HELP! My computer might be "brain-damaged"?

Hello, I need help idenifying and even fixing what is wrong with my desktop personal computer.

This morning, I woke up and turned on the computer as usual while I also fiddled on the laptop. I wanted to transfer some files from my laptop to the main computer. When I got the files on the removable drive, I looked over to my main computer and noticed my computer was "asleep": this means that I waited too long and it went into almost a standby mode, but not... the monitor as expected was off but the power light for it was BLINKING. Normally, hitting a key or moving the mouse would wake it up... but it didnt wake...

now this isnt the problem since it happened before, but what i would do is either unplug the computer if i had to... or more often, force it to shut down (hold the power button).

So I held the power button down and restarted it expect it to see windows...

the first thing i noticed was when i pushed it again, the power light around the button didnt show... the monitor's power light is on but nothing was displayed on the monitor...

i forced power down again... now i noticed the monitor's power light WAS NOT blinking: normally, if the monitor was on but the computer is off, the power light would blink. Also, the "busy light" is on for my computer became on when the COMPUTER WAS OFF...

if i unplug the computer, all lights go off, but if i plug it and and start it, the same problems occur...

its acts like:

when its off, but plugged in, it makes a slight electric humming noise on the back end, but fan and lights are off, except for the "busy light" if i attempted to turn it on before. The monitor's power light remains on and not blinking though it should just be blinking

if it is on, the power light for the computer is off, along with the busy light which only flashed for a second when i turned it on... computer montitor displays nothing, even know the power light isnt off nor blinking--- it is on as expected.

somebody help me...

i feel like my computer has gone brain dead or "half of it comes on" when the other half is off and should be on... and vise versa when the power is off as the "half goes off" other half seems on..

I had a very similar, if not identical problem, a couple of years ago. I'm sure the symptoms were the same. In my case the culprit turned out to be the power supply inside the computer. It's the box full of cables inside the the front of the computer tower above the hard drives.

I didn't figure this out myself and I've been warned never to tamper with the inner workings of the power supply box. It apparently can hold a heavy charge of electricity long after it has been turned off.

Long story short, my neighborhood computer repair guy replaced the power supply and, if I remember correctly, he replaced it with a used one and only charged me about $70 CAD for the parts and labor.

Before you go to all that trouble though, I'd suggest you check all the cable connections in the back of your computer. Make sure everything is tightly in place. Also there's a power switch on the back of the computer. It's usually high up near where the power source cable plugs into the computer. Is it possible you might have inadvertently switced it off? It can be easily tripped with the lightest touch. That's about the best I can offer you. Also, could it be that your monitor has died on you? Best of luck.

i DONT think i touched anything in the back, and i opened it and blew out some dust and did make sure the wires were right.

so.. i guess my power supply is "full of dust" or shot?

do you suggest i mess with the switch back and forth and try to turn it on again?
or do i just need a new one...

Yes, I'd try the switch and make sure everything is properly connected. It could even be something as simple as bad power cable or a bad connection somewhere. If you check all those things and nothing happens it might be time to call a repair person in.

Good luck,

Computer repair guy in the house =p. First thing I would do is reset the CMOS. The easiest way for a novice to do this is to remove that silver quarter looking battery thing from the motherboard for 5 mins when the computer is unplugged, and then putting the battery back in. The next thing I would try is a new Power Supply as suggested and finally, another video card. Believe it or not, it might be a messed up memory chip, try removing them and plugging them in in different combinations. Trial and error man.

Originally Posted by P0nix

Computer repair guy in the house =p. First thing I would do is reset the CMOS. The easiest way for a novice to do this is to remove that silver quarter looking battery thing from the motherboard for 5 mins when the computer is unplugged, and then putting the battery back in. The next thing I would try is a new Power Supply as suggested and finally, another video card. Believe it or not, it might be a messed up memory chip, try removing them and plugging them in in different combinations. Trial and error man.

i found the quarter looking battery, but it is proving very hard to remove... infact the most obvious way i would remove it would probably result in me breaking something.

Originally Posted by anon

i found the quarter looking battery, but it is proving very hard to remove... infact the most obvious way i would remove it would probably result in me breaking something.

In that case look for the posts on the mobo labeled "clear CMOS." Generally it's near the battery. Switch the piece of plastic and metal you find there (called a jumper) to the one that it is not on and the middle post for 5 seconds or more and then return it back to the exact position you found it. This will clear the CMOS. You will have to reset the clock at the standard features in your BIOS along with anything else that resets to the factory settings that you don't want - like a floppy drive when you don't have one and so on.

Originally Posted by pdnielsen

In that case look for the posts on the mobo labeled "clear CMOS." Generally it's near the battery. Switch the piece of plastic and metal you find there (called a jumper) to the one that it is not on and the middle post for 5 seconds or more and then return it back to the exact position you found it. This will clear the CMOS. You will have to reset the clock at the standard features in your BIOS along with anything else that resets to the factory settings that you don't want - like a floppy drive when you don't have one and so on.

um...

i found the sticker that said where the JP1 and JP5 is and JP1 is the clear and normal and clear is at 2-3.

however the area labled 1-2 and 2-3 does not move, its just a piece of small metal sticking out of the plastic.
What do you mean by "switch the piece of plastic and metal"? Pull them both out with my hand and switch positions?

There should be a small piece of plastic that slips over the posts coming from your motherboard. What he means is to switch the plastic piece from sliding over posts 1-2 and put it to 2-3, or bring it the other way, hard to tell from what you said which position is the "clear" position.

ok, that step is done...

i air-blasted out the dust and i reset the CMOS...

i plugged the computer back in, turned on the power.. and... same problem


pS. i want to note this gain..

i hear a electric humming inside the power box.. even when it is off....

some sort of humming..

as long it is plugged in, it has that slight hum...

thats how i also know it has power but i never noticed it before the inccident.

Uh. Sounds very much like the PSU is dying. You should get a replacement. It should be relatively easy to install and you can find good brands and prices at www.newegg.com. Write another posting when you've chosen one to see if we agree you picked a good one, and then another once you have it in hand if you need help with installation. (Some of us are tired of checking OTS and finding a big fat zero where it lists new postings!)

I'd wager that its the psu as well. Make sure your taking static precautions while your inside the box.