How can I fix my computer?

There is another possibility:

There are a few whires going from the mother board and going to the front pannel of the computer. If they are partly unplugged or even totaly so, it's very easy to not notice that.

Vacuuming or brushing around those whires can accidently pull them off.

Those include the power on light, disk activity light, the reset switch, the case speaker, AND the main POWER SWITCH.

Make sure that those are still corectly plugged all the way in. You want that at least the main power switch and the reset switch are properly connected.
Those are NOT polarised, so you can connect them both ways.
The others are optional. Only the LEDs are polarised.

Check if you have the mother board manual. If not, you can usualy get a PDF version of just about any motherboard ever made and less than 15 years old from the maker's web site.
Go on the site and launch a search for your model.
If that don't work, then you can search on Google or Yahoo! for the brand and model. Adding "AND manual" can help narow down the results.

As for vacuuming, the trick is to use a can of compressed air to blow away the dust and use the vacuum to catch all that air borne dust so that it dont goes back in the computer and you don't have to breath it. Keep the vacuum intake at least 6" from ANY component and whires.

I sometimes do use a soft artist brush, but only on the top side of my expention cards and fans.

Blowing with your mouth is risky as you run the risk of accidently spitting tiny saliva droplets. Your saliva IS conductive and this can cause some problems if any droplet land on some contact or between two.

Electro
August 2011

If it is completely dead then it has to be power related. Can you prove that the mains lead and fuse is ok by trying it on something else? If it is ok then the next thing is the power unit inside the PC. Does it have a fuse? Coming out of the power unit is a bunch of wires. One large plug should be connected to the main board. Is it seated correctly? Can you hear the disk drive(s) spinning up?
However, if you have no understanding of PC's then you'll have to take it to a repair shop. All the data on the drives should be fine and fully retrievable so don't worry. Good luck.

molinero
August 2011

It is a desktop PC. No lights come on or any sounds made when I try to turn it on. I checked the power source and all the cords but they all seemed normal. My sister and brothers have been nagging me to get rid of all the dust inside and around the fans because the computer had been working way to slowly. My Pop, who built the computer for us would usually do it, but he passed away recently so now its up to me. I thought I was doing the right thing, but no one has ever told be not to let a vacuum near a computer! I did not know this. I mainly blew away the dust with my mouth though, and used a cloth to wipe some of the dust and small brush for the fans, but used a small handheld vacuum cleaner to suck away all the dust that had fallen away from where Id used the brush. Don't worry I feel absolutely stupid for making the mistake and I now feel sick about it! My family relied on me to look after it, and I tried to do a good thing and now I feel terrible. Do you think I will be able to save the memory, files, photo's etc. at least?

Jewels~4
August 2011

It is unlikely that you have done any actual damage. But for anyone to offer help, you need to provide more info...
Is it a laptop or a desk computer?
What part(s) of it did you vacuum?
If it's a desk computer, have you knocked off the switch at the back? Or loosened the mains lead?
Is there ANY sign of life - lights, beeps, etc?

molinero
August 2011

Frankly it could be anything. Someone with training needs to go over it methodically.

Why on earth did you vacuum it in the first pcela?

T
August 2011