Computer will not power on

[Pondoro]

It is my Ubuntu baby, when I hit the power nothing lights up or spins. I tried changing the battery and I tried two different power cords. Any ideas? It is an E-machines desktop, about 7 years old.

[RetchingRabbit]

at that age, almost anything is due to fail. You could start with the power supply, and if that checks out, y0ou likely have a mainboard issue. 7 years old may just mean replace it.

[Palanthas]

I assume you mean the BIOS battery? My initial thought is the power source is dead. That or a bad cable between the switch and PS or the switch itself. I had one computer that did the same as your PC, did not start, and found it to be a loose connection from the PS to the motherboard...

If not those or your not sure how to check the power source, respond back and we should be able to help. ;)

[RMuscaritolo]

If you're positive the second battery and cables are good then most likely your motherboard is fried....

A new motherboard for a desktop should be a cheap an easy replacement. Though for 7 yrs old your much better off buying a new barebone kit. CHEAP AND POWERFUL!

[Vimmander]

The BIOS battery wouldn't stop the machine from powering up, it'd just bawk at you about low voltage or something similar. If all else fails, pull the hard drive and get a new machine. You might have to get a kit to transfer your data from your old drive to a new machine, but that's not too hard. Something like this (http://www.cmsproducts.com/detail.aspx?ID=943) might do it, though I would recommend researching products before buying them; it's just an example of a transfer kit. You'll have to determine the interface of your drive first, but that's not too hard either. Again, this is a last resort kind of thing, so let's eliminate all possible causes for your issue before we jump the gun.

Edit: Now that I think about it, there might be a better way to extract your personal data with a LiveCD and a USB drive, but again, let's eliminate all other solutions as possible solutions.

[klytu]

It is my Ubuntu baby, when I hit the power nothing lights up or spins. I tried changing the battery and I tried two different power cords. Any ideas? It is an E-machines desktop, about 7 years old.

As others have noted, try changing the power supply. However be prepared for disappointment - in my experience with E-machines computers when its power supply fails, the motherboard goes with it.

[Palanthas]

If you want to test your hard drive, something like this (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16899705002&cm_re=power_supply_tester-_-99-705-002-_-Product) is very handy to have. I have this one and it has prevented many headaches when I have workked on other computers and needed to check out the PS. :D

[mike555]

I just fixed a old computer that would not "post" , but everything like fans etc. seamed to work ok .......... it ended up being a bad stick of ram memory ..
so you might want to try that..

[Jazzy_Jeff]

If nothing comes on at all more than likely it is your power supply. Did you try plugging it into a different outlet to make sure the outlet isn't bad?

[jroa]

As others have noted, try changing the power supply. However be prepared for disappointment - in my experience with E-machines computers when its power supply fails, the motherboard goes with it.

I have an E machine that is about the same age. The first thing to go bad was the factory installed memory, which was easy to troubleshoot and fix. A couple of years later, the power supply died and it had the same symptoms as are being described above. Changed the power supply and it has been charging along ever since. I did have the power button stick on me since then, but that was obvious and fairly easy to troubleshoot and fix.

I would say start with the power supply. That is what the problem was with mine.