Your computer problem

First things first, it's not a computer genius or nerd, it's a geek!

From what you said, Kevin, these are the things I have inferred from it. Correct me if I'm wrong:

• The monitor is on, but nothing is showing
• You know it's not getting to the OS because of some sign that the OS hasn't started up such as a sound
• No external devices are getting powered (eg, mouse; keyboard)
• The PSU is fine because the fans are running

From these information, one or more of these is the problem in order of possibility:

• All processors or graphics cards on your system died. Solution: You will need a new ones
• Something built-in on your mobo died, such as the BIOS chip. This can be caused by dust build-up shorting the contacts or from a power surge. Solution: You will need either a new chip and a soldering iron or a new mobo
• Your RAM died. Solution: See solution for #1
• The BIOS or CMOS firmware got corrupted. Solution: If your mobo has a "BIOS reset" button, use it. If not, see solution for #2

@Lexis

• A computer can still start up with a dead battery, just no settings will be saved such as BIOS settings and system time
• If a hard drive died, the computer can still start up, and optionally enter an operating system as long as a remaining hard drive with a bootloader and OS is still ok

~小太郎 ^TALK_CONTRIBS 2011:07:02:09:22 (Saturday)