Bad power switch

[Wolf52]

Ive been using a case with no problems for 3 years now, but just today i had a very difficult time booting up my computer. I narrowed it down to my power switch. After a lot of jiggling i finally got it to boot up ok and luckily it was confirmed that my hardware is ok. My question is this, are all power switches the same? I have an older computer that i was going to scrap but i can probably salvage the switch before i do so. And yes, i did check if the switch was connected to the mobo properly, its definitely the switch itself. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[jsc]

You can verify this by swapping the power and reset switches.

Are all power switches the same? Electrically, they are identical. Mechanically, without looking, who knows? If the two switches look like they have a similar mounting scheme, you can try. If the actual switch part mounts behind a plastic front panel, you may be able to replace it with a generic push button switch (requires soldering skills). Worst comes to worst, you can drill a small hole in the front panel and mount the switch that way. It will look kind of crufty, but it will work.

 

[JohnnyLucky]

Wolf52 - What is the brand and model of your pc case? Does it have a removeable front bezel? Is the power switch attached to the bezel or the top of the case?

 

[Wolf52]

Here is the case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811200025

The front panel (is that what you mean?) comes off and as you can see from the pictures the power switch is towards the bottom of the front panel.

 

[JohnnyLucky]

OK! I can see the power switch is located on the bottom third of the front bezel (panel). Can you carefully remove that bottom part? If you can you can get a good look at the power switch.

When you remove the bezel is the complete power switch mechanism still attached to the bezel or is just the push button still attached to the bezel? In some cases just the push button is attached to the bezel while the actual switch is attached to the chassis. The switch might be in the shape of a square or rectangle and it usually has a small plunger. When the power button is pressed it pushes the plunger which causes momentary contact and the computer starts up. Release the push button and the momentary contact is broken.

There are several different types of switches and they come in several shapes. The one thing they all have in common is that they are momentary contact switches. Radio Shack and Fry's Electronics have inexpensive replacement switches. In addition, there are vendors on line that sell them.

Now, having said that, you might also find that the power switch, reset switch, power led and hard drive led are all one larger module.

 

[Wolf52]

Ok, i actually just discovered that the power switch is not the problem! I put the motherboard, processor and ram into a different computer and the problem persists! Ive tried disconnecting all of the other front panel lights (reset switch, status lights, etc) and it still happens. The computer powers on for half a second, all the fans start spinning, but then it immediately powers down again. This is very weird.

 

[JohnnyLucky]

Here's a link to a list of things to check and instructions:

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/261145-31-build-post-checklist

It's actually for a brand new build that won't post but it still may help you.

 

[Wolf52]

Hmm, that doesnt really help. I have the post codes and the like, but the mobo doesnt really power on long enough for that to happen. The fans just barely start to turn and then everything shuts down. This cannot be a PSU issue because i have used both a brand new one and the one that has worked faithfully for years. The only things i have connected to the mobo are the 24 pin power connector, the 4 pin cpu connector, the processor and heatsink, ram, and the power switch (in the correct place). The odd thing is this started happening in the original computer before i removed the motherboard. In fact, it started before i even opened up the computer after using it this morning. The strange thing is, i was able to get it booted up once, and had a successful one beep post, but that was before i moved the mobo to the new setup. I'm baffled.