Re: computer not turning on. How to ID bad power supply w/o buying new one?

Very low, except for a couple that are somewhere between 1 ant 2ohm.

Re: computer not turning on. How to ID bad power supply w/o buying new one?

To be sure that they are not the source of the problem, I checked all of the caps on the ps and mobo, and they all but a couple had almost undetectable esr. What are the esr specifications of the Nichicon VR(M) series capacitors? I looked at a datasheet, but I coudn't find it.

I noticed that the second, smaller heatsink on the motherboard is tilted sideways. Is the bga under this one a common source of problems, or is it always the processor?

Re: computer not turning on. How to ID bad power supply w/o buying new one?

I have successfully soldered/desoldered some pretty small chips in some very annnoying packages, but I'm not sure how one would go about doing a bga of that size... Is there a guide you can reccomend to me? Is there a particular chip on this mobo that is known for getting cold solder joints? I'm not a big fan of this idea, since there's no way to visually see what the problem is. I may be the only one, but I wish modern PC boards were still through hole.

Re: computer not turning on. How to ID bad power supply w/o buying new one?

What does it mean to be "on a soldering station"? Are you saying that it is more likely to be a lasting fix if I use a purpose-built hot air rework station, as opposed to a heat gun? If so, why would that be?

Re: computer not turning on. How to ID bad power supply w/o buying new one?

I disconnected/pulled all ram, hdd, video/networking/sound card so the only two things connected togther were the power supply and the motherboard, and I turned it on like that. I'm Still getting that orange light and loud fan. So, either one, the other, or both are broken. All of the capacitors on both units pass visual inspection. "jet engine syndrome" is a pretty good description of what the fan sounds like now comparted to what it sounded like when working correctly. Can I reflow the bga using...

Re: computer not turning on. How to ID bad power supply w/o buying new one?

Ok, I'll test the ram. A more detailed description of what it does would be that the fans all run loudly at fullspeed, it beeps twice, and there is no display at all.

Re: computer not turning on. How to ID bad power supply w/o buying new one?

I've never used an integrated video card *Ick*. I updated the video card about 5 years ago. You all are probably going to laugh, but I use this computer for gaming about 1/2 the time, and it runs better than my 2 year old laptop.

I have a bunch of old psus that I've pulled from older computers, but I imagine that most of those are busted, and I don't want to spend several hours swapping out bad power supplies and then have one of them fry my mobo or hdd.

Bad chip-set after 9 years?...

My Dell 4700 that I've been using for the last 9 years started giving me BSDs every couple of days for a few weeks, and now it will not display anything when I turn it on. The light on the case turns orange and beeps a couple of times. I have already reseated all of the cards/connectors.

I don't know if it is the power supply or the motherboard, and I was hoping that there was some way I could localize the problem without having to buy a new power supply that i may or may not need.

I checked the power supply voltages with a DMM while trying to turn it on, and they were...