And on an additional note, some might not start if they have no load at all. So SimonG might need to plug a fan into one of the molex connectors or something.

EDIT: I have a few of my many spare PSUs converted into bench power supplies for my electronics projects. Very useful to have!

That explains it then. The last time i had something similar to this must have been around 2004-5. And that was fixing older pc's.

These days by the time something goes wrong, i buy a new motherboard/ram/graphics etc and it's quite cheap to be honest.

That's normal. The main switch cuts power off completely.

What's happening is that either your PSU has "lost" one voltage rail (while the other rails still work), or that your mainboard has a defect. PSU failure is more common than mainboard failure. But there's no 100% certainty at this point.

With regard to PSUs, Antec has a very good reputation, and consistently scores high in reliability tests.

So I guess my best course of action is to order a PSU, try it.

If it works --> Great

If not --> new PC

?

Is that a good PSU?

http://www.mindfactory.de/product_info.php/info/p633134_750-Watt-Xilence-Modular-Series-Rev-3-Modular-80--Bronze.html

Fixing/repairing pc's has it's perks. Many people don't want their old parts. And i have a spare decent condition power supply.

I also have a TFX power supply spare for my base tower unit.

I have to agree that it sounds like the Power Supply Unit. With the computers I work with, 9 out of 10 times it's the PSU when it's fan will not go on.

The motherboard lights are usually led and require an insubstancial ammount of power to turn on. In other words, those lights may turn on even though the power supply isn't working fully. And if the PWR light is the one blinking, that means there's either an issue with voltage.

If you connect the PSU to another motherboard, and the PWR light is blinking, that means bad PSU. If you don't have another motherboard to try, it's still most likely the PSU.

Here's something on the ASUS forums with someone having the same issue (light flashing on their ASUS motherboard):
http://vip.asus.com/forum/view.aspx?id=20090919101938453&board_id=1&model=L1N64-SLI+WS&page=1&SLanguage=en-us

Actually, that's what happened to my tower after only six months of usage.
There was a little pin that was supposed to depress the switch/button at the end (or the beginning) of the cable that went from the case to the motherboard and that broke, so now I just use the little switch/button thingy :P
I suppose I should fix it, but I'm way too lazy.

And before I forget, I haven't thank all of you for your help!

Thank you for helping

Much appreciated. I'm a bit edgy right know, that's why I didn't mention it earlier ;-).

I'm not familiar with Xilence, so can't tell you whether or not that's a good choice. There's a pretty decent tiered list . Another great site to check out is [url=http://www.jonnyguru.com/]jonnyguru.

yep

Unless things went _really_ bad and some rogue current has fried most of your hardware (and it doesn't sound like it, I wouldn't worry about that at the moment), then you can look for an upgrade kit. Several shops sell Mainboard/CPU/cooler/RAM combos for a reduced price. If you don't feel comfortable putting it all together, you can let the shop do it, shouldn't cost more than 30€ extra (at least that's what I would pay here in Berlin).

If you want to save money, then Xilence PSUs are decent. They aren't particularly reliable though. When I was low on money, I had Xilence PSUs in a PC that was pretty much working 24/7. The Xilence PSUs would usually die well within their warranty period, and I'd then replace the died PSU with a new one of the same type, which would die again within a year or so. This procedure is not without risks though (eventually a dying PSU _might_ fry the rest of the hardware), and I'd really only recommend it to people who have to watch every single penny - whom you probably don't belong to. ;)

Edit: In general, PSUs are (imho) one of the product where the notion "you get what you pay for" really applies. There are lots of cheap PSUs on the market which are decent for low-cost rare-usage scenarios, but for a quality part, you'll have to pay a bit more. As said above, Antec has a very solid reputation.

First of all, condolences on your loss. Second, since it wasn't already suggested, try unplugging the power cord, pressing the power button once to remove any excess voltage on the capacitors, then plug the power cord again and try it. Weirdly enough, I've seen this happening before, and if it does work, you will have a computer until you manage to replace the PSU.
Most probably it won't help, but it's a quick 5 minute test that may work.

I tried it, didn't work. But thanks!

Interestingly, unplugging the cable did not kill the lights, but switching the main switch did (without cable).


Then I'll pay a bit more ;-). I only got the "top option" for the one above.

http://www.antec.com/pdf/article/silence_article.pdf

Looks like antec it is ;-)
Thanks for digging that out.

New PSU it shall be!

Btw, when looking for a new PSU, look closely at the connectors that a given model provides. Connectors for mainboards and graphics cards have changed over the years. Most high-quality PSUs do provide a good selection of connectors (and have mainboard plugs with a removable part, so they fit in both the two latest mainboard sockets), but it's better to check it in advance.

Just FYI, almost the exact same thing happened to me a couple years ago on my gaming computer, and it was the PS. Lots of good brands out there, I eneded up with a Corsair I found a good price for online. Just be sure to check reviews and recommendations for wahtever you decide on. Best of Luck!