Can't power up

[Mr. Goodbytes]

Ok, I've been messing with this for the better part of the day and cannot get a handle on the problem. I have a K6-2 400 OC'd to 500 on a gigabyte GA-5AMMC motherboard, and it's just recently decided to get all flaky on me. I was having problems where it would randomly shut off, whether during bootup or normal operation, but now I can't get the power to come on at all. I've tried popping out the CMOS battery, since there isn't a reset jumper. Checked, double-checked, and triple-checked the wiring to make sure something isn't loose. When I hit the power switch on the front of the case, the Power LED, and the Harddrive LED flash once and then disappear. They won't do that again the next time I hit the power switch unless i unplug the tower and plug it back in. I've tried different outlets throughout the apartment to no avail.

Any way to tell if this is a power supply problem or motherboard problem? Or is it just that I need to replace the CMOS battery? Thanks a bunch.

[NeoStarO1]

Hmmm sounds exactly like the problem I had with my kid's computer recently. I have replaced the PSU and now all my problems are gone with the power switch. Might want to test your PSU to see if its still giving out the power you need.

The only way I was able to get my kids computer to boot was unplugging it phyically then plugging it back in.

Do you have a spare PSU you can test with?

[Omardeth]

ya sounds like a power supply dieing to me

[Mr. Goodbytes]

hmmm, well a spare PSU would be nice. of course i have the spare motherboard and the ability to hardwire the power switch.... everything but the spare PSU. LOL

[ironforge]

I've had to service both styles of problems. A majority of power related problems are the power supply. Of course to narrow it down..

1. Does the PSU sound funny at all? IE irregular fan noise.
2. Does the PSU SMELL funny at all? Burnt smell.
3. Disconnect all devices from the power supply. Except for the power button header and the motherboard power. Power supplies can act funny if they are going out, reducing the load may help you figure out if it's the motherboard or not.
4. Switch power supplies. (this is the BEST option if it's available)!

CMOS battery would just effect BIOS settings and wouldn't cause any problems with the power flow.