My new computer build... Disaster? (Help!)
Just had a bad experience with my second computer build.
I was changing hard drives in it, and needed to open the second side panel so's to remove two of the lock screws. Just as I was pulling back the panel, I heard a loud click. Something didn't seem right with that, but I went on with what I was doing.
Once I was done and all the cables were reconnected, I reattached the power cord.
I immediately began hearing something like a heartbeat. The IDE to SATA adapter for my old optical drive was also flashing red in sync with the heartbeat sound. (Turned out the sound was actually from the speakers. Disconnecting their USB cable stopped it, but the red light still flashed.)
Pushing the power button to boot the computer now does nothing.
Obviously, I've done something very bad.
Could I have blown the power supply somehow? Or, do mother boards have fuses in them, as in maybe I blew one somehow? I'm poking around but don't see anything that looks like one...yet. Going to check the mother board manual next...
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AQ 31
Your Aspie score: 100 of 200 / Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 101 of 200
You seem to have both Aspie and neurotypical traits
What would these results mean? Been told here I must be a "half pint".
Without seeing said equipment, not knowing exactly how and where it is broken, all I can do is offer slightly generic tips. First, make sure the power supply is attached to the MB properly. Second, make sure the video card (if it has one) is properly in place (some MB won't even power up unless all needed devices are properly sending a signal). Along those lines: unplug and replug every drive, expansion card, etc (pretty much reassemble it all except for the CPU). If it boots and starts beeping check the manual for troubleshooting to see what the beeps mean and go from there.
I doubt it's the power supply. If your power supply was dead, the motherboard wouldn't power on at all. Motherboards can be very temperamental. I was recently trying to fix a neighbor's computer (a Lenovo c540 all in one, to be specific), and the speakers would pulse (make this buzzing sound every second), and nothing else would happen. I found out that the part of the motherboard that powered the hard drive was malfunctioning. Disconnecting the hard drive power cable and booting from an external drive allowed the computer to work.
What I would do is disconnect all drives and PCI and PCI-e cards, leaving only the graphics card so you can see on your monitor if the computer POSTs (power on self test). If it does POST (It should also give a boot device not found error, because you've obviously disconnected all drives), you can reconnect all of your devices one by one to see if any are defective and preventing the computer from booting. If it doesn't POST, you likely have a motherboard problem. You may have off a component like a capacitor, which would require resoldering.
