On Wed, 2008-03-19 at 06:41 -0700, Grant wrote: > A Gentoo desktop of mine won't turn on anymore. I was hoping it was > the power supply but I've installed a new one which doesn't fix the > problem. Is there a sure way to know if the motherboard needs > replacement or if I have two dead power supplies?
Well, it could be the cpu too. Or a PCI card - I've had them render computers "useless" until they're removed. In fact, I recommend removing everything (PCI cards, etc) but cpu, cpu fan, and one hd (disconnect the ide cable) and then try to turn it on again. Of course you also need to test the outlet - plug a light into it to make sure your outlet works! If it still doesn't work, you know it's either cpu, mb or ps. If it's an old style AT power supply with a hard on/off switch you can just plug in a couple of fans and turn it on. If you have one of those new ATX power supplies that young-uns seem to be using nowadays then its a bit more complicated! Firstly you need some load. If you're not sure about your mb, you can't use that. So you'll need at least a hard drive or two (I like using cdroms, cause there's nothing much to damage, however they spin down after a while) and probably a fan so you can see something spin. Unplug all connections to the mb (IDE cables, power supply, fans etc) so you've just got the load connected directly to the PS. Here comes the hard part: you need to find pins 14 and 15 and short them out! I recommend you unplug the PS from the wall (a switch is ideal), short the pins, turn on the switch, see what happens for a few seconds at most, then turn the switch back off. Try not to use the plug itself to turn the power on. This is RISKY! Make sure you get the right pins! I've used this test a number of times. Many thanks to http://www.duxcw.com/faq/ps/ps4.htm for the ideas. HTH, -- Iain Buchanan <iaindb at netspace dot net dot au> You are wise, witty, and wonderful, but you spend too much time reading this sort of trash. -- gentoo-user@lists.gentoo.org mailing list
