The Tanimal needs help....

[TannerBoyle]

My computer won't turn on.

I've tried everything--checking the circuit breaker, unplugging and replugging everthing.

It's just not getting power.

The light on the monitor comes on, as do the light on the speakers and the mouse.  Even the printer comes on.

But, the computer itself won't.

Normally, I'd just use this one from now on...but I've got alot of stuff dedicated to a writing project on that machine, and I need to get it working again.

Any ideas?

[Bonster]

Failing PSU?   Check that switch on the back of it, too...if you've recently moved it you may have flipped it.

[BRoWN]

Do you use a surge protecter? if not.....hate to say it......you may have surged the power supply.

[TannerBoyle]

Failing PSU?   Check that switch on the back of it, too...if you've recently moved it you may have flipped it.

I tried that just now.

It still won't come on, but the little light by the switch in the back lights up.

[TannerBoyle]

Do you use a surge protecter? if not.....hate to say it......you may have surged the power supply.

I do use a surge protector.

But, this being SW Florida, the power goes out and comes back on frequently due to electrical storms and the fact that everything down here runs on electricity, meaning that there's lots of brown outs even in the best of weather.

We had a brown out yesterday, and that's when it happened.  The power was out for maybe twenty seconds, but when I tried to get the machine running again, it never came back on.

[BRoWN]

I once had what I thought was a surge protector and it turned out it was crap. Many of them don't always work quick enough.

[Bonster]

Brown outs are as dangerous to electronics as surges...low power conditions will fry a PSU pretty quick. 

It's a best practice to use a UPS in lieu of a surge protector, which will compensate for brown conditions, and some provide safe shutdown for data integrity.

http://www.apc.com/template/size/apc/index.cfm

[BRoWN]

If you had no smoke or smell....it may come on again. If it does.....save the data asap as it won't be long before it totally shits the bed.

[Bear]

If you have pilot lights you should have power...

Did you check the monitor, maybe that fried.

[TannerBoyle]

I have a light in the back, but nothing up front, Bear.

Nothing happens when I hit the main power button.

[Bear]

"but nothing up front, Bear"

She was small but firm?....

At this point I would take it in for a diagnostic

[Guy_on_Clinton]

could you have accidentally changed the graphics options..  maybe its the monitor only...   sometimes when i hook up my laptop to the tv (s-video)..  the laptop automatically swithces the main display to the tv and the laptop screen goes blank....

i then have to navigate the setting while looking at the tv to reset the image to the notebook screen..  good luck.. 

[watcher]

I have a light in the back, but nothing up front, Bear.

Nothing happens when I hit the main power button.

The light in the back is probably on the ethernet card and is lighting via the ethernet cord? My snap diagnosis is the power supply.

Since there's data on the harddrive you don't want to lose and because you have another computer,
I would recommend that you get an external USB HD case. Remove the HD from the dead box and connect it to your other computer via USB.
You can then copy the files you want to save to your other computer or to a disk/CD/DVD.

Once that's done get a new power supply, install it, reinstall the HD, close up the works and plug it in.

Sounds complicated but is relatively low level tech. Swapping out part for part.
If it's out of your skills range, find a local 5th grade geek to do it for you. <g>

http://microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0249964
http://microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0256523

$60 bucks and a few hours of time...

[TannerBoyle]

Thank you for your help, peoples.