Anyone who knows about computers...

[Liam Jinn]

Ok, so I need a bit of help. I came home tonight and my computer was shut off, but the catchy thing is, I left it on, and no one pressed the power button. I was only gone about 4 hours and I can't turn it back on. Nothing happens when I press the power button in front of the computer. Is my power source out? I mean I flipped the switch in the back and that switch lights up, but nothing in the front lights up and the computer just won't turn on. I'd rather not use my mothers computer, like I am now, so is there any suggestions of what I could do to fix this problem?

[Serena Laran]

Maybe you had a power surge, that would turn it off.

[Liam Jinn]

So could that have fried my power source? I mean everything else in my room was still on, just not my computer. Someone said it could be the motherboard, but I'm praying it's not, and it makes more sense for the power supply to go out first... Gah! This sucks, I hate computers that don't behave.. :( I had this computer custom built a little before January...

[Mitch]

If you are getting ZERO power, and not even the indicator lights, it's your power supply. That's the only thing that could keep it from even trying to start, because if it was the motherboard, you'd at least get the little lights on, and it would probably beep.

Good power supplies are cheap nowadays, and easy to find, so it's not too terrible of a problem.

[Liam Jinn]

Ok, well this had me panicked for a minute. I'll go pick up a new power supply tomorrow, hopefully that'll take care of this problem.

[Mitch]

Get a good one. A good one will last you years and years, and if your computer has a lot of usb-powered periphrials, get a higher-wattage one than you had, just to keep up with the demand. I'll be putting a 500 watt supply in the next system I build.

[Liam Jinn]

I had a 480 watt, but it only lasted 7-8 months, apparently, but I went back and checked my room, and one of my clocks was blinking, so maybe a power surge screwed up my power source like LD said...

[Darth Viscera]

If you want power supply recommendations, please post your computer specs. Also, don't drop $20 on a generic 450w power supply, because then it'll burn out after a few months and maybe take your motherboard with it. Cheap power supplies die often.

Basically when looking for power supplies, you'll want a Fortron or an Antec or an Enermax, because they don't die, and they're more trustworthy when it comes to wattage claims.

Also, have you got a surge protector? Are you running any coaxial cables into your PC (tv tuner) or phone lines (modem)? If so, are they connected to the surge protector too?

[Liam Jinn]

I think that's my problem, I have no surge protector. I'd better pick one up tomorrow, because from what I've heard, my power supply isn't too shabby..

I have a cable modem running to my computer...

[Mitch]

APC makes some great surge protectors that have a very high, accurate joule absorbtion rating, and are low priced. I reccomend them very much, and use them on my system. You can pick them up at places like OfficeMax or Office Depot or Best Buy and other various stores.

--Edit--

There's an APC surge supressor that will absorb up to 2500+ joules and also has coaxial as well as RJ-11 (phone line) surge supression. IT runs about $25 and has built-in cord management hooks. It's the step up from what I run, which doesn't have coaxial plugs because I connect on a wireless hookup on my computer from our server.

This is the bad boy I reccomend. http://www.apcc.com/resource/include/techspec_index.cfm?base_sku=PH8VT3

[Darth Viscera]

the coaxial cable which connects to your cable modem can conduct lightning, which can fry your cable modem. surge protectorize it. if the new surge protector you buy tomorrow hasn't got a connection where you can plug in the coax input and run a surge-free coax output into the modem, then buy an Inline Coaxial Surge Protector (http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=CTLG&product%5Fid=15-1110) from radio shack for $7.

PC specs?

[Liam Jinn]

Ok, from the 4 boxes I found...

(Sapphire) Radeon 9600 Atlantis 256 MB DDR Memory
AMD Athlon 64 Processor
Demon ATX Switching Power Supply 480 watts
1 gig DDR RAM, forget if there's some sort of 'S' somewhere in this, can't find the packaging, but know what type and how much I have.. (Kingston)
K8NS Pro nForce 3 Motherboard
Video Card, can't find at the moment, I'll tell you tomorrow when my computer is back up...Unless that Sapphire is it...
Oh and 5.1 surround sound if that helps..:)

[Morgan Evanar]

Demon ATX Switching Power Supply 480 watts dingdingdingding, garbage!

Everything elese is good, though.

(Sapphire) Radeon 9600 Atlantis 256 MB DDR Memory - your video card. Not a bad card, just underpowered compared to the rest of the rig. If you find performance unacceptable, this is the first thing you should replace.

[Darth Viscera]

Originally posted by Liam Jinn
Ok, from the 4 boxes I found...

(Sapphire) Radeon 9600 Atlantis 256 MB DDR Memory
AMD Athlon 64 Processor
Demon ATX Switching Power Supply 480 watts
1 gig DDR RAM, forget if there's some sort of 'S' somewhere in this, can't find the packaging, but know what type and how much I have.. (Kingston)
K8NS Pro nForce 3 Motherboard
Video Card, can't find at the moment, I'll tell you tomorrow when my computer is back up...Unless that Sapphire is it...
Oh and 5.1 surround sound if that helps..:)

how many hard drives, how many dvd/cd drives?

and yeah, that Powmax 480w power supply is an extroardinary piece of crap

[Liam Jinn]

1 hard drive, 160 gigs, I think. Might be 140. I got a combination dvd/cd burner, I don't have a floppy drive though :\

[Darth Viscera]

You don't need anywhere near 500 watts then. You just need a brand name ~350 watt power supply.

Fortron 350w $37 shipped (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817104986)

Enermax Noisetaker 370w w/S-ATA connectors $51 shipped (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817103444)

Antec Smartpower 350w w/S-ATA connectors $56 shipped (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817103913)

If I were you, I'd go with the $37 Fortron 350w, and if you use an SATA hard drive, get an SATA power adapter (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16812189005) for $7.50.