Well, I had two different places test the power supply
and it was, indeed, dead so I installed a new one. And, in fact, the
new one caused the light on the mother board to light up which it did
not do with the old one so that was a good diagnosis. However, that did
not fix the problem. Still nothing when pressing the start button.

The
computer is now in the shop - - diagnosis is dead mother board. They
have had it for a week now. They say they are having trouble getting
the operating system to feel at home in the new environment. But since
I had various people say that a power supply can take out the mother
board, I am just confirming that it happened in my case.

Thanks for everybody's help. And hope the shop gets my computer back to me soon. This is painful.

Bruce


--- On Tue, 4/20/10, Dean Kukral <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

From: Dean Kukral <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: [PCBUILD] Dead as a doornail
To: "Personal Computer Hardware discussion List" <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Tuesday, April 20, 2010, 6:01 PM

Unfortunately there are several problems that can cause this, and a 
power supply is just one.  A bad motherboard is another likely 
candidate. The question is: how valuable is this computer and what will 
you be willing to spend to fix it versus buying a new computer.  If you 
take it to a computer repair shop, they can run tests and swap parts, 
but computer techs are not cheap, and it may not be worth it to you.  
Replacing the power supply with another cheap power supply might work, 
but it might not...

There is a paper-clip test for power supplies that you could try.  If 
the power supply fails this test, then it is bad for sure.  However, if 
it passes the test, it might still be bad.  [Been there, done that. :(  
]  Run this test before doing anything else.

http://www.pcpower.com/support/ATX_troubleshoot.htm

HTH

Dean Kukral

On 4/20/2010 2:03 PM, Bruce Lund wrote:
> Came home yesterday and my eMachines D2880 is dead as a doornail. Left it on when I left home and it was off when I returned and the start button does nuttin. There was no sign of impending doom although the fan MIGHT have been running a bit more than usual. My first instinct is to just replace it with a good used machine and install the old drive as a slave on the replacement computer but would prefer just getting the old one back up and running for at least a while if I can do so with a minimum of cost and time.
>
> So, what happened? Power supply go? I know remote diagnosis is difficult but I have to believe there are a limited numbers of possibilities.
>
> As you have probably figured out, I am somewhat of a novice at this. I have installed memory, DVD drives and modems. But this is new to me. I have a CompUSA nee Tiger Direct nee Global Computer Warehouse near me. So, the questions are:
>
> What do I need?
>
> What should I expect to pay?
>
> Any specs/brands I need to look for/avoid?
>
> Any installation advice?
>
> No computer. No calendar. No internet access. I am naked here. (Well, figuratively. I am at the library after all.) I would really appreciate any help here as I need to get this resolved, and fast.
>
> Bruce
>
>
>
>
>                           PCBUILD's List Owners:
>                        Bob Wright<[log in to unmask]>
>                          Mark Rode<[log in to unmask]>
>
>
>
>
>    



      

            Do you want to signoff PCBUILD or just change to
                    Digest mode - visit our web site:
                   http://freepctech.com/pcbuild.shtml