I didn't get a single bite when I posted this in the Tech. Support forum yesterday so I thought I'd post here. Heres a copy/paste of my original post:
A brief description of how this problem manifested itself from my 13 year old daughters point of view. The wireless mouse lost connection with the base unit and she couldn't figure out how to get the mouse and the base to link up (yes...I know how, but wasn't home) so she thought a reboot might do it. Since she didn't have mouse control and didn't know how or didn't think to use the keyboard to shut down Windows properly, she held the case power button in for well over 5-10 seconds but it wouldn't power down so she reached in back and pulled the plug from the power supply. No biggie, right? Well, she plugs it back in to boot up but now when she pushes the power button on the case theres 's no response. Just a cold dead case. Thats her story and next is what I've ascertained from a few minutes of troubleshooting.
The MB is in fact getting power from a fairly new Antec TP 500 because the green power indicator light on the MB itself (Asus P4PE...I know, pretty old) is coming on and staying on when the PS is turned on. And it goes off accordingly when turning off or unplugging the PS. So that also tells me it's not the PS itself otherwise I'd get no power indication on the MB at all.
With that in mind, I'm now thinking the power switch on the case either came loose (wires) or simply died. I checked it to the pins on the MB and then back to the switch and all was good. Since the connections are good, I'm now thinking the switch died. So I did the ol' switch-a-roo with the reset switch (using it as a temp. power switch) thinking my problem was solved.... but that was a no go. What are the odds of both switches failing at the same time. I know.....extremely unlikely.
So now I'm left to ponder if it's not the power switch on the case, maybe just the switching components (leads, transistors, caps, etc.,) on the MB itself failed, leaving me w/ a MB that looks like its getting power but in fact will not power up.
I hope thats a clear enough explanation of my problem. I've been building my own rigs (and now my kids w/ my old parts) since 1993 and consider myself well above average when it comes to PC hardware/software configuration and troubleshooting, but this one has got me stumped.
Anyone run in to anything similar? Any constructive comments/suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks!
A brief description of how this problem manifested itself from my 13 year old daughters point of view. The wireless mouse lost connection with the base unit and she couldn't figure out how to get the mouse and the base to link up (yes...I know how, but wasn't home) so she thought a reboot might do it. Since she didn't have mouse control and didn't know how or didn't think to use the keyboard to shut down Windows properly, she held the case power button in for well over 5-10 seconds but it wouldn't power down so she reached in back and pulled the plug from the power supply. No biggie, right? Well, she plugs it back in to boot up but now when she pushes the power button on the case theres 's no response. Just a cold dead case. Thats her story and next is what I've ascertained from a few minutes of troubleshooting.
The MB is in fact getting power from a fairly new Antec TP 500 because the green power indicator light on the MB itself (Asus P4PE...I know, pretty old) is coming on and staying on when the PS is turned on. And it goes off accordingly when turning off or unplugging the PS. So that also tells me it's not the PS itself otherwise I'd get no power indication on the MB at all.
With that in mind, I'm now thinking the power switch on the case either came loose (wires) or simply died. I checked it to the pins on the MB and then back to the switch and all was good. Since the connections are good, I'm now thinking the switch died. So I did the ol' switch-a-roo with the reset switch (using it as a temp. power switch) thinking my problem was solved.... but that was a no go. What are the odds of both switches failing at the same time. I know.....extremely unlikely.
So now I'm left to ponder if it's not the power switch on the case, maybe just the switching components (leads, transistors, caps, etc.,) on the MB itself failed, leaving me w/ a MB that looks like its getting power but in fact will not power up.
I hope thats a clear enough explanation of my problem. I've been building my own rigs (and now my kids w/ my old parts) since 1993 and consider myself well above average when it comes to PC hardware/software configuration and troubleshooting, but this one has got me stumped.
Anyone run in to anything similar? Any constructive comments/suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks!