Dead Pc

candygurl · 12 July 2008 at 6:49PM

Hi.
i have a 1.5 year old Medion desktop pc, was working on it earlier today and it just died.as if the power was switched off. no warning and will not even boot. the on/off button usually shows blue when u hit it to switch on, but now nothing. power supply seems fine, it's like u plugged it out .
i'm not bad with technical stuff and i can open it and take a look inside see wots wot but am not sure what i should be looking for really.

i have a lot of media on there, photos especially that i dont want to lose, so i'm hoping that this is not the end of the road for a normally problem free pc. .
it runs vista and couple of days ago there was a serious update for windows, about 580mb worth, took a long time to install and the restart took ages, 'stage one, stage two etc'

anyone else experienced this at all and have any suggestions?
thanks

Marty_J · 12 July 2008 at 6:52PM

i know it sounds silly, but have you checked the fuse?

candygurl · 12 July 2008 at 6:58PM

in the plug? or is there one in the pc?

candygurl · 12 July 2008 at 7:01PM

the power supply has a green light on it and it's on, if thats any good.. i plugged everything out and then back in again and it same, nothing

Marty_J · 12 July 2008 at 7:01PM

The one in the plug. I imagine that's the most likely explanation.

Failing that, it sounds like the power supply in your computer has died. If you're reasonably tech-savvy, you could replace it yourself, or else you could get your local repair shop to do it for you.

EDIT: when you say "power supply", do you mean the one in your PC?

candygurl · 12 July 2008 at 7:04PM

ok i will take a look at that. thanks so much for ur suggestion. to me it seems like if i had a fatal problem i'd have had some kind of warning, a blue screen or at least it would try in vain to boot.. so yes the explanation seems a lack of power somewhere. .. i'll have a look now at the power supply. would the light on the plug still come on tho??

i meant the plug at the mains. it has a green light on it

evilgoose · 12 July 2008 at 7:06PM

There should be a fuse in the mains lead from the computer, check that.
Try the computer in another socket in the house or if you've got another power cable try that.
There will be a fuse inside the PSU, but its not something to touch yourself as they can be dangerous.
May seem strange to say - but have a sniff of your power supply, does it smell, well best way to describe is like a scalllectrics set! can you hear any fans spinning at all?

If you take the side panel from your computer and check if there any fans spinning when you plug in some computer will have a light on the mainboard when there is power present.

Marty_J · 12 July 2008 at 7:09PM

If the plug as a light on it, then I can't see how it would be the fuse.

I would imagine that it is the power supply unit in your computer. It's quite a common fault.

This article might shed some light on things and give you an idea if you're up to replacing it:

http://www.wikihow.com/Diagnose-and-Replace-a-Failed-PC-Power-Supply

evilgoose · 12 July 2008 at 7:13PM

I cant say I've ever seen a PC power cable (std UK 3 pin plug to a c13 (kettle plug)) with a green light on it. I'm guessing you've got an extension block there with the PC plugged into that.

But as Marty has said - power supplies do 'blow', they're not complex to replace.

candygurl · 12 July 2008 at 7:17PM

yes you're right. it's got pc and something else plugged into it. i'm not at home right now but it is a block with a light on and the power cord goes into that. i'll go down that route for now. thanks for the link, thats exactly what happened, i have had a few pcs die on me in work and at home over the years and u always know why or that they're about to do something unforgivable!. so it does seem like a power issue, i just needed to make sure it's not something that a virus or anything could have done first before i go that route. ..cheers for all your advice, and so quick!
cg
****** edit*** i sounded a bit blonde there!. it is an extension cable, but it's also not just a 3 pin plug with a kettle cord. the kettle cord goes into a black block plug, bout 3 times size of a plug with that and something else plugged into it