Hey i have a mate that has a computer and when you try and turn it on it powers up for about half a second and the dies. It does not even get to the post screen or anything. i know that the problem is not powersupply or ant of the optical/disk drives as i have tried others that work fine. my brother thinks the problem could be the cpu fan because as a failsafe on most mobos they power off if the fan is dodgy. Also is it possible for it to be the motherboard, but it seems strange that it would just go like that. Does anyone know what is causing this problem? or has anyone had the same situation?

Specs
AthlonXP 2000+
512mb RAM
GeForce 5
Gigabyte 7N400 motherboard
400W Power supply

Hi jd,

It could very well be a mixture of anything.
First thing is first. Unplug everything from the motherboard - except the cpu, 1 stick of memory and the video card. (including all drives). Leave the power plugged into the motherboard of course. Unplug all the devices from power (except those left in).

If the computer stays powered on, then great...start plugging things in 1 at a time - testing it with each item - until it doesn't boot up again.

If it doesn't boot up, switch memory with the another stick (if you have 2 or more). Repeat above steps.

If it's still causing problems. Try removing the battery for 5-10 seconds, and replace it...this doesn't always work however and resets your BIOS - maybe you should try this first

thanks garhar for the quick reply

i have tried unplugging the non essential hardware and have reset the bios and neither has worked i think it is a motherboard issue and i will have another crack at it tomorrow. i will keep you posted

Yup, I'm inclined to agree with you now if you've tried everything else.

It may have recieved a power surge from the power supply....it may be a good idea to spend the extra $90 and get a new PSU.

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thanks garhar for the links those site are really useful.

i have had another play with it today and have narrowed it down to the motherboard even with a bios reset and running the bare essentials it fails to boot at all. i hot wired the powersupply and fans and everything run fine its just that parts of the motherboard fail to get power eg the cpu fan. so looks like ill be hunting a socket A/462 mobo. I believe that there has been a short in the motherboard in one of the layers or sumthing that has caused the problem