue VGA socket on the motherboard.

That was my first thought--a bad connection somewhere along the power supply line. Hard to tell without the computer in front of me though.

Make sure the monitor is plugged in properly. Honestly, I had a very embarrassing issue where I thought I'd f'ed up a computer, but in the end it turned out that the monitor cable was loose

Last edited by Asp-Z on 13 Jan 2011, 11:37 am, edited 2 times in total.

you have no idea how utterly unhelpful that it.

If you can get inside easily, you might try simply being sure all connections are tight. I once had a computer not start after a power failure, and a little "wiggling" of some internal connections to be sure they were fully seated was all it took to get it going again.

Light on the back of the PSU = power to the PSU.
Any beeps? What was the last thing you did?

I would think the PSU is probably dead. If it's the board, and it's from Dell, you should be able to get a direct part replacement- one part in, all back together and resume.

Power supplies lose their power after a year and the power output goes down after that - until it gets to a point where it can't give enough power.

I would try to remove the power for a minute completely. Unplug it, wait, then plug back in

I don't know why HP's support would state that if the green LED is steady when plugged in, the power supply is fine. It's what crapped out.

Master Jedi are you any further forward?

Thought I'd post this

If the laptop has lights on it but no power flows to any USB devices [eg you cant charge up an ipod or mobile phone] using its USB cable it sounds like the memory isn't working - from experience. This is what I think is wrong

have you tried taking out one memory module at a time, or just having one installed at a time and switch between them, then if it works add each one in turn until the laptop fails to boot again.