PC only boots through motherboard, feels like it's running weak (couldn't find troubleshooting category)

[wdcrutherford]

I feel I should preface this by saying I'm not very knowledgeable in computers.

My girlfriend and I went away to Iceland for 10 days, switched off power strips to make sure the apartment didn't burn down, got back last night and now her computer won't boot through the button on the case. When I try hard-keying through her MOBO, the computer boots, but it seems a bit weak, and all but 2 fans run normally. 1 spins slowly and 1 doesn't spin at all. It's possible we may have had a power outage here while we were gone, but I'm not sure why that would have affected anything unless the power strip is faulty.

From what I've read, it seems like the power supply should be swapped, but I want to get some second opinions before we buy a new one.

Any and all help is appreciated. Thanks.

 

[jay32267]

My first thoughts go towards the power supply as well.

....and yes...if the power strip was off....it is extremely unlikely that your incoming power had anything to do with it.

You could measure the voltages of the current supply with a voltmeter and see if they are in specification (if you were up to doing that)...or many times these voltages are displayed in the BIOS and also in programs like HWMonitor etc.

Or you could just take a chance and swap one in.

 

[wdcrutherford]

My first thoughts go towards the power supply as well.

....and yes...if the power strip was off....it is extremely unlikely that your incoming power had anything to do with it.

You could measure the voltages of the current supply with a voltmeter and see if they are in specification (if you were up to doing that)...or many times these voltages are displayed in the BIOS and also in programs like HWMonitor etc.

Or you could just take a chance and swap one in.

Thanks for the advice. 3.3v, 5v, and 12v are all normal, though CPU is clocking 1.04v, cpu fan is ~1800rpm, and cpu temp steadily rising. Hoping it's the power and not a mobo short.

 

[wdcrutherford]

Problem solved, and I learned once more that all I know is that I know nothing. After unsuccessfully swapping my PSU into her computer and seeing no change, I realized that 1. The wire connector to the case wasn't seated right, and now the power button works again, 2. The fans were set to auto and they weren't running because they weren't needed, and 3. The CPU was steadily heating while idle because the thermal paste was old, and we're going to buy her a water-cooled rig for good measure, should be here in the morning.

This, after my CPU/shorting issue I had with my own computer last month, is slowly but surely molding me into a hardware wizard.

Thanks again for the help, I'm sure I'll be back in the future.