Question : Problem: Computer won't turn on, no POST.

Hello,

I have a PC that will not turn on.  Yesterday I was at my computer and a lighting storm was coming through (hear me out!).  It was getting bad so I decided to shut down and unplug the PC.  I went to Start > shutdown and waited for it to power down.  After it powered down I unplugged the power strip from the wall; the power strip had both "grounded" lights and "protected" lights on it before I unplugged it.  Once the storm was gone I plugged the PC back in but it would not turn on at all.  There are no fans moving (including the power supply fan).  I tried removing the RAM and re-seating it, removing the power connectors and re-seating them, moving to another outlet in the house.  The only sign of life I see is a small flashing yellow/orange light on the motherboard, it has some letters and number that label it (but I'm not at home right now so i don't know what it is).

I removed the power supply and have it with me at work, I am going to try to get a co-worker to test it with a voltmeter.  How can I tell if this is a motherboard problem or a power supply problem (or something else)?  If the voltmeter reads correctly can i assume that the power supply is working fine, and then what do I do?

I don't work with PC hardware, keep it simple for me if you can!

I am going to try to use this diagram to test it with the voltmeter..... http://img510.imageshack.us/img510/6133/20pin24pinconnectoroe2.jpg (it is a 24 pin connector)

Also, here are the specs on my PC.....

Chassis: Alienware® P2 Chassis with 700 Watt Power Supply - Space Black
Chassis Customization : AlienFX" System Lighting is not available with the Alienware P2 Chassis with 700 Watt Power Supply.
High-Performance Liquid Cooling: Alienware® Standard System Cooling
Graphics Processor: Single Graphics Processors - 320MB NVIDIA® GeForce" 8800 GTS - Superclocked!
Processor: AMD Athlon" 64 X2 4600+ Processor w/ HyperTransport and Dual Core Technology
Memory: High-Performance 800MHz DDR2 SDRAM - 2GB - 2 x 1024MB
Motherboard: Alienware® Approved NVIDIA nForce 590 SLI Motherboard
Operating System (Office software not included): Genuine Windows Vista" Home Premium - With no Media Center Remote Control or TV Tuner
System Drive: Single Drive Configuration - 250GB Serial ATA 3Gb/s 7,200 RPM w/ 8MB Cache
Primary CD ROM/DVD ROM: 18X Dual Layer DVD±RW/CD-RW Writer w/ Nero Software Suite
Monitor: No Monitor
Sound Card: High-Definition 7.1 Performance Audio - Standard
Keyboard: Alienware® USB Full-Size Keyboard


Thanks

Answer : Problem: Computer won't turn on, no POST.

well the easiest way to tackle this is to test the pieces separately

First less lighten the load on your power supply in the system, I know the 700w can pretty much power anything in your system right now.  But maybe your power supply is defective, and it doesn't output the proper voltage.  Anyway remove the non essentails... so TV card, Optical Drive and sound card should be out.  If your system turns on now, plug in 1 device at a time until it doesn't.  Then switch the order you put them in.  This way you can tell if one of the device is the cause or if your power supply is just not working as inteneded.

Or you can try plugging in a different power supply and see if your board goes up.  If it doesn't then your board is acting up.  i'm just estimating here but you can probably safely power your system up with a 500w powersupply you might want to remove the tv tuner, sound card and optical drive.

After you find out which hardware is malfunctioning.. it is just a simple matter of either replacing the pieces yourself or if warranty is still good, give alienware a call.