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My acer desktop wont turn on when I press the power button.

Customer Question

My acer desktop won't turn on when I press the power button. There is a power supply, because the ethernet light is blinking in back. But it doesn't boot up. Please help.

Optional Information:
Computer OS: Windows 7
Browser: Firefox

Already Tried:
Checked different power outlets.

Submitted: 438 days and 22 hours ago.

Category: Computer

Value: $58

Status: CLOSED

Expert: tbwhite2040 replied 438 days and 22 hours ago.

tbwhite2040 :

Hello, My name is XXX XXX I will assist you in finding an answer to your question.

Customer : I have to do this on my phone because my computer won't turn on.

tbwhite2040 :

Remove the battery and the power adapter and press the power button down for about 45 seconds and then release it. Then plug just the power adapter in and press the power button to see if it comes on

Customer : It's not a laptop, it's a desktop. Where is the battery?

Customer : It didn't work.

tbwhite2040 :

Sorry I thought it was a laptop

tbwhite2040 :

Can you remove the side of the case to reveal the motherboard and see if it has a lit LED?

Customer : If it helps, another time this happened I pressed the power button and it didn't turn on for a full four minutes. I don't know what happened there, but that was the start of it being weird. Now it won't turn on at all.

tbwhite2040 :

Are you sure it is not in the hibernate mode

Customer : A green light blinks where the ethernet cable is in, so it seems like power is being supplied to the unit.

Customer : It is not in hibernate mode. But what was also interesting is that I would put it in hibernate mode before going to bed and it would always boot up on its own around 5 AM every day.

tbwhite2040 :

Unplug the power cord and press the power button in for about 45 seconds and release it. Then plug the power cord back in and see if it will turn on

Customer : I tried that. It didn't work.

tbwhite2040 :

OK unplug your video card off the motherboard and try turning it on again

Customer : Okay I took out the video card, but it's still won't turn on.

tbwhite2040 :

Ok is your power supply a swiching power supply? If so check the back of it where the little switch is and make sure it is set to 115V instead of 230V

Customer : It is not a switch, just a standard PC power supply.

tbwhite2040 :

Does it have an on/off switch on the back of it

Customer : No

tbwhite2040 :

It should have a voltage selector on the back of it that is small and red that slides to the left or right to switch voltages

Customer : Wait I think there might be a switch it's covered with tape but it says 115

tbwhite2040 :

ok just needed to make sure it is set to 115v

tbwhite2040 :

put the video card back in and remove the heatsink and fan and the processor press the power button to see if the computer will power up

Customer : I'm sorry I don't know what the heatsink is.

tbwhite2040 :

It covers the processor to keep it from getting too hot

Customer : Okay this might take a while though.

tbwhite2040 :

Customer : Should I have the power supply removed while I am doing this?

tbwhite2040 :

just make sure the power cord is unplugged from it

tbwhite2040 :

Also make sure you do not bend any pins on the processor when removing it from the slot

Customer : I removed the fan from the processor and press the power button nothing happened

tbwhite2040 :

Did you remove the processor also?

tbwhite2040 :

Do you see a lit LED on the motherboard?

Customer : Isn't the processor everything? I don't know where to start.

Customer : There is no LED on the motherboard. But as I said the ethernet plug in blinks green when the power cord is plugged in.

tbwhite2040 :

The processor is the brains of the computer but I need to make sure that it is not causing the power board not to come on

tbwhite2040 :

Can you remove it easily

Customer : I can't remove it easily, no.

tbwhite2040 :

OK do not worry about it

tbwhite2040 :

Put the fan and heatsink back on and plug the power cord back in

tbwhite2040 :

While looking at the motherboard make sure the little cables for the front panel are plugged in good

Customer : Everything seems to be plugged in well.

Customer : I should mention that it was working fine two days ago. I shut it off before I went to work and when I came back home, it wouldn't turn back on.

tbwhite2040 :

Ok try turning it on again but this time hold the power button in

Customer : It's not something I push in really more just a little trigger on the top. But I tried holding it down for about 45 seconds with the power cord plugged in and out and neither worked.

tbwhite2040 :

Are you sure that the on'off switch didn't go bad

Customer : I'm pretty sure it just didn't go bad. I would often bump the switch accidentally with my foot and the computer would shut off.

tbwhite2040 :

Just have to check

Customer : What is the easiest way to check?

tbwhite2040 :

The only way to check is to shot the pins that the power switch connect to but I do not know if it is safe or not

tbwhite2040 :

Let's bypass that

tbwhite2040 :

I think the best thing to do even though the NIC light is flashing is to swap out the power supply to see if the computer will turn on. If it does then you know the power supply is bad. If it still doesn't then your motherboard needs to be replaced

Customer : I've tried different outlets and it doesn't work.

tbwhite2040 :

You need to try a different power supply because I believe either the power supply is faulty or the motherboard is bad

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