Pc not turning on even though the motherboard lights are on

[B1ur]

Pc wouldn’t turn on one day even though It’s been fine for like 2 years. It just suddenly happened when I tried turning it on nothing would happen but the lights of the motherboard are on showing there is power. Anyone know what’s wrong?

[DarkWaterSong]

Do you have a different power supply you can try in it?  Just normally when I see this the power supply has failed, or is no longer putting out enough juice to turn the PC on.  Also you may want to see if you motherboard has an error code or LED indicator lights, because if its stopping on CPU, RAM, or Video card that could be an issue too.

 

Heck another user had a problem with his motherboard stopping on no CPU fan, and if you CPU fan failed it could also be causing the issue.

[B1ur]

1 minute ago, DarkWaterSong said:

Do you have a different power supply you can try in it?  Just normally when I see this the power supply has failed, or is no longer putting out enough juice to turn the PC on.  Also you may want to see if you motherboard has an error code or LED indicator lights, because if its stopping on CPU, RAM, or Video card that could be an issue too.

 

Heck another user had a problem with his motherboard stopping on no CPU fan, and if you CPU fan failed it could also be causing the issue.

No I don’t have a different power supply to use but the motherboard  does have the lights for DRAM, VGA , and CPU but the whole pc just won’t turn on to show those lights there is just an active like at the top right that says PWR_LED 

[DarkWaterSong]

That means the board is not getting enough power or there is an issue with the power supply.

 

Check none of the cables have come loose, and follow where you PC is plugged in....and maybe try another outlet.  If none of that works, well it never hurts to have a backup power supply.

 

EDIT - also as power supplies age they actually produce less and less power.  I just ran into this exact issues with Dells at workplace, where there 350 watt power supply had aged and now was only outputting 280watt and the PC would not turn on.  If we threw a new power supply in, the computer went back to working no problem.

[B1ur]

5 minutes ago, DarkWaterSong said:

That means the board is not getting enough power or there is an issue with the power supply.

 

Check none of the cables have come loose, and follow where you PC is plugged in....and maybe try another outlet.  If none of that works, well it never hurts to have a backup power supply.

 

EDIT - also as power supplies age they actually produce less and less power.  I just ran into this exact issues with Dells at workplace, where their 350 watt power supply had aged and now was only outputting 280watt and the PC would not turn on.  If we threw a new power supply in, the computer went back to working no problem.

I Have tried different outlets and nothing but ill give it another checkup to see if everything is well connected inside the pc. Is there a way to check if the power supply is giving the power it’s suppose to? Just to make sure so I don’t buy a power supply for no reason.

[B1ur]

56 minutes ago, DarkWaterSong said:

That means the board is not getting enough power or there is an issue with the power supply.

 

Check none of the cables have come loose, and follow where you PC is plugged in....and maybe try another outlet.  If none of that works, well it never hurts to have a backup power supply.

 

EDIT - also as power supplies age they actually produce less and less power.  I just ran into this exact issues with Dells at workplace, where there 350 watt power supply had aged and now was only outputting 280watt and the PC would not turn on.  If we threw a new power supply in, the computer went back to working no problem.

I also searched what does the pwr_led mean and almost all places it shows because the motherboard is getting proper power 

[DarkWaterSong]

its just if does not move past that, its CPU or power.

[B1ur]

2 hours ago, DarkWaterSong said:

its just if does not move past that, its CPU or power.

The pwr_led isn’t where the dram, cpu, and vga LED’s are it is on the top right of the motherboard i don’t think it has anything to do with those LED’s

[Whatisthis]

Take out the ram and try booting. If you get a ram error, it’s the ram that is causing no boot. If not, it’s the cpu, board, or psu. 
 

you can also try unplugging the computer and holding down the power button for 10 seconds. That discharges the capacitors and sometimes fixes boot problems. Don’t ask me why it works…computers are stupid.

[DarkWaterSong]

55 minutes ago, B1ur said:

The pwr_led isn’t where the dram, cpu, and vga LED’s are it is on the top right of the motherboard i don’t think it has anything to do with those LED’s

But if those are not lit up, then none of them are passing the POST test.  And it starts with CPU and works it way down, in order.  So if CPU never lights, then its CPU or power.  If stops on GPU then its GPU or the next component....and again if all lights are on it could be something like a bad CPU fan that its stopping on.

[B1ur]

7 minutes ago, Whatisthis said:

Take out the ram and try booting. If you get a ram error, it’s the ram that is causing no boot. If not, it’s the cpu, board, or psu. 
 

you can also try unplugging the computer and holding down the power button for 10 seconds. That discharges the capacitors and sometimes fixes boot problems. Don’t ask me why it works…computers are stupid.

The thing is none of them light up, whenever I press on the power button nothing happens. There is a light on the motherboard that is lit at all times called the PWR_LED but apparently it means the pc is getting proper power so idk. I have tried doing the unplug and press the power button for 10 seconds multiple times when messing with the pc and it has ent worked either. Right know I don’t really know because if the psu was the problem I wouldn’t see any light at all but I see the pwr one 

[B1ur]

9 minutes ago, DarkWaterSong said:

But if those are not lit up, then none of them are passing the POST test.  And it starts with CPU and works it way down, in order.  So if CPU never lights, then its CPU or power.  If stops on GPU then its GPU or the next component....and again if all lights are on it could be something like a bad CPU fan that its stopping on.

Yeah I understand those LED’s and like you said if none of them are lighting up it could be a PSU problem but I see that one PWR_LED so I’m lead to believe it isn’t it that’s the reason I’m stuck. I do get what ur saying though I’ve had a problem with those LED’s it’s just that it doesn’t even get to that point nothing happens 

[DarkWaterSong]

Remember you can get power from and older PSU that is enough to get that light on, but not enough to boot the system.

 

Here is a bit more on how PSU age, and why one produces fewer Watts over time:

https://computerinfobits.com/how-long-do-computer-power-supplies-last/

[B1ur]

I’ve also tried the screw driver method to start my pc just in case it was the power button that wasn’t working but not even like that will it start 

[B1ur]

8 minutes ago, DarkWaterSong said:

Remember you can get power from and older PSU that is enough to get that light on, but not enough to boot the system.

 

Here is a bit more on how PSU age, and why one produces fewer Watts over time:

https://computerinfobits.com/how-long-do-computer-power-supplies-last/

Yeah I am still leaning more on the psu as the problem. Thanks

[Whatisthis]

 We are going to try to jump start the psu to see if it will turn on at all.

 

Unplug everything from psu. You can do it on the psu side if it’s modular or take the component side off. Leave the 24 pin atx plugged into the psu, unplug from the motherboard. 
 

take a paper clip and bend it so you can insert it into two pins next to each other on the atx connector. With the clip facing up, you will want to bridge pins 4 and 5 from the left in the top row with your paper clip. This will tell the psu to turn on.

 

If you get no joy from the jump start (fan should turn on, and if you have a multimeter you can read voltages - google to see the pin-out of the connector so you know which pins to check), you definitely have a bad psu.

[B1ur]

6 minutes ago, Whatisthis said:

 We are going to try to jump start the psu to see if it will turn on at all.

 

Unplug everything from psu. You can do it on the psu side if it’s modular or take the component side off. Leave the 24 pin atx plugged into the psu, unplug from the motherboard. 
 

take a paper clip and bend it so you can insert it into two pins next to each other on the atx connector. With the clip facing up, you will want to bridge pins 4 and 5 from the left in the top row with your paper clip. This will tell the psu to turn on.

 

If you get no joy from the jump start (fan should turn on, and if you have a multimeter you can read voltages - google to see the pin-out of the connector so you know which pins to check), you definitely have a bad psu.

I’ve seen this on yt and I was really hoping it wouldn’t get to this point because my psu is non modular or all of the cables are connected to the psu so I would have to disconnect it from all my other components but I guess I’ll just give it a shot. Thanks

[DarkWaterSong]

2 hours ago, B1ur said:

I’ve seen this on yt and I was really hoping it wouldn’t get to this point because my psu is non modular or all of the cables are connected to the psu so I would have to disconnect it from all my other components but I guess I’ll just give it a shot. Thanks

Another thing you could try is getting a $15 to $25 USD power supply tester.  You would still have to unplug everything, but the testers are cheaper than a new power supply and tell you how many volts and watts a power supply is putting out and other things like is the 5 volt really 5 volt.  The one I got, but I wanted all the bells and whistles:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005F778JO

 

Cheaper one I used at work:

https://www.amazon.com/Kingwin-Computer-Supply-Tester-Digital/dp/B07VXSFXP1

 

Also I feel you pain, supporting over 200 aging dells meant I had to unplug many a non-modular power supply, test, and then replace if bad was phun.

[B1ur]

18 hours ago, Whatisthis said:

 We are going to try to jump start the psu to see if it will turn on at all.

 

Unplug everything from psu. You can do it on the psu side if it’s modular or take the component side off. Leave the 24 pin atx plugged into the psu, unplug from the motherboard. 
 

take a paper clip and bend it so you can insert it into two pins next to each other on the atx connector. With the clip facing up, you will want to bridge pins 4 and 5 from the left in the top row with your paper clip. This will tell the psu to turn on.

 

If you get no joy from the jump start (fan should turn on, and if you have a multimeter you can read voltages - google to see the pin-out of the connector so you know which pins to check), you definitely have a bad psu.

It worked I tried it on my psu and the fan started running just fine. Does that mean it’s not the psu or could it still be 

[Whatisthis]

It’s a rule out in terms of if it doesn’t work you know the psu is bad. If it works, then you have more testing to do.

 

you have a problem with your motherboard, cpu, or psu. No way to know without starting to swap parts or take the lot to a repair shop and have them test each.

[B1ur]

6 minutes ago, Whatisthis said:

It’s a rule out in terms of if it doesn’t work you know the psu is bad. If it works, then you have more testing to do.

 

you have a problem with your motherboard, cpu, or psu. No way to know without starting to swap parts or take the lot to a repair shop and have them test each.

So my next move is to take it to someone who can check it out further  or can I still do some tests 

[Whatisthis]

If you have a multimeter you can check the voltages the psu is putting out. Aside from that it is swap a part.

[DarkWaterSong]

33 minutes ago, Whatisthis said:

If you have a multimeter you can check the voltages the psu is putting out. Aside from that it is swap a part.

Also that $15 to $20 USD power supply tester is life saver if you don't have a 2nd PSU.   Basically it lets you know exactly what the power supply is doing, and test if they are good.  You can do the exact same test with a multimeter, and you are basically looking for what watts and volts are coming out.  Like are you really getting 5v power, or is it 4.2v.

 

And yes, if you don't have or want to buy any of these tools it is time to take you PC to a shop or friend.  Because right now it may be the power supply....it may be a short to ground in your case, it may be the power in your house...or any other fun things and part swaps or multi-meter is the way to go forward.

[B1ur]

Could my pc not be turning on because of dust or other derbis on the motherboard? Like could someone be blocking it from sending more power 

[DarkWaterSong]

2 hours ago, B1ur said:

Could my pc not be turning on because of dust or other derbis on the motherboard? Like could someone be blocking it from sending more power 

Not unless you have corrosion or other damage to the board or bits of copper wire or other conductive things on it.

 

Now being really dusty does make a motherboard heat up more, and draw more power.