Computer is dead...

[Terin]

For Christmas, I got a motherboard, processor, and video card, and built a computer with it. It performed really well, until I had to shift the motherboard slightly to get access to the I/O port. Then, when I tried to boot it up, it would spin up the fans, hard drives, DVD drives and such, but would not beep or show any video, from either the on-board video or video card. Skimming over other people's experiences with this issue, it seems like some part is broken. The trick is now trying to find out what.

Also, I disassembled and reassembled all the cables, and now there's another issue. As soon as the PSU receives power, the computer turns on with no regard to the power button on the front panel. The pins are in the correct positions, and yet it can't do anything with the computer. Would this mean a PSU failure, or just another motherboard issue?

Well, I guess my questions are how I would go about identifying what exactly is broken and needs to be RMA'd. Then, how would I go about RMAing something, and how long would this process take? I'd like to have a working computer sometime within next week, but I have no idea how it works besides I somehow send in a dead part, and then I get a new part sometime.

[kenney001]

I would set the mobo on a non-conductive surface like a wood desk, hook up the PSU, Monitor, and keyboard, and see if it still does it. If so, check to see nothing is wrong with the power switch wire on both the connector end and the part touching the mobo.

[Terin]

Did it, and it still powered on, even though I had the mobo completely separate from the case. As for the wire, do you mean the 24-pin power connector? I see nothing physically wrong with it going into the socket, or coming out of the PSU.

[Kalub]

My BIOS has an option that when a power-failure occurs it turns on the computer as soon as there is power to boot. This option could be turned on for you, and it could be the thing tripping.

[Terin]

Hm. I did reset the CMOS sometime around then, so it might have enabled that, if it exists. Too bad I can't see the BIOS at all... do you know what that option is called? My mobo user manual has a list of the BIOS options, and I could check to see if it was listed in there.

[kenney001]

Resetting the cmos should have done exactly the opposite...unless your BIOS is retarded and does that by default. Did you look for a revert to factory settings option in your bios? try that...

[Kalub]

His display adapters aren't working...



Anyways, on all of my computers so far the BIOS has had that option enabled factory.