PC doesn't have an on-off switch!

[grego]

I agree with hygor. When I shut down my older gateway nowadays, I'd say 1 of 6-10 times, the fans stay going and I have to hold the front power button down for several seconds (5-10) to get them to go off. Give it a whirl.

 

[jimmydubs]

OK this is freaking me out. You've probably guessed that I'm not a techie nerd, but I'm not daft either. I know how to follow instructions. So I surfed the net to find out how to check the bios set-up, and the consensus was that I should press DELETE or ESCAPE when the PC fires up (i.e. when it starts checking the memory etc). Only thing is, when I unplug the PC, leave it 1 minute, then boot it up again it goes straight into the Windows XP welcome screen - it's as if the thing isn't shutting down properly even when I detach it from the electricity supply! So how do I enter the bios set-up if I can't get the thing to shut down properly in the first place!?!?

By the way it DEFINITELY doesn't have a standard on/off switch. It's an Emachines 270 from PC World in the UK. PC World are the UK's biggest PC retailer by a mile so they're not some dodgy back-street dealer. The new PSU is a "Q-Tec PSU 450W Dual Fan PFC". I hope that helps!

 

[Smauler]

Ok... it can't bypass BIOS. When you turn it on, hit delete (not backspace) continually, even prior seeing anything on screen. I've had computers that went very fast through the boot process. Also, does it beep at you at all during boot?

I'm suprised at the lack of a switch there... then again I don't really trust PC World . By the way, I just bought a 500W PSU that's working great for £11. I don't mean to make you feel bad... just saying PCWorld are not cheap or generally great.

 

[jimmydubs]

Cheers Smauler. You were right - I pressed delete frantically and it went into BIOS mode - but now I'm stuck. Under the "Power" menu it says "After AC Power Failure" and gives me 3 options: Stay off, Auto, & Power on. Any ideas?

 

[ekÆsine]

I've seen many cheap power supplies with no power switch on the power supply. The most likely reason you have the fans spinning is because operating system or bios is set to go into standby sleep mode when you press the power button or shut down windows. there should be an option in bios or windows to set your power supply to shut down instead of going into standby in the power management options. I've also seen an emachines with the fan constantly running because either the motherboard was damaged or the power supply was damaged

 

[Alex81388]

Yeah i have a lot of power supplies without power switches, and I don't plan on punting them anywhere for they have delivered 350 watts for the past 6 years beautifully.