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loon3y

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Oct 21, 2011
1,235
126
when i woke up today before work, i noticed my desktop had absolutely no power.


none of the flashing lights that are usually on when it's on stand by or sleep. i know its not the power outlet because the screen and couple other things are connected to the same power strip and it gets power.


what's the problem? did my computer short circuit? if so how hard is it to replace the power supply? it's and acer desktop from like 05 or somewhere around that time. would it be tedious to find a power supply that is compatible with it?


if i can't fix it or get it to work, would the short circuit damage the hard drive?


all in all its kind of a good thing, because i've been wanting a new gaming desktop (either custom built or alienware/genisis). but thats a good deal of money, i rather just have a quick fix and get a new desktop later, because i need my desktop, i can't stand just using a note book all day, although i love my 13" macbook pro.
 
Have you restarted your computer?

</standard computer telephone support person response>

You should repair permissions.

</standard online response>
 
my desktop is completely dead, its not going to respond, i think.


i will try some of the things that have been suggested, thank you.


i believe my video card is 512 geforce of some model, and my processor is a dual core intel, I'm not sure, i was gonna say I'm gonna check it back home but my computer won't even turn on, ill prob open it up to make sure what video card i have at least. I'm sure i can find out what processor i have when i open it up too?
 
If you've got a multimeter, you can check the voltage on the power supply.
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Specifically the 5v standby pin. If that's shows less than 5 volts, the PS is shot. If it shows 5 volts, the MB is probably bad.
 
when you open it take a look at the capacitors the tops should be flat. I have seen a lot of acers with blown capacitors.
 
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