[The Poet]

ok well hello first of all to everyone and anyone who decides to read this and help. Ok here is the problem. I've been trying to fix a computer for a guy i know. His computer is basic, but its good enough for what he needs. Well at his house the monitor was reading "No Signal", and the computer was powering up, i knew this because the mouse laser turned on, etc. Ok well, even though the pc was on, the dvd drives would not want to open.

So i decided to take it home with me. Ok so i just took the tower itself and the power supply cable. I hocked up my monitor to it, mouse, keyboard, and thats it. I turned it on, and the same thing was happening. I turned it off and on like 5 times, and then finally the monitor worked, and i was able to use the pc, i even went online with it. so i guessed everything was ok, so call him and he picks it up.

But it turns out it still didnt work when it was at his house. We even tried different monitors over there and nothing. I said i thought it was the power strip, since he has the power strip connected to a cheap brown extension, but he insists that hes been using that setup for a while, and nothing ever happened.

So i took it back with me. At first the monitor would not turn on, but after 3 tries it did. I found that wierd. Also something important is that the pc itself talks, through the internal speaker. It said something about the processor and discharge, but i cant hear it cause of the fan. So it started working normally and everything, even the dvd drives were opening, i even installed a usb webcam he was having problems with.

Now its funny because when i disconnect the power cable to the tower and i put it back in, the monitor DOES NOT turn on after the 1st try, instead it turns on aduring the 2nd try. I've tried this 3 times, with the same result. I left the computer connected over night, and i just turned it on, and everything is working perfectly.

So what could be the problem, because i'm stumpped completely. Thanks in advance

[happyrock]

it sounds like the power supply is underpowered or failing...do you have another of equal to or more wattage you could try...also tell your friend to spend the $ 5.00 bucks and get a decent extension cord ...

[The Poet]

Thanks for the reply. The power supply he had was the same before, and like i said in my post, i turned on the computer this morning, and on the first shot it worked. So i dont know if its the power supply, and afraid of opening the case since i have very little hardware knowledge, (give me software any day lol) and i'm scared of shocking the thing or static discharge, w/e its called.

But you're so right about getting a decent extension lol. the wierd thing is that he has other things connected to the power strip and they work, well he has a modem and its on, and the monitor turns on with the "NO SIGNAL" message.

[happyrock]

The Poet, on May 8 2007, 10:13 AM, said:

But you're so right about getting a decent extension lol. the wierd thing is that he has other things connected to the power strip and they work, well he has a modem and its on, and the monitor turns on with the "NO SIGNAL" message.

the things attached to the power strip may be trying to draw to many watts thru the cheap extension cord...they have a rated watts according to the guage (how thick the wire is ) and length of the extension cord..it may work sometimes because he is right at the edge of the watts needed to run everything...if he can't get a decent cord ...I don't want to waste any more time on this thread...

[shard92]

also as said the power supply could be failing... if it works sometimes and not others it still could be on it's way out... IF you don't want to try what someone tells you then don't ask for help... if you are to chicken to try something then bring it to a professional.