I traded my cousin some really expensive RAM that I happened accross for his old desktop, that he put his graphics card into that he swapped from his newer computer. If I plug the desktop into the wall and try to turn it on nothing happens. If I open it up I can see that the where the wire from the power supply plugs into the motherboard there Is a little light on. So clearly some power is getting somewhere…
How do I go about trouble shooting this, and what tools do I need? I assume at minimum a multi meter? Not really sure what to do, it’s been decades the last time I built a computer.
No, that’s probably what’s so alarming. You expect fan noise, but nothing spins.
Make sure the power button is connected to the board. Use the diagram in this PDF to locate it.
I don’t see a spot for it on diagram or board. Everything is ziptied together, so it’s not easy to trace back right now. The system panel header is plugged in. USB 3_3_4 is plugged. CPU fan connector is plugged.
Chassis Fan connector not plugged. USB 4_5 not plugged. Chassis intrusion and speaker header not plugged. TPM header not plugged.
Where is says panel 1 is the correct place for the connectors to the front of the case. Two of those pins are for the power button. Make sure the connector that says pwr, both + and -, are connected to the pins on the board that are labeled pwr.
That’s just a sanity check to make sure the power button is correctly connected. Something less common could be the power button is broken but we won’t go there just yet.