Computer wont work when standing upright.... woe is me...

[Mr. tech]

I cannot believe this... Life was so much simpler before computers

My computer will only turn on when it's laying flat on the floor as of this afternoon. When it is standing upright, when I turn it on, the fans spin for a second and then cut off...

When I try turn it on again, nothing happens.

When I lay it back on the floor again, nothing happens until I turn off the power supply and then turn it on again...

Here's how it all began.... In order....

----------------------------------------------
I opened my pc to insert a PCI modem...

After doing that, the computer wouldn't turn on...

I unplugged the PCI modem and it still did not turn on

I unplugged the power supply from the motherboard, unplugged and replugged in the power switch, reset switch etc cables.

Eventually it turned on. It may have been because I turned off my power supply and turned it back on...

I then turned it off and stood it upright again. Once again, it turned on for a second and cut off.

I tried this about 4-5 times and the exact some thing happened.

I then unplugged the hard drive. It turned on when it was upright.

I plugged the hard drive back in, stood it up right and it didn't turn on. I thought it might have been the hard drive connection.

I unplugged the hard drive again to see if it was the hard drive, stood it up, turned it on, it worked for a second and then turned off... I figured it wasn't the HD... The HD works fine when the PC is flat on the floor.

One other thing I'd like to mention, when I put the pc upright, and turn it on, like I said, it turns on for just 1 second. If I press the power button again it doesn't do anything. However if I turn off the power supply and then turn it on again, and then turn on the computer, it the computer turns on for a second and then cuts off...
----------------------------------------------

That takes me to now. I'm writing from that computer however it is laying flat on the floor...

Hopefully I made sense. This is very frustrating. It's been one of those days and this had to just top it off.

Oh well... I guess I should just keep smiling :freak:

 

[Brinson]

That's feckin weird.

It could be a short of some kind?

Try the paper clip test to see if the PSU will run without the motherboard. If it fails with the paper clip test, replace the PSU. If it works with the paperclip test...might be something weird with the motherboard?

I've never heard anything like this...

 

[wicked23]

I did. i had a pc do the same thing. I finally could only get it to work with all components sitting on my desk.

What I figured was. Over time the heat tends to slightly warp the mother board to the point that something was touching the case causing it to short and turn off. When it was standing straight up it would short, turning my pc on its side made it work properly. Finally I took everything out of the case and reseated my mobo and it has worked fine standing up ever since.

Now I'm not saying i am right it may have been pure coincidental, but it doesn't cost anything to try it.

 

[Alvin.C]

Hello,

Another thing to remember when doing a PSU paperclip test is to make sure there's some load (by hooking up a hard drive for example), as no load can damage the PSU.

 

[Brinson]

Hello,

Another thing to remember when doing a PSU paperclip test is to make sure there's some load (by hooking up a hard drive for example), as no load can damage the PSU.

Last time I did it I did a CD drive so I could open it and see if it opened.

 

[Mr. tech]

Cool. I'll give all the suggestions a try... Fingers crossed!

 

[ShackledPhoenix]

Yeah sounds like the motherboard isn't seated properly.

 

[phucng_10]

Yeah sounds like the motherboard isn't seated properly.

Does sound like it, also touch metal before you touch your motherboard please. Some people tend to forget and static will be transfered to the motherboard.