Computer won't turn on. Help, I'm a computer addict.

AbbyNoho

broke her neck in costa rica
SoSH Member
Jan 20, 2006
12,177
Northampton, Massachusetts
I have a PC that is still pretty new, got it last March from NewEgg. (Prebuilt ABS Stalker, I know I'm a scrub). It's been great the whole time I've had it. I usually leave it on so I don't turn it on and off often. Today it turned off by itself while I wasn't in the room and it won't turn on. Pressing the button has no response, no sound or lights. I moved it to a different outlet and still no response.

What steps should I take to check what is wrong? Is it most likely the power supply or something even worse? Could it realistically just be the power cord?

I just want to make sure I'm not plowing 60 bucks by buying a new power supply and that not be what was wrong.

Thanks in advance.
 

Couperin47

Member
SoSH Member
The odds that it's the power cable are very low and I'm going to assume you don't have another ?? You can rob one from your monitor if needs be just to test that theory... If cycling the on/off switch on the power supply itself doesn't have any effect and trying to turn on has absolutely NO effect (no even momentary start of the PS fan or anything) then a power supply failure is not an unreasonable guess. Prebuilt boxes often skimp on the PS quality...can you open the box up and report the make & model of the power supply ?

and why would repair cost you anything ?? The ABS boxes have a 1 yr warranty and whatever PS it uses, even the junk makers generally have minimum 3 year warranties on their supplies.

Edit: from what I can see ABS seems to be using Cougar powrer supplies in most of their current builds, which are decent, not total junk quality, but any brand can fail....
 
Last edited:

jayhoz

Ronald Bartel
SoSH Member
Jul 19, 2005
17,367
Decent chance that the power supply went. Unfortunately, when a power supply goes it can take other components down with it.
 

AbbyNoho

broke her neck in costa rica
SoSH Member
Jan 20, 2006
12,177
Northampton, Massachusetts
Yeah, there is absolutely no response. Not a spark of power. I don't have another power cable for some reason, the monitor I have uses a different type. I could go buy one if needed to test I suppose.

The PSU itself is a Cougar SL600 (Model: CGR SL600).

What causes PSUs to go anyway? It's pretty new, I keep it cool, and the inside was actually surprisingly light on dust. Just bad luck?

And shit, I hope it didn't fry anything else. I can afford a PSU but much more than that is rough.
 

Harry Hooper

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Jan 4, 2002
34,370
1) Not likely to fix it, but pull the power cable out of the wall socket and let PC sit for at least a half-hour. Then plug back in and see it anything happens.

2) Power supply could fail on its own, or gotten zapped by either a power surge or a power sag.

3) Is your computer still under warranty, either the original warranty of the one year extra warranty you got from your credit card when you bought the PC? You did use one of those credit cards that offers the additional year, I hope.

4) If you have to buy a power supply, get it from a vendor that will allow a return if it doesn't fix your issue.
 

Couperin47

Member
SoSH Member
Yeah, there is absolutely no response. Not a spark of power. I don't have another power cable for some reason, the monitor I have uses a different type. I could go buy one if needed to test I suppose.

The PSU itself is a Cougar SL600 (Model: CGR SL600).

What causes PSUs to go anyway? It's pretty new, I keep it cool, and the inside was actually surprisingly light on dust. Just bad luck?

And shit, I hope it didn't fry anything else. I can afford a PSU but much more than that is rough.
Modern power supplies are actually less likely to inject high voltage surges into your motherboard than the designs of a decade ago, but this is precisely why you should have it repaired under warranty by ABS...why are you ignoring your most obvious option ?

Also this Cougar model is made by HEC, the warranty on it was reduced from 3 years to 1 year by Cougar in 2013, and I take back what I said, this HEC design is borderline junk. Sadly, power supply is one place where most builders tend to skimp on quality.
 

AbbyNoho

broke her neck in costa rica
SoSH Member
Jan 20, 2006
12,177
Northampton, Massachusetts
I believe I should still be under original warranty. I emailed them but I probably won't get a response for a while with the Monday holiday.

I didn't know about that credit card warranty thing. I'll keep that in mind in the future, thank you.

Edit: I didn't mean to sound like I was ignoring the warranty. I was just hoping that maybe it was something small I could fix myself, plus I was curious about how these things usually work anyway.

I appreciate all the responses.