Avian Gamers Network

So I woke up today came downstairs to get some work done on the computer and it wouldn't start. It rained last night and it seems we lost our power all the clocks in the house were blinking...

My new computer came with a Belkin surge protector that i have always used. The monitor which is connected through same surge protector does work as does everything else...I move my CPU upstairs to test it on another plug but no luck

Not that it matters as the thing won't even turn on...

Dell P4 2.8ghz
1gb RAM
Radeon 9800 pro
etc..

and im on my

P3 450mhz
256RAM
Nivida Rivia TNT

_________________
Ryric Krael
Former Vice President AGN
Former Director, Section 6
Former Head of Department of the Treasury
-------
Ask not what your PA can do for you, but what you can do for your PA
"Gone Section Five"

Sounds like a case of fried mobo :/
The electricity surge that comes when power is restored can really wreak havoc on equipment.
Besides a surge protector for the power cords, get a protector for the phone lines if you use ISDN/modem. We've had several boxes having to have parts replaced to due lightning strikes that cause a surge over the phone lines.

_________________
Meriander, Paladin
Rentin, Warlock
(Emerald Dawn, WoW EU server)

i have a cable modem... could that cause it? A line connects outside to cable box..inside power cord is hooked up to a surge protector and then a data coord (much like a typically phone coord might look like) connects to the computer?

but yea when it didn't go on..I was afraid the mobo had taken a shot... so another question will the harddrive still be intact and usable if the rest is replaced? What in general will have to replace best case for the machine to get working again? Anycase i doubt warrienties cover this kinda stuff..

love how this stuff happens while Im suppose to be working on a presentation for my Comp Lit and Film class on Alec Guinness

_________________
Ryric Krael
Former Vice President AGN
Former Director, Section 6
Former Head of Department of the Treasury
-------
Ask not what your PA can do for you, but what you can do for your PA
"Gone Section Five"

I think cable modem shouldnt be a problem, those cables are usually in the ground (and not up in the air like phone lines).

Best case - mobo replacement
Worst case - mobo, memory, cpu, disk
It really depends on how powerful the surge was. Also if you only replace the mobo (and it works) you may later have trouble with the other parts as they may have been damaged (but not entirely fried) by the surge.
Try replacing the mobo then run test programs like 3dMark or demanding 3d games like Doom3 for several hrs to test the remaining components for failiures.
There is a program that I cant remember the name of that is used to test for stability, by really taxing the rig... I'll see if I can find a link to it.

_________________
Meriander, Paladin
Rentin, Warlock
(Emerald Dawn, WoW EU server)

Is the power supply fan even turning on?

The program is called Prime95
Start p95. ---> Options ---> Torture Test ---> choose a test to run.
Leave the program running and you can really test your system.

_________________
Meriander, Paladin
Rentin, Warlock
(Emerald Dawn, WoW EU server)

What brand of surge protector do you have? Generally if they fail to stop something and up frying your equipment, the warrenty will replace whatever you plugged into it.

There should also be a little LED light on the mobo. When your PC is plugged in, and the power switch on the power supply is on (if you have a switch) the LED should glow. If that is not happening, I'd check the power supply first. It'll be cheaper to replace than the mobo. The caveat on this is that if the mobo is really fried, that light may not light up anyway. I really doubt the power supply in your old computer will work with a P4 mobo, but it might. Some Asus boards can draw enough power through the regular hookup to power everything, and don't need that little supplemental power hookup.

Also, you may be able to get Dell to replace the stuff, since it sounds like it is a fairly new machine, and could still be under warrenty.

_________________
Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God!

No lights on the fried machine..all dark though the fan comes on when u plug it in...

My Surge protector is a Belkin Surge master..

Anyways the plan is to try Dell see if they'll cover it..if not im pretty sure that that Belkin is still under warrenty too so.. will see

_________________
Ryric Krael
Former Vice President AGN
Former Director, Section 6
Former Head of Department of the Treasury
-------
Ask not what your PA can do for you, but what you can do for your PA
"Gone Section Five"

If you're lucky its just the fuse in the power supply
Not sure about switching the PSUs though, I think the P4 mobo has special plugs for the power cables from the PSU (or was that the Xeon boards, cant remember)

_________________
Meriander, Paladin
Rentin, Warlock
(Emerald Dawn, WoW EU server)

No, you are right, it is for the P4 mobos. I have an Asus P4 board, though, and when I put that in, I wasn't aware that I needed to have that extra power plug in. So when I first set it up, I didn't use it. The mobo drew enough power through the standard power hookup. I was reading on the net about it later, and realized I needed to hook up the other power plug. After that I did some research, and found out that most Asus boards are power friendly enough that they can generally do without the additional P4 power plug, and there are a couple mobos out there that can do that too, although it is never recommended to run them without it. The mobos that can't do that just never turn on if that extra power isn't available and plugged in.

_________________
Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God!