Bdowney86 Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 New to the forums and new to working on PC's. A little history, I bought an alienware area 51 PC new back in 2006 (yes I know it's acient history now lol). Its been a great reliable gaming machine over the years. But 2 years ago it started acting wierd sometimes it would just suddenly shut off while running. Then it wouldnt boot up at all or if it did turn on it would beep several times but my screen would stay black. I know next nothing about troubleshooting and working on computers so I said screw it and it just sat the last 2 yrs. I decided to start messing with it to see if can figure it out myself a few days ago. I did some research online and removed the large watch battery on the motherboard for 30 seconds put it back in and nothing changed. I also tried testing the PSU by doing the paper clip trick and it does get power the fan runs. Also when I flip the power switch on the psu the green led light on my motherboard does light up. I also ordered a PSU tester just waiting until it gets here so I can test to see if it's putting out what my pc needs to run. I hope its just the psu going bad and not something worse like the motherboard. The specs for my machine should be on my profile Any input or advice is appreciated Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thenosbod Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 The meter sounds like a good idea. I have got one and is one of the first thing I use if I have a pc that is randomly shutting down. I take it that the inside of the pc is not clogged up with dust? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bdowney86 Posted September 8, 2014 Author Share Posted September 8, 2014 Yea I really hope its just the psu, and no I don't think dust is the problem as I would take the covers off the case and blow it out with compressed air on a regular basis. Also another thing it was doing when It would actually turn on was none of the usb ports would work which it has 6. So I couldn't use my mouse and I tried it on the laptop I have and it works fine so its not the mouse. Also keyboard wouldn't work either. Is that an indication that the psu is failing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandstorm1 Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 its possible it is the psu, but also could be anything. the beeping you heard usually indicated a motherboard fault code (telling you whats wrong). if you still have the manual it may list them. the motherboard in there is a dell J560M a quick search didn't turn up too much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bdowney86 Posted September 8, 2014 Author Share Posted September 8, 2014 Thanks for the info didn't realize its a dell motherboard just says asus on the invoice that I got when I ordered it. I wanna test the psu first before I try anything else though. If it checks out ok Im gonna try removing my graphics card and memory sticks to see if that works. Also I do still have the manual that came with it gonna see if I can figure out what those beeps indicate. Also if it turns out I need a new psu Im looking at getting either the corsair RM 650 or 750 newegg has a good deal on the 750 so I probably will get that. Will they work with my old computer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thenosbod Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 Alienware is part of dell http://www.dell.com/support/home/uk/en/ukdhs1/product-support/product/alienware-area51/drivers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandstorm1 Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 yes it should work fine. the larger you get the better...future proof a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bdowney86 Posted September 9, 2014 Author Share Posted September 9, 2014 Thanks for all the help guys :D: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bdowney86 Posted September 11, 2014 Author Share Posted September 11, 2014 Just tested the 20 pin connector on my psu with a multimeter put the positive red lead on the green wire and black lead on the black wire right next to it and plugged it in and flipped the switch. I got 2.459 volts so I guess it is bad its supposed to put out 3 volts right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bdowney86 Posted September 15, 2014 Author Share Posted September 15, 2014 I got it figured out, power supply is fine what it ended up being is the wires going from the on/off switch on the front of my tower were loose :brick: So it's working fine now just gotta figure out why I cant get any sound :confused: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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