Technically a "hardware" question, but since it's probably not really knoppmyth related, I figured I'd post it here...

Last night I was watching tv on my knoppmyth box, and it worked perfectly fine. When I woke up this morning, I tried to access my webserver and realized it was down. I checked the box, and it appeared to be off (no fans or noise at all), but the power light was blinking. I pushed the power button, and nothing happened. I held it in for 30 seconds, and still nothing. I ended up switching off the power supply, and switching it back on. I hit the power button, and it started to boot. It got about to the point where it was bringing up mythfrontend when it suddenly shut down, and the power light started blinking again. After letting it sit for a while and turning the power supply off and on again, the light stopped, but it won't even start to boot. At first I thought it was overheating, but it doesn't seem very hot at all, and now it's not even trying to boot. So, now I'm suspecting the power supply...has anybody ever seen this before?

If I didn't know better, I'd say your machine is going into sleep mode. My laptop does this when I close it. Do you have power savings disabled in the BIOS?

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Retired KM user (R4 - R6.04); friend to LH users.

it's never done that before...that's not to say it isn't now...the thought did cross my mind...Only problem is, i can't check the bios settings if i cant' get it to boot :-/ Maybe if i leave the power supply unplugged for a while? I'll have to try that when I get home...i hate these problems i can't fix by ssh'ing in from work;-)

When you said "boot", to me that meant load up an O/S. If your machine isn't even completing a POST (power on self test) you have a hardware problem. Does it complete the POST (usually does a quick memory check, detects hardrives, etc.)?

If it fails the POST, does the box have a PC speaker? Most modern boards use a type of audible code to pinpoint a specific hardware failure. For example, 3 long screams from the PC speaker might mean bad memory, 5 short screams might mean bad CPU, etc. Usually, a single quick "beep" means it passed the POST. Consult your manual for the error codes.

If the fans aren't staying on I'm thinking either PS or MB. Do you have another PS to test that by swapping it out?

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Retired KM user (R4 - R6.04); friend to LH users.

It did boot once...but now, nothing. No beeping, no whirring, nothing. I'm more a software person than a hardware person, and circuitry and wiring mostly go way over my head, which is why I'm a little puzzled...though absolutely nothing happens when i hit the power button, if i switch the power supply off and back on, the lights on the keyboard blink briefly...so the power has to be getting to the motherboard, right? We were planning a hardware upgrade in a couple months, but we really don't have a new mb in the budget right now...i really hope it's not the motherboard...

I'm no expert either... best bet is to buy a PS and make sure they store has a good return policy in case your board is fried.

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Retired KM user (R4 - R6.04); friend to LH users.

Also check your motherboard manual (usually available on-line as a PDF file if you can't find it) for a BIOS reset jumper and how to use it. This will let you put the BIOS settings back into a "failsafe" state if it's not completely fried.

I suggest you start by trying a different power supply. These things have an impressively high failure rate. I've lost several in various computers. Besides, they're cheap and easy to replace, so I always start there. If it still doesn't boot, then I would suspect deeper problems...

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Visually check the capacitors on the Mainboard, you may find that they have leaked. They should be flat across the top, if they are bad you will actually see a brownish powder that has come out of the top.

To test the power supply (ATX 20pin block) you can short the green wire to any of the black (ground) and your drives and stuff should power up. If you have a multimeter you can check the voltages, here are the pin outs http://pinouts.ru/Power/atxpower_pinout.shtml.

From memory to clear the CMOS settings you can short JP14 (generally).

I would start with the PSU as suggested.

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Girkers

I tried a brand new power supply, but no luck...After spending hours working on my taxes last night (yuck!), I didn't have time to find out how to clear the cmos (thanks for your post girkers), so we'll try that when i get home today:-)

I ended up having to replace the power supply and clear the cmos, but it works now! Thanks guys:-)